On December 22, 2019 my friend and inspiration, Pier Giorgio Di Cicco passed away at his home north of Toronto. He was 70 years old. Giorgio was a Catholic priest and the former poet laureate of the City of Toronto. It was in that capacity that I first met him in late 2005.
I was traveling with my friend and mentor, Charles Landry on a speaking tour that I had helped to arrange and the last stop on the tour was in Toronto. Charles was speaking at the iconic Toronto City Hall in their main council chamber which as more ampitheatre than municipal office. Then Toronto Mayor David Miller spoke first and then invited his poet laureate to the stage to speak. Giorgio had recently been appointed to that position that had largely been seen as symbolic, yet he had already begun to take the role into a more activist space and was a commentator and thought leader for the city. What he said that night changed my life.
With Giorgio in 2012
Speaking in that baritone voice of his, he spoke of something so basic, so elemental that I was stunned to realize that I had not been hearing it in my discourses about cities. He spoke of love. The love we have for our places and for each other. I had been hearing about creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship, economic development, talent attraction and retention but no mention of our emotional life – no mention of love. Today, it seems that our conversations about our places do involve our emotional life and we are using love in the everyday parlance of city making. I would like to believe that I have had a hand in that shift, perhaps giving the necessary nudge of encouragement for people already hungry for this element. If I have had a hand in that, I owe that inspiration to Giorgio. The ideas he shared ignited something in my mind and in my soul that I carry on today. I have been called the “Pied Piper of City Love” and if so, Giorgio is the one who taught me the tune and I will forever be indebted to him.
There are people we meet and are immediately taken with and impressed by their intellect, their charisma, their presence. Yet in this day and age where we are constantly moving and seeing new people and things, even the most impressive people can quickly fade from our consciousness. This is not a commentary on them but rather upon the nature of our lives today. But there are some, a rare few, who not only impress us from the outset, but their ideas, their spirit lingers with us. Giorgio was certainly that kind of person. I engaged with Giogio perhaps a dozen times over 10+ years but I know his spirit will linger with me for the rest of my days, and I will be a better man for it.