Future of Italian workers' memorial uncertain

Members of an Italian community have called for a decision to be made on the future of a tribute to their ancestors.

The sculpture Verso Domani represents a family emigrating from Italy to the Bedford area in the 1950s.

It is currently located on a roundabout, which is due to be demolished.

A plan to move it to Stewartby, where many Italians were employed at the brickworks, appears to have stalled.

The sculpture depicts a family, weighed down with heavy suitcases and other luggage, making their way to a new life in Bedford.

At the moment, it is partially obscured by vegetation in the centre of the Greyfriars roundabout.

It shares the urban landscape with the diggers, cones and barriers of a roadworks team flattening the existing roundabout and replacing it with a light-controlled junction.

The sculpture was created and donated in 2009 by Professor Giuseppe Martignetti, who named it Verso Domini, translated as Towards Tomorrow.

What tomorrow holds for the statue is unclear.

One member of the Italian community said they were told by a council officer that it would be moving to Stewartby, where many Italians were employed at the brickworks.

But the BBC understands the condition of the sculpture, which is made from concrete covered in a metallic sheen, may make Stewartby an unsuitable location.

The sculptor's nephew, Michele Martignetti, was the son of an immigrant and still lives in Bedford.

He said: "You cannot say that it doesn't belong at all in Stewartby, because actually that is where they went.

"They didn't come to Bedford. They lived in barracks in Stewartby."

His father worked at the brickworks, and he visited the factory when he was young.

He saw his dad "just stacking bricks", which was a "horrible job, but the money was good".

His father ended up in a four-bedroomed house shared by 17 members of the family.

Serving coffee at his cafe in Bedford town centre, Liberato Lionetti agreed that Stewartby would be a "fantastic" location for the sculpture, which would be a "nice reflection on the people that came here".

He spent around a year at the brickworks before joining the armed services in Italy.

He said making bricks was "hard, physical work, but you get a good camaraderie there".

At the Italian Club in Bedford, Donato Russo was fighting for the sculpture to stay in Bedford.

He said: "Knowing the history of it, I think it should stay where it is or be relocated somewhere around that vicinity - maybe the bus station or back on the roundabout.

"We came over in the 50s to work help at the brickyards and that was a symbol of Italians, and it was put there for a reason".

But, sitting at a different table in the club, Antonio said the location of the sculpture did not bother him "as long as they don't throw it away".

A spokesperson for Bedford Borough Council said: "The statue will be going into storage shortly.

"Discussions have taken place about it being relocated to Stewartby, but we have also been approached by members of Bedford Borough's Italian community about the possibility of having it permanently located in town.

"Whatever site is chosen will be done to celebrate the contribution that our Italian diaspora has made to Bedford Borough over many generations."

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