by InTrieste
Trieste’s mayor, Roberto Dipiazza, and former mayor Roberto Cosolini have sent a joint letter to Gianni Petrucci, president of the Italian Basketball Federation, expressing strong opposition to reports that Pallacanestro Trieste’s sporting title and team could be transferred to Rome.
In the letter, the two political figures describe Trieste as “one of the capitals of Italian basketball,” emphasizing the city’s long-standing connection to the sport and the loyalty of its fan base. They argue that the club represents more than a financial asset, calling it instead “a community, a history, a tradition” built over generations.
The letter urges the federation not to treat the potential move as merely a corporate or economic matter. According to Dipiazza and Cosolini, the Italian Basketball Federation has a broader institutional and moral responsibility to protect the traditions and credibility of Italian basketball.
The two signatories warn that allowing such a transfer could create a dangerous precedent, suggesting that professional sports teams might increasingly be viewed as movable commercial entities detached from their local communities. Drawing a comparison with Italian soccer, they note that it would be “unthinkable” for a club such as Inter Milan to relocate to another city while maintaining its sporting identity.
The appeal, they write, reflects not only the position of local institutions but also the sentiment of a wider community that feels “hurt and deprived of part of its sporting identity.” They stress that the joint signature of the current and former mayor demonstrates unity across political lines in defense of the city’s basketball heritage.
The letter concludes with a call for the federation to carefully evaluate any decision concerning the future of basketball in Trieste and to uphold what the authors describe as the core values of Italian sport.
