What\u2019s Agape?<\/h2>\n
Agape is a meeting centre that defines itself as \u201cecumenical\u201d and \u201cinternational.\u201d Its ecumenism is to be understood in a very broad sense: meeting of believers of different religions and confessions \u2013 but also non believers \u2013 who leave behind their assumptions of knowing and holding the truth.
\nThe centre benefits from its international aspect: all groups of volunteers who live and work at Agape contain individuals from different countries. Every year Agape\u2019s program includes a series of international camps organized by people of different international origin. The international dimension has been part of the centre since its foundation. Agape has been a place for dialogue and valorization of the differences from the beginning, a living experiment of the idea that another world is possible.[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Event Schedule” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#B0E09F” custom_padding=”5px|||||” bottom_divider_style=”mountains2″ bottom_divider_color=”#4BC2C3″ border_color_all=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” collapsed=”on” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”1vw||3vw||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_enable_color=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_font_size=”6vw” custom_margin=”||3px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
History<\/h2>\n
Agape\u2019s history began from the need for reconciliation and togetherness that was felt not only at national but also at international level after the Second World War. The desire of peace and reconstruction inspired and led the building of the centre and the project.<\/p>\n
In the mid 1940\u2019s, the Second World War had left rubble and wounds behind. The idea of creating a cultural and community centre emerged from the need for rebuilding and reconciliation. The centre would have allowed people \u2013 divided by the conflict until a few months before \u2013 to meet. Already in the summer of 1946, in Prali, pastor Tullio Vinay spoke about the need to build in the Waldensian Valleys a centre that expressed the values of Christian agape and that represented the face of Christ \u201cengraved in the rocks of our mountains\u201d (words used in the first Agape\u2019s manifesto). Leonardo Ricci\u2019s project gave the centre its peculiar and modern design. From the beginning something unexpected happened: hundreds of volunteers from different countries, with different political and religious views, took part in the building. The painful consequences of the world war that ended just a few years before were overcome through the shared work and the ideal of Christ\u2019s agape.<\/p>\n
The young people, who in a few years were able to construct with enthusiasm and hard work the structure that is still hidden among the larches above Ghigo di Prali, were camped in the location where today you can see the new temple of Prali.<\/p>\n
Form the 1950\u2019s onwards, Agape has been a place of fruitful social, political and religious debate, both national and international. Many camps have been dedicated to the dialogue between Europe and Africa, the contacts with socialist countries, the Middle East issue as well as gender and sexual orientation.<\/p>\n
Today the centre is still going along this path; however it also organizes camps for minors and training courses about the educational relationship and implements non-formal education techniques.[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Featured Artist” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#4BC2C3″ bottom_divider_style=”mountains2″ bottom_divider_color=”#B0E09F” bottom_divider_flip=”horizontal” border_color_all=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” collapsed=”on” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||2vw||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_text_color=”#FFFFFF” header_2_font_size=”6vw” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Spirituality<\/h2>\n“Love never ends”<\/em>
\n1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NRSV)<\/p><\/blockquote>\nAgape is a word that some people may find peculiar. It can be found in the New Testament where the term indicates God\u2019s love for human beings, but elsewhere it means simply \u201cspiritual\u201d love.<\/p>\n
When the apostle Paul writes, in the first letter to the Corinthians, that \u201clove will never ends,\u201d he means that everything is destined to reach an end, but the love of God will accompany us forever. The Agape Ecumenical Centre was inspired by this same evangelical idea. In time, it tried to be a place where this idea could be experimented and experienced through the meeting and dialogue of all faiths and opinions. Agape continues to thrive thanks to the volunteer work of those who, every year, decide to dedicate some of their time to the collective commitment that benefits this shared project.[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Featured Artist” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#B0E09F” bottom_divider_style=”mountains2″ bottom_divider_color=”#FFFFFF” bottom_divider_flip=”horizontal” border_color_all=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” collapsed=”on” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||1vw||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_text_color=”#FFFFFF” header_2_font_size=”6vw” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Education<\/h2>\n
