He died on the last day of work: he had brought cakes to celebrate his retirement

Everything was ready for the party. Ready desserts and drinks to toast. Last hours of work, then retirement from today after more than three decades of activity. But the last moments in an Italian company turned into a drama: Michele BarcaAged 59, he collapsed and died.

A worker at the Belvest clothing company in the province of Padua should have celebrated his last day of work on January 31 before retiring. He had even brought some bottles to the company to toast, but suddenly collapsed to the ground.

Colleagues immediately called for help, but once the workers arrived they could only conclude that the man had died, most likely of a heart attack. It must have been a day of celebration, after so many years of hard work, and in fact he had also brought the cakes to the company.

The tragedy shocked everyone, to the point that operations were immediately suspended: a sort of silent tribute to a person that everyone knew and respected.

For 30 years Michele Barco worked for Belvest, a company founded in the mid-60s specializing in clothing manufacturing, as quality control manager. A task as important as it is precise and specific, for which it is necessary to know fabrics, techniques and models in detail.

He was unmarried and had no children; he lived with his mother, already very old, in Piazzola, a town she had never wanted to leave. His colleagues still can’t get over this defeat, especially when they should have been celebrating. Today would have been his first day in retirement: after more than 30 years.

He was a veteran of the trade and many had come under his wing, watching him and learning from his experience. According to those who knew him, Michele Barco had never had heart problems and nothing suggested that a sudden illness could have struck him. The man leaves behind his mother Gabriella, three sisters and a brother.