Published: 9 November, 2009, 17:08
Edited: 9 November, 2009, 17:54
One of the streets of Rome’s largest landscape park, Villa Ada, has been named in honor of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Starting from Monday November 9, the novelist's name will take its place on maps and signs in the city.
Rome has become the first foreign capital in which a street was named after Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. The capital’s authorities took the decision to perpetuate the memory of the writer on August 4, 2009, the first anniversary of Solzhenitsyn’s death. Back then the officials underlined that Solzhenitsyn was "not only a Nobel prize winner in literature, but also a symbol of the struggle against communism and the violation of human rights," the mayor of Rome Gianni Alemanno recalled on Monday at the solemn inauguration ceremony.
Warm gratitude to the Roman authorities on behalf of all Russian people was expressed by the ambassador of the Russian Federation in Italy, Aleksey Meshkov. He described the decision to name a street after Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn as "tangible proof of the partnership spirit and deep mutual understanding uniting the people and cultures of Russia and Italy".
“Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn devoted his whole life to his Motherland. He was its true citizen and patriot. His name will always be connected with the destiny of Russia, and his research of the national history made an important contribution to the development of world culture and have affected the formation of millions of personalities,” the Russian diplomat said.