FOREWORD

If we understand the word “culture”to mean the sum of experiences and values that each individual has made his/her own in the course of living, we can appreciate the premises on which rests the Project for the Multivalent Cultural Center of La Rocca.

Such a Project is born out of social and cultural experiences that we, the Center’s founding members, have had as professionals, entrepreneurs and craftsmen. Every one of us has felt the need to come together to share personal experiences and to seek a way to appreciate and communicate them to others through cultural and formative initiatives.

In recent times the concepts of health and well-being have often changed meaning but more and more it has become evident that they coincide with the need of each individual to establish satisfactory social and interpersonal relationships. To take good care of oneself includes the ability to seize opportunities in order to satisfy the need to communicate, to establish relationships that can enrich one’s experiences and cultural patrimony. Even in painful situations a greater ability to understand and to start a dialogue can help the integration, the socialization and the growth of each one involved.

“Free time” must be understood not as idleness but as an opportunity in which each one of us can evaluate his/her formative process through activities based on the arts, culture, sports and recreation. This process can become therapeutic and able to cure psycophysical pathologies or, at least, to prevent them.

In brief, these are the principles sustaining our Project for the Multivalent Cultural Center of La Rocca., a place which aims at being ideal for reflection, confrontation and comparison, for an exchange of ideas and experiences through a variety of activities in the hope of contributing to the formation and growth of the whole civil society.

THE PLACE

In order to realize such premises it was necessary to find a place with special characteristics, in an environment ecologically protected and endowed with an important cultural and historical background.

After many and long searches, we have found a place where every corner has been witness to important historical events, even if some recent ones have been very sad. The whole experience, though, we trust, can help those who come in contact with it and its message of love and peace to become more aware and better human beings.

ROCCA DI MALFOLLE --- SIBANO DI MARZABOTTO

The Rocca di Malfolle is located about 6 kilometers ( 3.5 miles) west of Marzabotto ( 15 miles south of Bologna). After passing Pian di Venola, it is reached by turning right at the church of Sibano. By climbing through woody paths, one can enjoy a magnificent panorama looking out on the valley of the river Reno and on the Monte Sole Park..

In the location of Malfolle there are interesting medieval constructions such as the XIV century Torre delle Lame and the Oratory of St. Niccolo’ of Bezzano.

MARZABOTTO AND ITS TERRITORY --- History and Remembrances

The town of Marzabotto is located on the Appennine mountains 24 kilometers ( 15 miles ) from Bologna. Near the town, from excavations started in 1831 and continuing to the present, the remains of MISA, an important Etruscan city that flourished between the VI and the IV centuries B.C., have been brought to light. Misa was on the border of the region called Etruria ( roughly modern Tuscany ) and the Etruscan settlement in the Po valley. The Etruscans represent from the VIII century B.C. the first Italic technologically and culturally advanced civilization. Their origins have been the subject of long and heated debates given the lack, to this day, of the equivalent of a Rosetta Stone that would allow us to interpret the written documents that have come down to us.
It is well known, though, that the Romans inherited many of their achievements in construction, metal working, civil and political institutions.

In order to protect and promote the study of the Etruscan legacy, the Museo Archeologico Nazionale Etrusco was built in 1949 on the site of the excavations.

Unfortunately, the recent history of Marzabotto reminds us of the tragic events of WWII. In 1944
in the area of Marzabotto took place one of gravest acts of retaliation against civilians. The city has erected a Sanctuary to honor the dead and to spur the living to a pacific dialogue among citizens of all origins and nationalities.

We strongly feel that it is our duty to educate the young, by remembering the past, to civil cohabitation with respect for social and political ideas in the name of tolerance and peace.
To this end, the School for Peace was created inside the Monte Sole Park where the slaughter took place in 1944.

In this environment, surrounded by chestnut and cherry trees and pastures, stands the Rocca di Malfolle, with its buildings that , in part, go back to the Middle Ages. La Rocca di Malfolle from an altitude of 350 meters from sea level ( ca. 1100 feet) dominates the Porrettana, one of the main roads from Bologna to Florence, and it offers to each one who goes there a place to meditate and rediscover one’s self in direct contact with nature.

THE PROJECT

In this place rich in history, values and life messages, we wish to realize our project because we feel that it simultaneously complements and values our experiences and it offers us the opportunity to pass them on to others.

La Rocca di Malfolle

The project foresees the ordinary maintenance of the building by safeguarding the ancient structure and the surrounding vegetation.

The building will be used as living quarters for the operators and the spaces resulting from the restoration of the stables and hayloft will be used for cultural and recreational activities. Part of this space can be used for teaching crafts that are, for the most part, disappearing, such as blacksmithing for the creation of objects in wrought iron, furniture restoration and carpentry.
These activities can offer an opportunity for social integration to disadvantaged people and immigrant workers.

The outdoors can be equipped for sport activities that respect the ecological equilibrium such as cross country skiing, mountain-biking, orienteering, horseback riding, hiking and gymnastics.
The project foresees the participation and integration of all welcoming local structures and hotels at times of meetings and for initiatives lasting several days. These structures include the Marzabotto townhall, the School for Peace of Monte Sole, the Archeological Museum, the Pro Loco and other local associations.

A. R. I. E. T. E.
Association of Researchers for Ideas, Experiences and Techniques Educational
TEL. +39.333.3706083
e-mail: info@arieteweb.it