Education is one of the most important elements of Agape\u2019s project. It is a field of constant research and confrontation for which definition this centre has been committed since the 1980s. Agape keeps questioning the education role it covers in in the activities it offers, adopting various methodologies and specially those of non-formal education, of peer-to-peer education, of participate and cooperative learning, and ludopedagogy.[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”|auto|2vw|auto|false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_enable_color=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_blurb title=”find out more” use_icon=”on” font_icon=”||divi||400″ icon_color=”#4FB948″ image_icon_background_color=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” image_icon_width=”90px” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_font=”|700||on|||||” header_text_align=”center” header_font_size=”20px” header_line_height=”0em” module_alignment=”center” link_option_url=”https:\/\/agapecentroecumenico.org\/en\/education\/” global_colors_info=”{}” icon_color__hover_enabled=”on|hover” icon_color__hover=”#FFFFFF”][\/et_pb_blurb][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Event Schedule” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_enable_color=”off” bottom_divider_style=”mountains2″ bottom_divider_color=”#4BC2C3″ border_color_all=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” border_color_bottom=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” collapsed=”on” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_font_size=”6vw” header_3_font=”|800|||||||” header_3_text_color=”#4FB948″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Architecture<\/h2>\n
Those arriving at Agape for the first time are amazed by the fact that the centre was built in the mid 1900\u2019s. The new and original architecture could make one think that the building is more recent.<\/p>\n
Vinay\u2019s dream became a reality thanks to Leonardo Ricci, one of the leading figures of modern Italian architecture in the post-Second World War era.<\/p>\n
Agape\u2019s modern style is more than just a reference; it is employed in an entirely original manner that brings together structures and spaces. The spaces are designed not only for the purpose of simply being \u201clived in,\u201d but to also foster the many diverse relationships that spring up within them. This architecture style mirrored Ricci\u2019s definition of space as \u201csomething that is generated from the use you make of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Local materials were used, adhering to the principle of so-called \u201corganic architecture,\u201d while the use of alpine shapes is a reinterpretation of an idea that was put forward at that time by architects such as Mollino and Ponti. There is no central space. The main hall (\u201csalone\u201d) can be used for different purposes according to the time of day: it can be a meeting room, a dining hall, or an interactive space. This concept continues both conceptually and physically towards the open-air church. The main hall is a space that brings people together. It has many different potential uses, with a constantly ambiguous nature between internal and external space, which breaks with the perimeter of the walls and paths. Visual continuity is achieved thanks to the large windows.<\/p>\n
The entire structure acts as a roof for a path that starts with the outdoor stairs and leads up to the third \u201ccasetta,\u201d (literally small house, i.e. dormitory building) and then follows along the landscape of the mountain, thereby tracing the true element of centrality of the building: the human dimension in its community nature.[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/agapecentroecumenico.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/architettura-agape.jpg” title_text=”architettura-agape” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||4vw||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_accordion open_toggle_text_color=”#4FB948″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” toggle_font=”|800|||||||” toggle_font_size=”22px” custom_margin=”0px||||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_accordion_item open=”on” open_toggle_text_color=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” open_toggle_background_color=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” closed_toggle_background_color=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” icon_color=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” border_width_all=”0px” global_colors_info=”{}” toggle_text_color=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)”][\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”1.Tullio Vinay, Leonardo Ricci: designing the Ag\u00e0pe” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” open=”off”]\u201cTo build an alpine village, called Ag\u00e0pe-brotherly love \u2013 that can host many young people from all over the world for conferences and camps, both in summer and winter. AGAPE shall be the effigy of real love among the rocks of our mountains that have known the ugliness of war, \u2026 \u201d Tullio Vinay<\/p>\n
The lacerations of the Second World War lasted in the communities of the younger generations of Europe. At the end of the conflict, they were still frightened and disoriented and wanted to rebuild body and spirit after such a great tragedy. The creation of Ag\u00e0pe or, in other words, the love of God, lies in the context of a social, spiritual and political rebirth. Ag\u00e0pe, from theory, was transformed into a building with the project conceived by the Waldensian theologian and pastor Tullio Vinay and his friend and architect Leonardo Ricci.<\/p>\n
