{"status":"success","siteTitle":"Assisted Lab\nLiving Archive of Assisted Dying","title":"\u2018Trascolorare\u2019 by Daniele Pieroni","slug":"trascolorare","url":"https:\/\/assistedlab.ch\/textual\/trascolorare","body":"<p>After Tuscany established procedures for medical assistance in dying through bill n. 16, aka \u2018Liberi Subito\u2019 (Free Now), the 64-year-old poet Daniele Pieroni became the first Tuscan resident to benefit from the regional law: on 17 May 2025, Pieroni died by a legal assisted suicide. When Pieroni\u2019s death was announced, his poem \u2018Trascolorare\u2019 gained widespread circulation through news and social media, with critics calling it \u2018the essence of his writings\u2019 and \u2018the testament of Piero\u2019 (translated from Italian, as all other quotes). Though some assumed it to be a goodbye letter, \u2018Trascolorare\u2019 had been online since 2021, when it was included in the jury\u2019s commendation for the prestigious <em>Montale Fuori di Casa<\/em> prize, awarded to Pieroni that year (the piece was likely unpublished before the prize and submitted by the author as part of his dossier for the award). \u2018Trascolorare\u2019 is not overtly political, nor does it mention \u2018euthanasia\u2019 or \u2018assisted suicide\u2019; instead, it displays a spiritual and fearless approach to death. Even if not explicitly cited in legal proceedings, \u2018Trascolorare\u2019 seems to have struck a nerve with the public, gaining layers of meaning as a symbol of the right-to-die. It became one of the most visible texts by Pieroni, synonymous with his name, which, in turn, <em>is<\/em> cited by lawmakers and interest groups \u2013 both for and against assisted dying.<\/p><p>Framed as a prose poem, without rhymes or the line breaks typical of verse, \u2018Trascolorare\u2019 seems to naturalize death through a deceptively simple form: five short paragraphs of no more than two sentences each. Although untitled, the piece is known by its first word, borrowed from an Italian verb that corresponds to \u2018transcolour\u2019, an obsolete word in English; in Italian, \u2018Trascolorare\u2019 means to change colours or to fade \u2013 and Pieroni defines it as \u2018the distinctive verb of human life\u2019. The poem reads as a parable of a soul that changes colours as it enters death. The often-quoted second paragraph opens with \u2018Death does not frighten the soul because it does not separate it from the long breath of the world\u2019. Later in the poem, Pieroni depicts dying as the moment when \u2018the soul crosses the final threshold, beyond which there is a triumph that does not require chosen forms, nor does it care about style\u2019. This carelessness regarding style, coming from a poet so attuned to the intricacies of poetry, resonates with the perceived simplicity of the text. Direct in form and content, spiritual but not affiliated with any specific religion, \u2018Trascolorare\u2019 was shared and reshared as a meditation on the naturalness of death.<\/p><p>Born in the Abruzzo region in 1961, Pieroni moved to Rome (Lazio region) when he was ten, travelling widely but using the Italian capital as home base for decades before relocating to Tuscany, where he would spend his final years. After Italy\u2019s Constitutional Court decriminalized assisted suicide in 2019 (Sentence n. 242\/19, aka \u2018Cappato\u2013Antoniani\u2019), only Tuscany and Sardinia \u2013 out of Italy\u2019s 20 administrative regions \u2013 have regulated the procedure, with Tuscany leading the way in February 2025. According to Tuscany\u2019s governor Eugenio Giani, the regional law \u2018temporarily filled a void\u2019, because the Italian Parliament is yet to regulate assisted dying at the national level. Since 