Cephas, basketball player at Giardino Graziella Fava

Updated on 12 September 2023 From Bologna Welcome

Exclusively for Promenade...

Cephas, aka Zico to his friends, is a basketball lover and a member of the Regaz dei Fava Association. The Graziella Fava Gardens are his lifeline not only for expressing himself as a basketball player but also, and above all, for building an authentic family in the name of community, solidarity and social integration.

Tell us about your activity and its impact on the territory

I am a member of Regaz dei Fava, an association that represents, promotes and protects the community of basketball-loving people of all ages, while fostering the multicultural space of Graziella Fava Gardens. Our mission is to enhance this inclusive and safe space, where sport, art, sociability and attentiveness are amplified.
Our action is made possible thanks to the commitment of many of us who spend energy and resources on a daily basis working as social operators of this green lung in the city centre, welcoming all those who love basketball or feel involved in a supportive and educational community through sport.

Any curious anecdotes about your activity?

Yes, some time ago, at the Gardens, our friend Alvir pretended to fall and hurt himself while playing, only to kneel down and propose to his current wife, much to the amazement and participation of us regaz!

Since the beginning, our common guiding philosophy has been to take our steps in the park in search of "continuity". For us, this means imparting to new generations the meaning of well-being within a meeting place, where individuals with different characteristics coexist and become a community.

With this in mind, over the years we have joyfully celebrated all the significant passages in the lives of our dancers: from birthdays, to graduations, but especially blue and pink bows, over to marriage proposals.

Feel the mood

Tomorrow's Bologna: what do you expect and what do you wish to find?

I would like the city to dedicate even more space for free outdoor sporting activities, enhancing facilities and areas for free body exercises. I wish for better interaction between sporting, artistic and cultural events, supported at neighbourhood level.

On the occasions when we have been able to accomplish all of the above in the Graziella Fava Gardens, we have witnessed great involvement of citizens, residents, businesses and visitors, making it clear that our playground is also a model of revolutionary sociality.

Your favourite places off the beaten track?

For those who want to experience sport in the city and hear the squeak of their shoes or the pulsing of rubber on concrete, I recommend strapping on a bicycle and cutting across the city to the gardens in Piazza dell'Unità, Piazza Lucio Dalla in the Bolognina district. Or else, a ride from the Lunetta Gamberini Park all the way to the Margherita Gardens in Santo Stefano district.

Your favourite Bolognese word?

Our diversity causes us to mix slang, various dialects, old-style and new-style Bolognese, broken English and Italian all together.

You may hear us call someone kuya (friend or brother in filipino lang.) or you may hear us say vez or regaz to get the group's attention.