\u201cTherefore, Ag\u00e0pe materialized as a sign and possibility for a different world from the bloody and devastated world left by the Second World War \u2013 writes Vinay \u2013 and of a different humanity from the violent and rapacious, fanatic and murderous humanity, which has manifested itself in many situations in the course of our century in many different historical and ideological contexts\u201d. It is precisely this human aspect that guided Vinay in the development the idea of \u200b\u200bfounding an ecumenical center for theological reflection in the territory of Prali, a town set in the Cottian Alps in the Upper Germanasca Valley.<\/p>\n
\u201cAg\u00e0pe manifested itself as a vocation before actually becoming a project \u2013 writes Paolo Ricca \u2013 that is, as a mandatory call that cannot be evaded, as a divine intimation that bends the human will and drags it into an adventure of faith [\u2026]\u201d. The project saw the participation of volunteers seeking a new spiritual dimension by putting themselves at the service of the community, building something to share that goes beyond faith. To achieve this Vinay entrusted the task of building Ag\u00e0pe to his friend Leo Ricci, a Roman architect who was working in Florence. In June 1947, the first group of forty young volunteers began to arrive from all over Italy and later on, many others from all over the world. In just four years, despite enormous logistic, procurement and money difficulties, they were able to complete the work.<\/p>\n
Ag\u00e0pe was inaugurated on August 12th 1951!<\/p>\n
Today we are celebrating seventy years since its foundation, and with this exhibition, curated by Emanuele Piccardo and Andrea Sbaffi, we retrace the history of Ag\u00e0pe. We link Vinay\u2019s thinking, the landscape and the architecture of Ricci as a homogeneous unicum: a testimony of the spiritual reflection that is still relevant today. Emanuele Piccardo, Andrea Sbaffi.[\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”2. The postwar period and reconciliation” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” open=”off”]\u201cToday\u2019s youth grew up between two world wars and saw all kinds of ugliness and tribulation. Could it be that Ag\u00e0pe responds to the lively and profound desire of this youth, to put an end to all barriers, to put an end to hatred, resentment and the mud of sin, to write in Prali\u2019s monument of love a word that marks the beginning of a new life?\u201d Tullio Vinay<\/p>\n
The idea that sparked off the conception of Ag\u00e0pe, stems from the great turmoil that swept Europe at the end of the Second World War. The demand for reconstruction concerned not just the land and the cities devastated by the conflict, but also principally involved the social fabric and the delicate system of relations of the time.<\/p>\n
In this context, the younger generations and their \u201cthirst for novelty\u201d, as defined by Vinay himself, played a fundamental role. This triggering force could oppose the tragic experience of the war that had just ended. Many young people of the Waldensian Church, but not only, had participated in the Resistance or had suffered deportation and confinement. Due to the war, youth organizations had to interrupt their relations with international organizations that mostly belonged to the nations that had fought the Nazi-Fascist regimes. Ag\u00e0pe therefore became a solid vocation, turning into a call for young people from all over the world to roll up their sleeves and build a physical place to meet, and most importantly, a space for discussion, elaboration and concrete sharing of a \u201cnew\u201d model for society and interpersonal relationships.[\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”3. Tullio and Leo” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” open=”off”]The friendship between Tullio Vinay and Leonardo Ricci began in Florence where they both lived. Vinay was the Waldensian pastor of the city, Ricci taught at the faculty of architecture. He graduated in 1942 designing a theater, a theme which was also dear to his teacher Giovanni Michelucci, the father of Tuscan architecture. As Giovanni Bartolozzi points out in Leonardo Ricci Fare comunit\u00e0 [Making community], the war and the period he lived in, as well as contact with the existentialists in Paris, all formed his character and the community spirit that he later rediscovered in his friend Vinay. Ricci\u2019s great gift was the relational quality of space expressed in the design of the common areas in both Ag\u00e0pe and Riesi. By affiliating space, people and the natural context, he established the very theme of making community through architecture.<\/p>\n
\u201cBuilding on this earth \u2013 writes Ricci \u2013 is building in the kingdom of heaven. The walls of stone and lime that we raise are a laborious and loving conquest, and will be destroyed. However, we will find them together again after our earthly death. Dear Vinay \u2013 continues the architect \u2013 the article you asked of me has turned into a letter addressed to you, beloved friend. You are so much part of my life and because with you, I feel that human brotherhood has been made into an real object, a situation we have been trying in vain to achieve with all the people around us, be they murderers or prostitutes because of our weakness.\u201d<\/p>\n
