“Freedom is participation”
Quoting Giorgio Gaber every time I talk about an event linked to my father’s name comes
spontaneously to me.
Being named Libero (a word that in Italian means Free) has certainly conditioned his life
and his cultural formation or… vice versa.
He often said that his parents had not even bothered giving him a proper name and had
only given him an adjective.
His life choices have always honored this adjective and, as reminded by the logo of our
association, that shows the sign made by my brother Davide while carrying our father’s
coffin on his shoulders, Libero Grassi died as a free man.
Since you are very young, I have extrapolated lines from Gaber’s song…

These eight verses, also on this occasion, fit perfectly with my idea of the Parco Libero
Grassi.
This park must not be a free space. This site with an amazing view (unless you look towards
the city) is potentially beautiful due to its relationship with the sea. How many cities can
have the opportunity to have an urban park by the sea?
The sea is certainly an element that strongly binds it to one of my father’s passions: sailing.
My father did not practice offshore sailing, he loved sailing dinghies. On a dinghy you are in
constant contact with the wind and the motion of the sea, you have to know them and
respect them… think about it, from the park you should enjoy the sea and it could be
enjoyed from the sea.
The park must be participation. Over the years, the district of Acqua dei Corsari has lost its
connotation as a seaside village linked to fishing and as a place for bathing, in the early
twentieth century. Unfortunately, today it is configured as the extreme periphery of the
south coast, with different building typologies, all, unfortunately, of poor quality. There are
no services and equipment for the recreational, sporting and cultural activities of its
inhabitants. For years, the coast was used only as a dumpsite for excavations and
demolitions by those responsible of the “sack of Palermo”.
I hope that this park will host many associations that may carry out their activities, to
contribute to the urban regeneration of this part of the city.
Freedom is not staying on a tree, trees are welcome on this barren site, but I hope they will
become backdrops, delimiting outdoor classrooms, places for relaxation, sport and play.
And above all, I invite you to wander with your imagination to surround yourself and
surround us with art and beauty in general.

Arch. Alice Grassi
Daughter of Libero
President of the Associazione Parco Libero