Marco Benvenuti, who died at age 50, was president of Libertas Livorno
Marco Benvenuti, president of Libertas Livorno, died at the age of 50 in the United States after a long battle with an illness. The news was announced by the club itself through its social media channels. Benvenuti led Libertas, whose men’s team competes in the Serie A2 league, while the women’s team plays in Serie A1. Under his leadership, the club had regained its enthusiasm and ambition, becoming one of the city’s sporting icons.
“You were, are, and will always be a dreamer. Our dreamer,” reads the post on Libertas Livorno’s Facebook page. “Through your example, you taught us to always believe in ourselves and never give up. You took our Libertas—your Libertas—into your own capable hands. And you transformed it into a perfect machine: its engine, passion; its inexhaustible fuel, the great amaranth heart.”
Pallacanestro Livorno also joined Libertas in expressing its condolences; together with the amaranth club, it has been a key player in many seasons in the top national league and in hard-fought city derbies. “Pielle Livorno, in its entirety, joins the Italian and local basketball communities in mourning the passing of Marco Benvenuti, a wonderful person, a man of rare sporting and human values, and president of Libertas Livorno 1947.”
US Livorno 1915 also expressed its condolences for the passing of the Libertas president. A successful entrepreneur in the United States, Benvenuti had chosen, after many years, to return to his hometown of Livorno and dedicate himself to his city’s sports scene. Condolences were extended to the family by Mayor Luca Salvetti and the municipal administration, “on behalf of the entire city.”
“The entire Livorno sports community—not just basketball fans—is mourning Marco Benvenuti today,” said Mayor Salvetti. I had the opportunity to get to know him in recent years, when he came to tell me about his desire to lend a hand to Livorno’s sports scene in general and to Libertas in particular. I had seen him before when he was very young, as the son of former Mayor Roberto Benvenuti, and then I met him again as a man eager to contribute to the city. For all the people of Livorno, this is a great loss.”