This testifies the affection between Vinay and Ricci and the sharing of the same ideal of community: the former through spiritual and political thought, the latter through architectural research.[\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”4. The project” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” open=”off”]![\"\"](\"https:\/\/agapecentroecumenico.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/architettura-agape-Frontale_Ricci.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\u201cBuilding for Ag\u00e0pe is knowing that the soil on which the seed is sown is fertile; that it is continuously plowed and leavened by men like you [Vinay]; that the harvesters are young people who await and need the fruit that comes from the earth. Wonderful and joyful thing. For Ag\u00e0pe, all the rest has no value. The architect\u2019s pride no longer exists. There is a complete trust. I don\u2019t have the means I need, there is a lack of materials that I would like, I do not have specialized workers [\u2026] Yet, it is the first time that I feel I am building for a true, real thing. This is why I feel that while we may build fitfully and with errors, but we are doing our best and the result will be beautiful because it is the outcome of something loved by everyone\u201d. Leo Ricci<\/p>\n
Ag\u00e0pe was the first work of Leonardo Ricci, and he immediately demonstrated his ability to create tension between the inside and the outside. Light shapes the interiors and he draws vertical views of the surrounding mountains between the solidity of the stone partitions and the emptiness of the enormous windows. Ag\u00e0pe is, above all, the embodiment of the spiritual and political thought expressed by Vinay: to represent the needs of the young generation that came out of the war bewildered and disoriented, eager to take on the future. The participation of young volunteers, coming from all over the world and belonging to different religious confessions, demonstrates the universality of Vinay\u2019s work being carried out by Ricci in order to create community.<\/p>\n
The Casa Studio Ricci Archive preserved the sketches of the initial phase that highlight the cherished relationship with the landscape.<\/p>\n
Ricci writes: \u201cOutside and inside Ag\u00e0pe is an outflow from and a return to the community. There is space for a solitary individual, for a small group of chosen individuals, for the family, for the whole community\u201d.<\/p>\n
In Europe, the publication of the works of Frank Lloyd Wright influenced many Italian architects. A different version of organic architecture was created, one of which Ricci was one of the main interpreters. Thus, Ricci composed an organism that \u201cbegins its life by adhering to the nature that surrounds it\u201d. This is emphasized by Agape being rooted in the earth through a horizontal distribution of functions, albeit in a vertical, orographic context. This attitude constitutes the original element of Ricci\u2019s architectural poetics. The walking paths that connect the space intended as the meeting room and the three houses where the campers stay, add to that poetry, as does drawing the shape of the landscape at ground level. The use of poor materials (stone, glass, wood) defines the essential character of the architecture in Prali, that shows up again in Riesi at the Monte degli Ulivi Village.<\/p>\n
The drawings from the Ricci Collection of the CSAC (Studies and Archive Center of Communication in the University of Parma) represent the first version of the project that would be modified by Ricci himself during the construction site.[\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”5. The construction site” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” open=”off”]![\"\"](\"https:\/\/agapecentroecumenico.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/architettura-agape-i-7-della-calce.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
The decision to build Ag\u00e0pe was made during the youth camp held in August 1946 in Prali. In the same year, Vinay founded the magazine \u2018Giovent\u00f9 Evangelica\u2019 [Evangelical Youth], The aim was to give voice to the youth movement, which was hopeful for the future that was slowly forming and taking root. The process that led to the creation of the community of Ag\u00e0pe starts with raising funds and resorting to voluntary work, as Vinay\u2019s words once again testify:<\/p>\n
\u201c[\u2026] a youth union has promised us miners to blow up rocks and to give us stones. Others have pledged electricians and others have given window frames and locks \u2026 the biggest offers were made by the young people of Perrero- Maniglia who engaged in the manufacturing of 25 tonnes of lime, and by the young people of Prali, Fontane and Rodoretto, who have cut down a considerable number of larches (donated by the Municipality) and transported the timber to the construction site \u201c.<\/p>\n
At the beginning, in June 1947, the first group consisted of forty young people. International volunteers joined later on thanks to the work carried out by Vinay of disseminating the project in the many assemblies, both inside and outside the Waldensian Church. In Prali, the first difficulty was to identify the site. It had to be sunny and of a certain size to contain the \u2018village\u2019. It would not be too close to the other houses in the town. The Cr\u00f4 area was thus identified at 1500 meters above sea level, with a panoramic view of the mountains.<\/p>\n
