New chapter in man’s life after unprovoked attack
Guido’s lasting physical injuries have left him requiring round-the-clock care. He has devoted the past two years of his life to his writing project.
And, as he looks ahead to his 36th birthday tomorrow, the Turin native received a timely present, after signing a deal with a leading Italian publishing house.
The book has a working title of Una Vita Spezzata, which translates as A Shattered Life.
It will revisit, in detail, the horrific day in 1999 when Guido, who was on his first trip to Ireland, suffered irreversible injuries after a mindless assault in Dublin’s Fairview Park.
As a result of being struck over the head with a bottle, the fun-loving teenager was left partially-sighted, unable to walk or feed himself, and battling depression.
However, both Guido and his 76-year-old mother Simonetta — with whom he shares an apartment in Turin — have been given a “huge boost” after learning his book is expected to be released by Christmas this year.
Bernadette Kelly, a Dublin-based victim support volunteer who built up a close friendship with the Nasi family following the attack, said:
“It’s such a great achievement for Guido to have written a book because it was such a difficult thing for him to do. He typed out every word himself, but even moving his finger from key to the next key would take him about 20 seconds. So that will give you an idea of how hard it must have been.”
Bernadette, a fluent Italian speaker, attributed Guido’s improved mental health to his new hobby, bocce, an Italian equivalent of lawn bowls.
“He only took up bocce last year, but has become so good at it that he’s representing Turin in a national competition for people with disabilities that’s coming up,” she said. “It’s great that he’s found this outlet, because it’s allowed him to get outside and it’s certainly improved his state of mind.”
However, it’s not all good news in the Nasi household, as Simonetta was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer back in February.
Bernadette said: “Simonetta has been worried for a long time about what will happen to Guido when she is no longer around. Now she has the diagnosis, that is even more important.
“But thankfully the council are making arrangements to house Guido in a special complex in the hills near Turin in the future.
"Both Simonetta and Guido have been to visit the place and they are very happy with it. It’s given them both some much-needed peace of mind.”
In 2001, James Osbourne, then aged 31, from East Wall, Dublin, was jailed for eight-and-a-half years over the attack. He was released in 2008.
