Viareggio: a statue for Ettore, the cat friend of fishermen

2 min read

Ettore was abandoned in a cardboard box along the pier in Viareggio, Italy. It was 1997, and from that moment on this special cat has no longer had a home or a human owner, but countless different homes and friends. Especially the local fishermen, who went back and forth every day along the pier, becoming his family.

The leftovers of the fish constituted the dinner of little Ettore, who patiently awaited his daily ration every day. It was a cat that entered the hearts not only of fishermen, who saw in him a sweet company, but also of passers-by and tourists, and received pampering and attention from anyone who passed through the pier. His big heart was open to everyone, and anyone could become his new friend.

And so it was until December 2016, when Ettore left for the rainbow bridge, after nineteen years of pampering, fish and purring.
The last times of his life, however, Ettore lived in a shelter, with all the necessary comforts, as his friends on the pier had realized that old age had made him need more attention.
Ettore passed away on this day, December 15, 2019, at the age of nineteen.
His memory, however, in addition to living in the hearts of those who still travel along the pier for work or leisure, has also taken on a concrete form: who passes through the pier of Viareggio, today can in fact notice a bronze statue, right in the point where Ettore used to wait for his fishermen friends.
Despite the difficult start, Ettore eventually had a long life, surrounded by loving friends and ended with an amazing commemoration….