The first planning idea came from the Waldensian engineer Nino Messina and Ricci offered his contribution later on. The tasks were shared: Messina was appointed to the structural part and the direction of the construction site, Ricci to the architectural design.<\/p>\n
The pictures of the Waldensian Photographic Archive portray how both adults and adolescents, both women and men participated with one goal: to build the community.[\/et_pb_accordion_item][\/et_pb_accordion][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”donare EN” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#4BC2C3″ bottom_divider_style=”mountains2″ bottom_divider_color=”#FFFFFF” bottom_divider_flip=”horizontal” border_color_all=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” global_module=”834″ saved_tabs=”all” collapsed=”on” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||2vw||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.20.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_text_color=”#FFFFFF” header_2_font_size=”70px” header_3_text_color=”#000000″ header_3_font_size=”40px” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” header_2_font_size_tablet=”50px” header_2_font_size_phone=”” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_3_font_size_tablet=”40px” header_3_font_size_phone=”” header_3_font_size_last_edited=”on|desktop” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
How to donate to Agape<\/h2>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_text_color=”#FFFFFF” header_2_font_size=”4vw” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Agape lives thanks to the support of all of us. If you wish to support us make a donation!<\/strong><\/p>\nvia bank transfer<\/strong>: Our bank account at Banca Popolare Etica
Account holder\u2019s name: Agape Centro Ecumenico
IBAN IT72A0501801000000000110460
BIC CCRTIT2T84A
ATTENTION<\/strong>: the following bank details are NOT<\/strong> to be used for the payment of registration fees or camp fees!<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.20.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_code _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n
“Love never ends”<\/em> Agape is a word that some people may find peculiar. It can be found in the New Testament where the term indicates God\u2019s love for human beings, but elsewhere it means simply \u201cspiritual\u201d love.<\/p>\n When the apostle Paul writes, in the first letter to the Corinthians, that \u201clove will never ends,\u201d he means that everything is destined to reach an end, but the love of God will accompany us forever. The Agape Ecumenical Centre was inspired by this same evangelical idea. In time, it tried to be a place where this idea could be experimented and experienced through the meeting and dialogue of all faiths and opinions. Agape continues to thrive thanks to the volunteer work of those who, every year, decide to dedicate some of their time to the collective commitment that benefits this shared project.[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Featured Artist” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#B0E09F” bottom_divider_style=”mountains2″ bottom_divider_color=”#FFFFFF” bottom_divider_flip=”horizontal” border_color_all=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” collapsed=”on” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||1vw||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_text_color=”#FFFFFF” header_2_font_size=”6vw” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Education is one of the most important elements of Agape\u2019s project. It is a field of constant research and confrontation for which definition this centre has been committed since the 1980s. Agape keeps questioning the education role it covers in in the activities it offers, adopting various methodologies and specially those of non-formal education, of peer-to-peer education, of participate and cooperative learning, and ludopedagogy.[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”|auto|2vw|auto|false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_enable_color=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_blurb title=”find out more” use_icon=”on” font_icon=”||divi||400″ icon_color=”#4FB948″ image_icon_background_color=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” image_icon_width=”90px” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_font=”|700||on|||||” header_text_align=”center” header_font_size=”20px” header_line_height=”0em” module_alignment=”center” link_option_url=”https:\/\/agapecentroecumenico.org\/en\/education\/” global_colors_info=”{}” icon_color__hover_enabled=”on|hover” icon_color__hover=”#FFFFFF”][\/et_pb_blurb][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Event Schedule” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_enable_color=”off” bottom_divider_style=”mountains2″ bottom_divider_color=”#4BC2C3″ border_color_all=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” border_color_bottom=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” collapsed=”on” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_font_size=”6vw” header_3_font=”|800|||||||” header_3_text_color=”#4FB948″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Those arriving at Agape for the first time are amazed by the fact that the centre was built in the mid 1900\u2019s. The new and original architecture could make one think that the building is more recent.