Varese: should we name a street after the father of evolution?

An open letter has been sent to the mayor of Varese, Attilio Fontana, and to the Town Council, and a group has been created on Facebook, with only 15 supporters, so far. The idea is simple: should a street be named after Darwin?

The petition, which has been published on the Internet, and sent to the Varese council, reads, “The year 2009, which has just ended, was international “Darwin Year”, when the 200th anniversary of the birth of Darwin (12 February 1809) and the 150th anniversary of the publication of “The origin of species” (24 November 1859) were celebrated throughout the civilised world. In view of the next “International Darwin Day” (12 February 2010), for which we are organising appropriate celebrations in our town, we present you and Varese town council with a formal request for one of the next streets or squares in the “Garden City” to be dedicated to the great naturalist Charles Darwin. We are going to start a collection of signatures for the proposal.”

The request carries the signatures of the association AUSER Varese, and of its president, Ezio Bianchi, of the “Academia Philosophiae Naturalis di Varese” (Laura Morandi), of Seti Italia “G. Cocconi”, Varese (Bruno Moretti Turri), and of Ouverture, artistic and cultural research, Varese (Thierry Dieng).

Individuals that would like to sign this petition should send an email to cfivarese@gmail.com, stating their name, surname and town of residence. Associations that would like to sign this petition should send an email to cfivarese@gmail.com, stating the name of the association, the registered office, and the name, surname and title of the person signing on behalf of the association.