Is called Mattia Villardita, is twenty-nine years old and works as a port logistics employee in Vado Ligure, in the province of Savona. But when he puts on his costume and covers his face with that mask who, for generations, has enchanted and made thousands of children around the world dream, he becomes Spiderman. And, like the real Marvel superhero, Mattia also dedicates all his free time at the service of others, especially of the children who fill the hospital wards of his city, but also of all the other hospitals in Italy. “Initially, when I started my pure voluntary activity five years ago – he tells Luce! – I only went to see the children of the hospital in Savona and in Genoa. But soon the calls also began to arrive from the rest of the Peninsula and to this day I can say that there has not been a hospital where Spiderman has not gone ”.
Every detail of its appearance is designed to render the realer the magic, before the incredulous and passionate eyes of his little fans. “When the situation permits I enter through the windowrather than from the door. Over the years spent in hospital wards alongside children suffering from the worst pathologies, I have increased and improved my activities by gaining experience. I try to bring amazement and distraction into gray, sad and boring realities like hospital rooms. I always have medals with me to give to my little friends, with the image of Spider-Man and phrases related to friendship, because medal it is an award for overcoming the hardships of a day in the hospital and I am honored every time I meet the moved and excited eyes of a child. I bring them too friendship shirts, that is all white t-shirts that we will color together with special colors. For my brave little friends I also have nice gifts, which are given to me by people eager to contribute to my mission”.
When he began to take on the role of that same superhero who had made him dream so much as a child, Mattia was only twenty-four years old, many of which he spent in close contact with the hospital realitydue to three genetic pathologies: “Until the age of twenty-two I underwent several surgeries, starting with a bad appendicitis, already in peritonitis, because of which I was about to die. I was seven years old. I remember just one sad hospital day looking out the window, with my Spiderman comic in my hands, and imagining that my superhero would come to visit me. But he never came. Later I continued my career as a patient due to a congenital pathology that affected the lower right limb, which is why I only have three toes on one foot and one leg and ten centimeters shorter than the other. I solved this problem with three knee operations, suffered between the ages of fourteen and nineteen. After that, until I was twenty-two, the doctors had to deal with my other problem, the semi-paresis of the ulnar nerve, which affected the my right arm knocking out two fingers of the hand. To top it off, I also have a chronic bowel disease called Microscopic Lymphocytic Colitis, which is poised to escalate into Crohn’s Disease at the first opportunity. In short, it can be said that even my health requires a lot of dedication”. There is no doubt that, from Peter Parker, the young Mattia has also inherited the irony and the ability to play down, as well as altruism and courage.
How do you manage to keep so much positivity in your life and, above all, to pass it on to others?
“The credit goes to the voluntary service, which fills me completely. As a child I wanted to be a soccer player, a stuntman or a military man, like dad. But unfortunately, for obvious reasons, I didn’t succeed. I had to abandon football because, despite playing with a big lift in my shoe, I couldn’t handle the pace of training. Becoming a stuntman didn’t even think about it, according to my doctors, and my military career was nipped in the bud by my failing military meds. In the end fate chose for me, and it couldn’t have chosen anything better. Since I started volunteering, I have put all of myself into it, and I can say that I was born to become who I am”.
His job as an employee is demanding, as is his volunteer work. How does he manage to reconcile everything?
“It’s not easy, because work takes away my physical and mental energy. I’ve been dedicating all my free time to volunteering for the past five years, but I’m not a hospital volunteer. I do social experiments, I diversify, sometimes I go to the squares wearing my swimsuit to simply hug people”.
The social media audience follows his activities with great interest…
“Today I use social media to tell my adventures, but when I started five years ago I absolutely didn’t want to. It was the chief pediatrician of Savona, Alberto Gaiero, who convinced me that I should use them. He told me: ‘Get out of your shell and tell us what you are experiencing, because you could entice other young people to follow your example’. Thus, on social media I tell about my experiences as Spiderman, and people follow me and become aware of various issues that I manage to bring to their attention. For example, the shortage of blood and marrow donors among young people, a real health emergency. I hope that, through my appeals and the testimonies I report, people become blood donors or join the marrow donor registry. But there are many realities in need, from the Red Cross to children in hospital, to the elderly in nursing homes and so on”.
What are the reactions of the children who see her emerge in their hospital rooms?
“The most frequent are amazement, wonder, tears of joy. Crazy emotions that they share with me and that represent the fuel that keeps me going. Of mine I put the presence and delicacy, because the costume is not everything and the children need to experience a moment of distraction and lightness. I hope that as they grow up, my little friends understand why I went to visit them and become volunteers of their own”.
How many children does he visit each year?
“It’s easy to calculate: the company I work for gives me 1,500 Spiderman medals every year to give to the children… and I run out of them all”.
Have there ever been negative reactions?
“No, in the sense that now I can also involve the female audience, although – as we know – little girls prefer princesses. But I try to adapt to the moment that we live together. If I see that a child is afraid, I let him know that I’m there for him, that I’m a friend he can count on. But, generally, adverse reactions don’t happen also because I have gifts that are also suitable for young ladies”.
He attends the most difficult hospital departments, such as hematology and oncology. What were the most painful cases for you to accompany?
“Unfortunately, not all stories end well in these departments. I have lost many little friends over the years. I can call them that because my appearance is not limited to the aisle: friendships are born with some families that lead us to meet even outside, to go out to eat together for example. And when a child can’t make it, I lose a friend.”
Have you ever been “discovered” by one of your little friends?
“The only two children who have discovered me bear two mythological names: Hector and Achilles. Little Ettore still called me “Spiderman naked”, he was 4 years old and now he’s gone. Thanks be to God Achilles is fine. With them I learned what strength and courage are, despite the trials that life holds. My hope is to generate good memories, for them and for their families, because I know what it means to find yourself living endless days in hospital”.
How many times do you go to the hospital a week?
“There is no precise number of times, but we could say on average three times. In Savona they are operational 24 hours a day. If the chief calls me, I’ll be right there. If, on the other hand, hospitals further away are looking for me, then I have to take holidays from work. That’s why I haven’t gone on vacation for three years, because Spiderman absorbs them all. The nurses of a department or the families themselves can also look for me. So I send a formal request to the Urp to organize a day in the structure. In the end, I consider myself a freelancer, a simple volunteer who has understood his mission well”.
Projects for the immediate future?
“In mid-January I will present my book in Arezzo Spiderman and I (Salani Editore), released on 25 October. A very beautiful story that tells of all my adventures with children and that reconstructs my career as a volunteer. At the end of January, however, I will go to Puglia to collect the Donato Carbone Award for social work, and while I’m there, I will visit the Nadia Toffa Oncological Center in Taranto”.