<\/p>\n Vinay\u2019s dream became a reality thanks to Leonardo Ricci, one of the leading figures of modern Italian architecture in the post-Second World War era.<\/p>\n Agape\u2019s modern style is more than just a reference; it is employed in an entirely original manner that brings together structures and spaces. The spaces are designed not only for the purpose of simply being \u201clived in,\u201d but to also foster the many diverse relationships that spring up within them. This architecture style mirrored Ricci\u2019s definition of space as \u201csomething that is generated from the use you make of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Local materials were used, adhering to the principle of so-called \u201corganic architecture,\u201d while the use of alpine shapes is a reinterpretation of an idea that was put forward at that time by architects such as Mollino and Ponti. There is no central space. The main hall (\u201csalone\u201d) can be used for different purposes according to the time of day: it can be a meeting room, a dining hall, or an interactive space. This concept continues both conceptually and physically towards the open-air church. The main hall is a space that brings people together. It has many different potential uses, with a constantly ambiguous nature between internal and external space, which breaks with the perimeter of the walls and paths. Visual continuity is achieved thanks to the large windows.<\/p>\n The entire structure acts as a roof for a path that starts with the outdoor stairs and leads up to the third \u201ccasetta,\u201d (literally small house, i.e. dormitory building) and then follows along the landscape of the mountain, thereby tracing the true element of centrality of the building: the human dimension in its community nature.[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/agapecentroecumenico.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/architettura-agape.jpg” title_text=”architettura-agape” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||4vw||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_accordion open_toggle_text_color=”#4FB948″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” toggle_font=”|800|||||||” toggle_font_size=”22px” custom_margin=”0px||||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_accordion_item open=”on” open_toggle_text_color=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” open_toggle_background_color=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” closed_toggle_background_color=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” icon_color=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” border_width_all=”0px” global_colors_info=”{}” toggle_text_color=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)”][\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”1.Tullio Vinay, Leonardo Ricci: designing the Ag\u00e0pe” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” open=”off”]\u201cTo build an alpine village, called Ag\u00e0pe-brotherly love \u2013 that can host many young people from all over the world for conferences and camps, both in summer and winter. AGAPE shall be the effigy of real love among the rocks of our mountains that have known the ugliness of war, \u2026 \u201d Tullio Vinay<\/p>\n The lacerations of the Second World War lasted in the communities of the younger generations of Europe. At the end of the conflict, they were still frightened and disoriented and wanted to rebuild body and spirit after such a great tragedy. The creation of Ag\u00e0pe or, in other words, the love of God, lies in the context of a social, spiritual and political rebirth. Ag\u00e0pe, from theory, was transformed into a building with the project conceived by the Waldensian theologian and pastor Tullio Vinay and his friend and architect Leonardo Ricci.<\/p>\n \u201cTherefore, Ag\u00e0pe materialized as a sign and possibility for a different world from the bloody and devastated world left by the Second World War \u2013 writes Vinay \u2013 and of a different humanity from the violent and rapacious, fanatic and murderous humanity, which has manifested itself in many situations in the course of our century in many different historical and ideological contexts\u201d. It is precisely this human aspect that guided Vinay in the development the idea of \u200b\u200bfounding an ecumenical center for theological reflection in the territory of Prali, a town set in the Cottian Alps in the Upper Germanasca Valley.<\/p>\n \u201cAg\u00e0pe manifested itself as a vocation before actually becoming a project \u2013 writes Paolo Ricca \u2013 that is, as a mandatory call that cannot be evaded, as a divine intimation that bends the human will and drags it into an adventure of faith [\u2026]\u201d. The project saw the participation of volunteers seeking a new spiritual dimension by putting themselves at the service of the community, building something to share that goes beyond faith. To achieve this Vinay entrusted the task of building Ag\u00e0pe to his friend Leo Ricci, a Roman architect who was working in Florence. In June 1947, the first group of forty young volunteers began to arrive from all over Italy and later on, many others from all over the world. In just four years, despite enormous logistic, procurement and money difficulties, they were able to complete the work.<\/p>\n Ag\u00e0pe was inaugurated on August 12th 1951!