2012

Book cover for my cousin’s diaries

Valerio Daniel De Simoni

Real Love for the Turning World

Valerio Daniel De Simoni (28 July 1986 – 13 March 2011) was born in Sydney, to Roman parents. A talented midfielder, he was also a Greenpeace activist, an event organiser, a poet and an inveterate traveler. Together with two other young friends he embarked on an expedition riding quad bikes across three continents, with the aim of breaking the world record for travel on the four wheeled vehicle while raising funds to help support two African villages and spreading the environmental message. On the outskirts of Lilongwe-Malawi he was hit by a runaway vehicle and died. The aims of the expedition were, however, amply fulfilled. Following his tragic death, the Valerio Daniel De Simoni Association was founded, with branches in Sydney and Rome, with the aim of promoting environmentalism, solidarity, social harmony, cultural coexistence and actively supporting young foreigners in need of assistance. This volume presents the text of two diaries which came to light in his Sydney home after his passing.