Italian
Marco Marseglia, an employee of Poste Italiane, along with his wife Laura, has transformed their home into a welcoming place
Treviso – On the day dedicated to Father’s Day, the story of Marco Marseglia, a Treviso employee of Poste Italiane, gives meaning to an occasion that often remains just a date on the calendar.
Marco has been working at Poste Italiane since the 1990s. He started as a mail carrier in Treviso, then moved into the commercial area, where he now manages relationships with large companies in the northeast. A job made of relationships, listening, dialogue, and mediation.
“The beauty is in reconciling all this with work. I am fortunate to have a job that involves relationships, which brings me into contact with people, and this has benefited me in my professional experience. A job that has taught me to put myself in others’ shoes. And I believe this has also significantly influenced how I became a father.”
Marco and his wife Laura got married in 2005 and have had two biological children, now in their twenties (with them in the photo). Then something happened: “We realized that we wanted to expand our family, but not in a ‘biological’ sense. We felt that we could be helpful to those living in difficult situations.”
The stories
This is how the first girl to welcome arrives at their home: a teenager with a complicated background, supported in her studies until her diploma and degree. Then a mother with a little girl, hosted for two months during a difficult time.
Then comes a more structured path, that of family fostering. First a six-month-old baby, then a mother with two young children. Over time, the woman takes back control of her life, while the two children remain with Marco’s family: today they are 14 and 11 years old.
The most significant experience comes a few years later, when the family is contacted for an urgent foster care situation: a child with a genetic disability, raised in conditions of severe neglect. “He didn’t speak, he didn’t walk, but not due to a physical condition: he simply hadn’t received any support,” Marco recalls. That child is now a thirteen-year-old boy who speaks, walks, goes to school, is in scouts, and rides a bike even without training wheels.
A big family
“Our children welcomed him like a brother. This is what makes the difference: not just us parents, but a whole family that opens up.” It’s not an adoption. It’s a true foster care arrangement, with regular meetings with the birth family. “We believe that, when it’s not dangerous, the bond with the parents should be preserved. It’s challenging but it’s right. Children have the right to acknowledge their history.”
Dad Marco says it with a serenity that surprises: “Children in foster care are heroes. They have to hold together two worlds, two affections, two identities. They wonder why they have two moms or two dads. Every meeting with their parents is a joy, but also a wound.
Yet, if supported well, they develop an enormous strength. They have an extra gear.”
Reconciling all this with work is not easy. Marco admits it honestly: “There is no clear boundary. It’s a dynamic balance. But my work has helped me as a father and my family has helped me at work. Listening, patience, the ability to
put oneself in others’ shoes: everything is intertwined.”
The crucial support comes from his wife Laura, a musician and teacher, who has chosen to dedicate herself to the daily management of their children, including activities, therapies, meetings with psychologists, and social services. “Without her, all of this would not be possible. It is a life choice made
together, every day.”
For three years, Marco has been the president of the Forum of Families of Veneto, an organization that brings together various associations to present proposals to institutional tables in support of families. “Family fragilities are visible every day. If families are supported, society functions better. Otherwise, we all pay the consequences.”