2008, Pieroni had struggled with symptoms from Parkinson\u2019s, from having to stop playing the cello to developing a severe dysphagia, which led to his needing a feeding tube for 21h a day. On 31 August 2023, advised by the advocacy group <em>Associazione Luca Coscioni<\/em>, Pieroni filed a formal request for an assisted death with the local health authority, ASL Toscana Sud Est. Even though his condition fulfilled the four criteria required by Sentence 242\/19 (irreversible pathology, intolerable suffering, dependence on life support systems, and lucidity), any such requests faced bureaucratic and legal hurdles in the absence of national guidelines. The passing of Tuscany\u2019s regional law suddenly fast-tracked Pieroni\u2019s request, which was verified and approved by 22 April 2025. A few days later, on May 9th, the Meloni government challenged the Tuscan law, but the Constitutional Court let the regional regulation stand pending their ruling; this allowed Pieroni to receive a medically assisted death by self-administering a lethal drug at home, in the presence of a forensic doctor, among other volunteer carers, friends, and family members. Since Pieroni\u2019s death, the Court has partially upheld the Tuscan law (Sentence n. 204\/25), while the Coscioni Association has advocated for more regional laws, often invoking Pieroni\u2019s case, which has been cited by lawmakers from several regions. The Catholic church has vehemently opposed such expansion, maintaining that the healthcare system should focus on palliative care as the only moral response to suffering at the end of life.<\/p>","cover":{"ratio":1.2736954206602769,"url":"https:\/\/assistedlab.ch\/media\/pages\/textual\/trascolorare\/3d616e74dd-1779060583\/caravaggio-c1600-vocazione_di_san_matteo-det-2410x-q90.jpg","caption":"Caravaggio, detail from \u2018Vocazione di san Matteo\u2019, c. 1600"},"data":[{"title":"Title","value":"\u2018Trascolorare\u2019 by Daniele Pieroni"},{"title":"Author","value":"Daniele Pieroni"},{"title":"Year","value":"2021"},{"title":"Language","value":"Italian"},{"title":"Tags","value":"Fear of Death \u2022 High Profile Cases \u2022 Constitutional Litigation \u2022 Spirituality \u2022 Poetry"},{"title":"Legislative context","value":"Constitutional Court Sentence n. 204\/25, partially sustaining the Tuscan Regional Law, 4 November 2025 (Italy) \u2022 Tuscan Regional Law n. 16 (aka \u2018Liberi Subito\u2019), establishing procedures for assisted suicide, 14 March 2025 (Italy) \u2022 Constitutional Court Sentence n. 135\/24, defining life-sustaining treatment, 1 July 2024 (Italy) \u2022 Constitutional Court Sentence n. 242\/19 (aka \u2018Cappato\u2013Antoniani\u2019), decriminalizing assisted suicide, 25 September 2019 (Italy)"},{"title":"Author of entry","value":"Carlos A. Pittella"},{"title":"Last updated","value":"23.07.2026 at 22:03"}],"toggles":[{"title":"Reviews","list":[{"text":"Davide D\u2019Alessandro, \u2018Il Crepuscolo. La morte invocata da Daniele Pieroni come la pace\u2019, HuffPost Italia, 2025","link":"https:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.it\/cultura\/2025\/06\/16\/news\/il_crepuscolo_la_invocata_da_daniele_pieroni_come_la_pace-19452603\/","pathname":"huffingtonpost.it"},{"text":"Federico Lazzotti, \u2018Daniele Pieroni, primo toscano a scegliere il suicidio assistito: la malattia, le sue ultime ore e il \u201ctestamento\u201d del poeta\u2019, Il Tirreno, 2025","link":"https:\/\/www.iltirreno.it\/toscana\/2025\/06\/12\/news\/daniele-pieroni-primo-toscano-a-scegliere-il-suicidio-assistito-la-malattia-le-sue-ultime-ore-e-il-testamento-del-poeta-1.100720509","pathname":"iltirreno.it"},{"text":"Maria Novella De Luca, \u2018Daniele Pieroni, il poeta di provincia che girava il mondo e non temeva la morte\u2019, la