21 July 2010 (Tbilisi) - On the top of a hill overlooking Tbilisi, there is a statue holding a sword in one hand to discourage the enemies, and a bowl of wine in the other one to welcome the guests. The Bridge of Peace links the two banks of Mtkvari River, upon which beautiful churches raise brightly, from where you can hear chants of the Orthodox rite.

Castled on the mountain, the city appears as the mirror of a world too unknown to be entirely perceived. Tomorrow we are going to leave: too few time to reach its inner soul.

In front of the sunny Georgian Patriarchate, two Orthodox nuns in black dresses are walking. Bishop Daniele and the Responsible for the Department of Foreign Relations greet us in a hall where there are hardwood chairs with carves and golden icons. Their faces are the same, hidden behind the same bears: only their smiles disclose their individual identity and their affection towards Rondine which “has arrived to the Caucasus before the spring”.

“A swallow (Rondine) - Franco Vaccari explains - always makes his nest on the house of good men”. The friendship is mutual.

Anna, our Russian student, stands up to explain the meaning of the cohabitation among different religions in the International Hall of Residence of Rondine: “There is a Jewish boy. A room is available for Muslim students to pray. During the Ramadan, we are beside them and respect their Faith, and the same occurs with us and with the other religions”. She speaks with grace, firmness and conviction, the same conviction which didn’t make her vacillate time ago, in front of a huge picture with the writing “STOP RUSSIA” at the Minister for Refugees. She had watery eyes, it was bringing to her mind the tragedy of the conflict when Dato, a student from Georgia, arrived, remembering her the possibility of a bond between the two peoples.

It’s during the farewell dinner when Anna decides to toast.

Our Tamada, the Georgian toastmaster who introduces each toast and decides who can drink, is Aleko.

“Friendship is on trip. The slogan for our itinerary in the South of the Caucasus, is the more suitable, due to the strong friendship bond which ties Italy to Georgia: thanks to Rondine, we are only one family, both here and in Italy”. Maga hopes that “anyone who didn’t find any friends, could find them in the future”.

Guy, who is often branded as loquacious, can only add: “Our friendship has a personal value and also a value for the world. When you work and the mud reaches your neck, it’s hard to see over the horizon. You lose hope. However, if somebody asks you if a small group of people can change the world, the only possible answer is that this is the only way to change it”.

The President drinks a toast to Giga, an old Golden Rondine, because “at the beginning, we suffered together when we didn’t know about the future of Rondine”.

Someone else drinks a toast to the “creative disorder” which has made us carry out this trip; the mine drinks a toast to the whole staff, its Project Manager, Luca Pighini, and the responsible for International Relations, Mauro D’Andrea. The headmistress of the Hall of Residence doesn’t forget about her young students in Rondine.

There is not Khatia, our Georgian student who is ill: we have missed all night long her dances and her hands on the piano.

Tomorrow Professor Parisi will leave the delegation, he will follow us from a distance.

At the end, the tradition of Tamada has been maintained, the round of toast is ended.

The President receives a Golden Lion as a gift, while the whole delegation receives a Georgian dagger. After drawing and crossing our swords before the camera, we joyfully say goodbye to Tbilisi and to our former students, with the promise of bringing this trip so far away to go beyond every conflict.

AZ