Enzo Sicuri Statue

Enzo Sicuri (1907-1988) lived most of his adult life on the city’s promenade streets dressed in rags with his few possessions: cartons, fruit boxes salvaged from the discards in the market square, and the bicycle from which he never parted. This lifestyle was entirely voluntary: in the 50s he even allegedly refused a rich inheritance so that he could continue living as a free spirit.

Sicuri was well-liked by all Parmesans who did not fail to offer him something to eat or to cover himself, but he never asked for alms. In return, he often performed singing opera songs from Giuseppe Verdi’s repertoire. In 2004, the city of Parma paid tribute to him with a sculpture created by Maurizio Zaccardi, placed right among the streets in which he loved to walk.

Poems and documentaries have been dedicated to Enzo Sicuri and he is considered a true protagonist of Parma’s popular culture. This statue is the only one in Italy dedicated to a homeless person.