And why Spider-Man?
“It’s my favorite character from when I was a kid,” he explained.
“This all came about from a personal story,” he said. “I was a patient for 19 years at the Gaslini Pediatric Hospital in Genoa, because I was born with a congenital malformation.”
As a child, Villardita underwent multiple surgeries and spent months recovering in hospital rooms.
“And that experience has helped me to help these patients and their families,” he explained.
Villardita launched his project, “Superheroes in the Ward,” two years ago. Some of his friends volunteer with him, also dressed up as popular characters.
And the Spider-Man fan did not let last year’s COVID-19 outbreak slow him down. When Italy went into a strict lockdown, he created a video call service to let children still meet and talk to their favorite superhero.
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He made more than 1,400 video calls before returning to the hospitals in person in December.
When he shook hands with Pope Francis, the part-time Spider-Man told him about the suffering of the kids and their families that he sees every day.
The moment “was really, really moving,” he said.
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