[Compassion and freedom: the example of Alex Pretti].

. Compassion and freedom: the example of Alex Pretti. In this issue we publish Giuseppe Gristina's moving remembrance of Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a US intensive care nurse who was killed in Minneapolis on January 24, 2026 during protests following a controversial police action. Pretti was also an engaged citizen, active in public life and committed to democratic values. His story reminds us that nursing (and health professionals) identity cannot be confined to hospital wards or clinical settings: nurses work at the intersection of health, social vulnerability, and inequality, and their professional responsibility often extends beyond the bedside into the civic sphere. Pretti's legacy therefore stands as a reminder that the ethics of care continues not only in clinical practice, but also in the way professionals choose to engage with the world around them.