In Benevento, a phone call to the municipal police was not about a crime or an emergency. It was about loneliness — and two officers answered it with time and attention.
According to NTR24, Pellegrino, an 86-year-old widower living alone after his wife's death, called the Benevento Local Police Command because he wanted company. Officers Sabatino Cimino and Antonio Oliviero went to his home, listened to him, and spent time with him.
That visit has now brought national recognition to the force. NTR24 reports that the Benevento Local Police Command received a solemn commendation with a public-merit certificate during Expòl / Urbantech 2026 at BolognaFiere.
The scientific committee of Expòl 2026 praised the intervention as an example of dedication to the community and attention to citizens' personal needs, the report says.
The story points to a broader idea of urban security: not only patrols and enforcement, but protecting human dignity and responding to social isolation.
NTR24 identifies the man only as Pellegrino, and no further official details about the ceremony were included in the report.