<\/p>\n Today we are celebrating seventy years since its foundation, and with this exhibition, curated by Emanuele Piccardo and Andrea Sbaffi, we retrace the history of Ag\u00e0pe. We link Vinay\u2019s thinking, the landscape and the architecture of Ricci as a homogeneous unicum: a testimony of the spiritual reflection that is still relevant today. Emanuele Piccardo, Andrea Sbaffi.[\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”2. The postwar period and reconciliation” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” open=”off”]\u201cToday\u2019s youth grew up between two world wars and saw all kinds of ugliness and tribulation. Could it be that Ag\u00e0pe responds to the lively and profound desire of this youth, to put an end to all barriers, to put an end to hatred, resentment and the mud of sin, to write in Prali\u2019s monument of love a word that marks the beginning of a new life?\u201d Tullio Vinay<\/p>\n The idea that sparked off the conception of Ag\u00e0pe, stems from the great turmoil that swept Europe at the end of the Second World War. The demand for reconstruction concerned not just the land and the cities devastated by the conflict, but also principally involved the social fabric and the delicate system of relations of the time.<\/p>\n In this context, the younger generations and their \u201cthirst for novelty\u201d, as defined by Vinay himself, played a fundamental role. This triggering force could oppose the tragic experience of the war that had just ended. Many young people of the Waldensian Church, but not only, had participated in the Resistance or had suffered deportation and confinement. Due to the war, youth organizations had to interrupt their relations with international organizations that mostly belonged to the nations that had fought the Nazi-Fascist regimes. Ag\u00e0pe therefore became a solid vocation, turning into a call for young people from all over the world to roll up their sleeves and build a physical place to meet, and most importantly, a space for discussion, elaboration and concrete sharing of a \u201cnew\u201d model for society and interpersonal relationships.[\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”3. Tullio and Leo” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” open=”off”]The friendship between Tullio Vinay and Leonardo Ricci began in Florence where they both lived. Vinay was the Waldensian pastor of the city, Ricci taught at the faculty of architecture. He graduated in 1942 designing a theater, a theme which was also dear to his teacher Giovanni Michelucci, the father of Tuscan architecture. As Giovanni Bartolozzi points out in Leonardo Ricci Fare comunit\u00e0 [Making community], the war and the period he lived in, as well as contact with the existentialists in Paris, all formed his character and the community spirit that he later rediscovered in his friend Vinay. Ricci\u2019s great gift was the relational quality of space expressed in the design of the common areas in both Ag\u00e0pe and Riesi. By affiliating space, people and the natural context, he established the very theme of making community through architecture.<\/p>\n \u201cBuilding on this earth \u2013 writes Ricci \u2013 is building in the kingdom of heaven. The walls of stone and lime that we raise are a laborious and loving conquest, and will be destroyed. However, we will find them together again after our earthly death. Dear Vinay \u2013 continues the architect \u2013 the article you asked of me has turned into a letter addressed to you, beloved friend. You are so much part of my life and because with you, I feel that human brotherhood has been made into an real object, a situation we have been trying in vain to achieve with all the people around us, be they murderers or prostitutes because of our weakness.\u201d<\/p>\n This testifies the affection between Vinay and Ricci and the sharing of the same ideal of community: the former through spiritual and political thought, the latter through architectural research.[\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”4. The project” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” open=”off”] \u201cBuilding for Ag\u00e0pe is knowing that the soil on which the seed is sown is fertile; that it is continuously plowed and leavened by men like you [Vinay]; that the harvesters are young people who await and need the fruit that comes from the earth. Wonderful and joyful thing. For Ag\u00e0pe, all the rest has no value. The architect\u2019s pride no longer exists. There is a complete trust. I don\u2019t have the means I need, there is a lack of materials that I would like, I do not have specialized workers [\u2026] Yet, it is the first time that I feel I am building for a true, real thing. This is why I feel that while we may build fitfully and with errors, but we are doing our best and the result will be beautiful because it is the outcome of something loved by everyone\u201d. Leo Ricci<\/p>\n Ag\u00e0pe was the first work of Leonardo Ricci, and he immediately demonstrated his ability to create tension between the inside and the outside. Light shapes the interiors and he draws vertical views of the surrounding mountains between the solidity of the stone partitions and the emptiness of the enormous windows. Ag\u00e0pe is, above all, the embodiment of the spiritual and political thought expressed by Vinay: to represent the needs of the young generation that came out of the war bewildered and disoriented, eager to take on the future. The participation of young volunteers, coming from all over the world and belonging to different religious confessions, demonstrates the universality of Vinay\u2019s work being carried out by Ricci in order to create community.