About his family, Alex wrote: “My great-great-grandfather was prime minister of the first Italian government, my midwife grandmother was a fighter on the battlefields of the First World War, in the Garibaldina Brigade, alongside her father, Medical General of the same Brigade.  My grandfather, Captain Orthopedic Doctor, fell on the battlefield of Massawa.  My naval officer father, on 8 September 1943, when the armistice was proclaimed, entered as a fighter in the Caduri Partisan Brigade, of which he was the only survivor of the shooting of his comrades.”

In his working life before Auroville, Alex was an orthopedist in several African countries, specializing in prosthetics for adults and children, and he ended his career as brand manager of the largest Italian orthopedic institute. After his retirement, he attended a three-year academy of Naturopathy, with a focus on reflexology. 

Life in Auroville

In 2019, in his senior years, Alex decided to join Auroville, where he started volunteering at the Morgan café, and also at the Food Laboratory with Lorenzo, and at the Matrimandir laundry. His calling was to work with differently abled children, to practise his knowledge as an orthopedist and naturopath. Sadly, a major part of his newcomer period happened to be in lockdown. During this time he had health problems and had to move into and out of various houses, till finally he was able to settle in Invocation.

Cooking and catering was another interest of his, and for a while he worked at Avam (ex-Le Morgan). People will remember him for his great mustache and portly appearance. 

This is how he put into words his aspiration to live in Auroville: “Let's say that I came to Auroville to make Mêre's thought active: No words - Acts.”

Alex is survived by his wife, 9 children, and 17 grandchildren. The cremation took place on Sunday, 14th December, 2025.