George Clooney. A star on the big screen, volunteer in real life

When you Google the name Laglio, the results show images of verdant landscapes, romantic vistas, and gorgeous millionaire mansions on the shores of Lake Como, Italy’s third largest lake. But the scenario is different now. The rains of floods that fell on central Europe left a trail of debris, and the waters invaded every corner, displacing families, and generating a great fear of what was to come next.

But behold, out of this chaos, an unexpected hero emerged: to alleviate the suffering of the affected, American actor George Clooney, who has lived in love with the area for more than 20 years and is the owner of a plot of land. Villa By the lake, he “rolled up his sleeves” and promised to help with whatever was needed.

disaster

Last Tuesday, July 27, clouds covered the sky with a large black spot and “opened the doors” to torrential rain that led to a “horror” scenario for the residents of northern Italy.

As the rains, over the course of three days, destroyed the least resistant homes, the residents searched for safe places to shelter. Mud and debris descended on the mountains and descended on this one of the most exclusive tourist spots in Italy. But there may be his salvation from there: the region is often visited by well-known names on the big screens. George Clooney was one of the first to want help.

Since 2002, Villa Oleandra’s mansion has been the place of choice for the actor and his family to enjoy the summer. Clooney spent 12 million euros on this “little paradise” that his family and friends enjoyed. With exciting views of the water and the Alps, imposing Villa It contains 25 rooms, a private pier, an open-air cinema and a huge garden that was the stage for solidarity events organized by the artist. The Obamas were the last lucky recipients of a long list of distinguished guests at the palace. But names like the Dukes of Sussex, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Jennifer Aniston, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, among other stars, have passed by. Last summer, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle spent a short honeymoon vacation with George and Amal and their children.

Although this pandemic period did not allow the owners to return to Villa Oleandra as often as they liked, at the time of the disaster the family had already been around for a few weeks. And Clooney wasted no time. He immediately went to the worst affected places and helped clean up and clear the rubble with other volunteers. He further declared that he would use his appearance to try to raise money for Laglio, not least because his palace had been affected and deteriorated as a result of rain-swept mud and debris.

In search of flexibility

According to Roberto Pozzi, Mayor of Laglio, in statements to the British newspaper times, “Cloney was quick to fix the problem himself.” “He came straight to the municipality to find out what happened and we took him for a walk to check the damage,” Pozzi explained. “I was very concerned and said I wanted to help. We will raise money and he will use his own ‘channels’ to do so, so we can help the people who are made homeless.”

On Italian television, it was Clooney who spoke, and he began by apologizing for not being able to speak English: “It’s much worse than I thought,” he stated in English. “In Cernobbio [uma cidade mais ao sul] The situation is dangerous and in Laglio even worse. I’ve spoken with the president and that’s going to be a lot of work. It will cost millions of dollars! But I think this city is strong, Roberto Pozzi will react and it will turn into something better than it was before. And defended this city of great resilience.

Bossi confirmed that “anyone who comes to Laglio will tear their hair because of the gravity of the situation.” times. About half a million cubic meters of material flooded the city. We need the government to declare a state of emergency and provide us with additional financial support.” To the English newspaper the sunBouzi added that he had to “order the evacuation of 60 residents living in dangerous areas and four houses near George’s house were destroyed in the flood.”

Or Clooney’s “coat”.

Clooney’s relationship with the entire Lake Como region, and in particular with Laglio, which has a population of only 900, goes back a long time. In 2004, the city council of Laglio called him a “respected citizen”, expressing a wish that the artist would stay there “for a long time”. “Its association with the city is indeed a legacy that no one can take away from us,” said the mayor at the time, Giuseppe Mantero. But while the site has always met the actor’s expectations, much of the publicity in 2010 ended up causing problems: it wasn’t just the actor’s friends who showed up. Villa Oleandra started being overrun by fans and it was expected that the actor had plans to sell it. Thus, in order to avoid harassment and unwanted guests, a rule was issued in 2014 forbidding anyone to approach within 100 meters of the palace, risking a fine of 500 euros.