<\/p>\n The Casa Studio Ricci Archive preserved the sketches of the initial phase that highlight the cherished relationship with the landscape.<\/p>\n Ricci writes: \u201cOutside and inside Ag\u00e0pe is an outflow from and a return to the community. There is space for a solitary individual, for a small group of chosen individuals, for the family, for the whole community\u201d.<\/p>\n In Europe, the publication of the works of Frank Lloyd Wright influenced many Italian architects. A different version of organic architecture was created, one of which Ricci was one of the main interpreters. Thus, Ricci composed an organism that \u201cbegins its life by adhering to the nature that surrounds it\u201d. This is emphasized by Agape being rooted in the earth through a horizontal distribution of functions, albeit in a vertical, orographic context. This attitude constitutes the original element of Ricci\u2019s architectural poetics. The walking paths that connect the space intended as the meeting room and the three houses where the campers stay, add to that poetry, as does drawing the shape of the landscape at ground level. The use of poor materials (stone, glass, wood) defines the essential character of the architecture in Prali, that shows up again in Riesi at the Monte degli Ulivi Village.<\/p>\n The drawings from the Ricci Collection of the CSAC (Studies and Archive Center of Communication in the University of Parma) represent the first version of the project that would be modified by Ricci himself during the construction site.[\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”5. The construction site” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” open=”off”] The decision to build Ag\u00e0pe was made during the youth camp held in August 1946 in Prali. In the same year, Vinay founded the magazine \u2018Giovent\u00f9 Evangelica\u2019 [Evangelical Youth], The aim was to give voice to the youth movement, which was hopeful for the future that was slowly forming and taking root. The process that led to the creation of the community of Ag\u00e0pe starts with raising funds and resorting to voluntary work, as Vinay\u2019s words once again testify:<\/p>\n \u201c[\u2026] a youth union has promised us miners to blow up rocks and to give us stones. Others have pledged electricians and others have given window frames and locks \u2026 the biggest offers were made by the young people of Perrero- Maniglia who engaged in the manufacturing of 25 tonnes of lime, and by the young people of Prali, Fontane and Rodoretto, who have cut down a considerable number of larches (donated by the Municipality) and transported the timber to the construction site \u201c.<\/p>\n At the beginning, in June 1947, the first group consisted of forty young people. International volunteers joined later on thanks to the work carried out by Vinay of disseminating the project in the many assemblies, both inside and outside the Waldensian Church. In Prali, the first difficulty was to identify the site. It had to be sunny and of a certain size to contain the \u2018village\u2019. It would not be too close to the other houses in the town. The Cr\u00f4 area was thus identified at 1500 meters above sea level, with a panoramic view of the mountains.<\/p>\n The first planning idea came from the Waldensian engineer Nino Messina and Ricci offered his contribution later on. The tasks were shared: Messina was appointed to the structural part and the direction of the construction site, Ricci to the architectural design.<\/p>\n The pictures of the Waldensian Photographic Archive portray how both adults and adolescents, both women and men participated with one goal: to build the community.[\/et_pb_accordion_item][\/et_pb_accordion][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”donare EN” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#4BC2C3″ bottom_divider_style=”mountains2″ bottom_divider_color=”#FFFFFF” bottom_divider_flip=”horizontal” border_color_all=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” global_module=”834″ saved_tabs=”all” collapsed=”on” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||2vw||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.20.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_text_color=”#FFFFFF” header_2_font_size=”70px” header_3_text_color=”#000000″ header_3_font_size=”40px” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” header_2_font_size_tablet=”50px” header_2_font_size_phone=”” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_3_font_size_tablet=”40px” header_3_font_size_phone=”” header_3_font_size_last_edited=”on|desktop” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_text_color=”#FFFFFF” header_2_font_size=”4vw” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Agape lives thanks to the support of all of us. If you wish to support us make a donation!<\/strong><\/p>\n via bank transfer<\/strong>: Our bank account at Banca Popolare Etica [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.20.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_code _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
\n1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NRSV)<\/p><\/blockquote>\nEducation<\/h2>\n
Architecture<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\nHow to donate to Agape<\/h2>\n
Account holder\u2019s name: Agape Centro Ecumenico
IBAN IT72A0501801000000000110460
BIC CCRTIT2T84A
ATTENTION<\/strong>: the following bank details are NOT<\/strong> to be used for the payment of registration fees or camp fees!<\/p>\n