Repubblica, 2025","link":"https:\/\/www.repubblica.it\/politica\/2025\/06\/12\/news\/daniele_pieroni_chi_era_scrittore_primo_suicidio_assistito_italia-424663064\/","pathname":"repubblica.it"},{"text":"Adriana Beverini, \u2018Addio a Daniele Pieroni Premio Montale per la Letteratura 2021\u2019, Premio Montale Fuori di Casa\u2019s Facebook, 2025","link":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/premiomontalefuoridicasa\/posts\/addio-a-daniele-pieroni-premio-montale-per-la-letteratura-2021\/1120564266777362\/","pathname":"facebook.com"}]},{"title":"Media citations","list":[{"text":"Marco Brogi, \u2018La morte \u00e8 cosa bella. Le parole del poeta\u2019, La Nazione, 2025","link":"https:\/\/www.lanazione.it\/siena\/cronaca\/la-morte-e-cosa-bella-9011cf24","pathname":"lanazione.it"},{"text":"\u2018Suicidio Assistito in Toscana: E\u2019 Il 64Enne Poeta Pescarese Pieroni Il Primo a Scegliere Di Morire\u2019, Abruzzo Web, 2025","link":"https:\/\/www.abruzzoweb.it\/sucidio-assistito-in-toscana-e-il-64enne-poeta-pescarese-pieroni-il-primo-a-scegliere-di-morire\/","pathname":"abruzzoweb.it"},{"text":"\u2018Chi era Daniele Pieroni, lo scrittore che ha scelto la morte medicalmente assistita in Toscana\u2019, Il Fatto Quotidiano, 2025","link":"https:\/\/www.ilfattoquotidiano.it\/2025\/06\/11\/daniele-pieroni-suicidio-medicalmente-assistito-toscana-primo-caso-news\/8022708\/","pathname":"ilfattoquotidiano.it"},{"text":"\u2018Chi era Daniele Pieroni, l\u2019uomo che ha scelto il suicidio assistito\u2019, FirenzeToday, 2025","link":"https:\/\/www.firenzetoday.it\/cronaca\/chi-era-daniele-pieroni-uomo-scelto-suicidio-assistito.html","pathname":"firenzetoday.it"},{"text":"Leandro Barsotti, \u2018Daniele Pieroni aveva 64 anni\u2026\u2019, Facebook, 2025","link":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/leandrobars\/posts\/daniele-pieroni-aveva-64-anni-era-un-poeta-vincitore-di-premi-e-autore-di-divers\/1245813040240474\/","pathname":"facebook.com"}]},{"title":"Interest Group citations","list":[{"text":"\u2018Buone novelle laiche\u2019, A ragion veduta \u2013 Unione degli Atei e degli Agnostici Razionalisti, 2025","link":"https:\/\/blog.uaar.it\/2025\/07\/01\/buone-novelle-laiche-giugno-2025\/","pathname":"blog.uaar.it"},{"text":"\u2018Suicidio medicalmente assistito in Toscana: primo caso dopo l\u2019approvazione della legge regionale\u2019, Associazione Luca Coscioni, 2025","link":"https:\/\/www.associazionelucacoscioni.it\/notizie\/comunicati\/sma-in-toscana-primo-caso-dopo-approvazione-della-legge-regionale","pathname":"associazionelucacoscioni.it"},{"text":"\u2018In Toscana la deriva di morte \u00e8 gi\u00e0 iniziata. Maggioranza in Parlamento rifletta\u2019, Pro Vita & Famiglia, 2025","link":"https:\/\/www.provitaefamiglia.it\/blog\/in-toscana-la-deriva-di-morte-e-gia-iniziata-maggioranza-in-parlamento-rifletta","pathname":"provitaefamiglia.it"},{"text":"\u2018Primo suicidio per legge. Amarezza della Chiesa: cure palliative, un diritto\u2019, Avvenire, 2025","link":"https:\/\/www.avvenire.it\/vita-e-cura\/primo-suicidio-per-legge-amarezza-della-chiesa-cure-palliative-un-diritto_95454","pathname":"avvenire.it"}]},{"title":"Legal and Paralegal citations","list":[{"text":"Consiglio Regionale dell\u2019Abruzzo, XII Legislatura, Resoconto Integrale n. 25, p. 3, 19 June 2025","link":"https:\/\/www.crabruzzo.it\/sites\/default\/files\/seduta_consiliare\/documenti\/2025.06.19.pdf","pathname":"crabruzzo.it"},{"text":"Consiglio regionale del Friuli Venezia Giulia, \u2018Fine Vita. Bullian (Pat-Civ): Toscana Fa Da Apripista Con Legge\u2019, 2025, 12 June 2025","link":"https:\/\/www.consiglio.regione.fvg.it\/pagineinterne\/\/Portale\/comunicatiStampaDettaglio.aspx?ID=899115","pathname":"consiglio.regione.fvg.it"}]}]}