A last wish whispered with a smile before closing your eyes: “Don’t forget me“. With these words imbued with love, little Riccardo Barbera said goodbye to his loved ones on 31 May 2024 at the Pediatric Hospice of Padua, at just 8 years old due to a kidney tumor diagnosed in 2020 at just 4 years old. To fulfill that request, his mother Margherita Pietrogrande and his father Ezio Barbera transformed a desperate suffering into a ray of hope, founding the association Vivi la vita beautiful, name inspired by the phrase that the child loved to repeat.
@Gofundme
The initiatives of the association Vivi la vita bella
The association supports the Reggia dei Carraresi elementary school in Padua, an institution attended by Riccardo until the second grade and now attended by one of his cousins, after his older sister had also completed her studies. The parents’ commitment to school arises from the child’s very strong bond with his classmates and teachers, one of whom went to read him stories even during hospitalization.
In 2025, the charitable sale of Riccardo’s Lego boxes made it possible to finance a carpentry workshop for the pupils. This afternoon, however, in the garden of the historic center complex, the second edition of the charity event open to all children will be held: his beloved Mickey Mouse comics will be made available free of charge. The event will see the participation of the education councilor Cristina Piva and the school director Chiara Rigato, while the funds raised will be used to support the school library and theater courses.
Psychological support for parents and little Riccardo’s dreams
Alongside school initiatives, the association led by Margherita Pietrogrande and Ezio Barbera carries out important support projects aimed at families affected by bereavement. As told by his father, the clinical path faced by Riccardo over the course of 4 years of treatment never affected his extraordinary positivity. The association now aims to fill a gap in post-therapeutic care, offering psychological support to parents left alone and organizing trekking trips and excursions in the mountains, one of the child’s great passions together with photography and drawings of sunsets.
The charitable activities go alongside the celebrations of the anniversary of the little one’s death, remembered every year with patronage parties, educational activities and guided tours of the city together with his friends from fifth grade. The illustrated Mickey Mouse books, which Riccardo leafed through with his sister even before learning to read, thus continue to bring smiles and educational opportunities to other young students. Through this chain of love and the creation of photography scholarships, the child’s memory continues to live on, teaching everyone the value of facing every difficulty with the strength of a smile.
