THE MAISON DE LA PAIX

 

 CASA UNIVERSALE DELLE CULTURE

The Maison de la Paix - Casa Universale delle Culture is a place strongly representative, in which will convey the knowledge of the different identities and cultures, structuring permanently initiatives aimed at the spreading of peace, necessary for the shared development.

The Maison de la Paix - Casa Universale delle Culture (MdP) is a project conceived by Michele Capasso, approved by many Countries and international organizations. It is an architecture that keeps the memory of many Peace activities which created history, often more than the wars, but it is – above all – a space "to build” Peace.

The architectonical complex has an important symbolic worth: it represents the Countries of the World engaged in the Peace process and the Countries victim of the conflicts.

Proposed by the Fondazione Mediterraneo with the “Maison des Alliances” – together with the main adherent organizations, such as the Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly, the League of Arab States, the "Anna Lindh" Euro-Mediterranean Foundation and others, the MdP represents a referent point for all the ones who dedicate their lives to peace.

The symbol of the MdP is the "Totem for Peace", an artwork by the Italian sculptor Mario Molinari which the Fondazione Mediterraneo is promoting all around the world, creating the network of the "Cities for Peace".

The first seat of the MdP was inaugurated on the 14th of June 2010 (Maison de la Paix - Casa Universale delle Culture) in the historical building of the Grand Hotel de Londres in Naples.

The action of the Maison de la Paix - Casa Universale delle Culture aims at improving the main activities of the "Universal Forum of Cultures" in: Barcelona (2004), Monterrey (2007), Valparaiso (2010) and Naples (2013).

The Maison de la Paix performs most of the initiatives jointly with the Maison de la Méditerranée.

 

THE TOTEM OF PEACE WITH THE URN OF UNKNOWN MIGRANT IN OCCASION OF THE 150° ANNIVERSARY OF PORT CAPTAINCY – GUARD COAST

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Napoli | 21 March 2015
Parent Category: Iniziative (EN) - Category: Maison de la Paix (EN)

Saturday 21 March 2015 at 19 o’clock, after a moment of common prayer, the urn with the remains of  “Unknown Migrant” was blessed. The urn was put in the “Totem of Peace” which has been realised in Naples Harbour as a symbol of the migrants who lost their lives in the sea.
The project of the artwork dates back to the 2011, when the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean – under which are gathered Mediterranean Countries- and other international institutions – decided to celebrate the 21 March as “Day of the Mediterranean and the Migrant”.
The International Committee of Fondazione Mediterraneo, on date 2 July 2014, decided to dedicate the “Totem of Peace” with the remains of the “Unknown Migrant” to all migrants who lost their dignity, freedom and peace. This was a promise made to Francis Pope in occasion of His first visit in Lampedusa in July  2013, promise made in order to fight the so called “globalization of indifference” and focus the attention on our brothers lost in the sea.
The artwork of the sculptor Molinari – love and hope message – has been installed in the square of the  Maritime Station of Naples Port, from where in the last century, thousands of migrants left in order to find work and dignity.
Fondazione Mediterraneo donated it to Port Captaincy – Coast Guard in occasion of the 150° anniversary of their establishment (1865-2015), as a sign of their being grateful  to the 11.000 men and women who everyday risk their lives in order to save migrants from hunger and violence.
The urn coming from Lampedusa will be put in the “Totem of Peace”, as a fraternity gesture towards victims of the sea. The men who will put the urn in the totem will the members of Port Captaincy- Coast Guard –to who Francis Pope – welcoming a delegation in Vatican on 17 February–addressed with these words:

“I do admire you, I mean it: I feel little if I compare myself to the job you do every day, risking your lives and I really thank you for this. I support you as much as I can: with prayers, supportive words and love.”.

 

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MEETING: “THE CONTRAST TO MAFIA AT LOCAL, REGIONAL AND NATIONAL LEVEL”

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Roma | 25 March 2015
Parent Category: Iniziative (EN) - Category: Maison de la Paix (EN)

The meeting “The contrast to mafia at local, regional and national level took place in the New Hall of the House at the presence of the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella. The meeting was sponsored by the Anti-mafia Parliamentary Commission. It was the first time that such a meeting, aiming at analysing the situation in the fight to organized criminality in different territorial institutions, was sponsored by the Parliament. Such a need was due to the evolution of mafia power which is showing an outsourcing of criminal interests and a settlement capacity in all Italian regions. Joined the meeting the President of the Parliament Laura Boldrini, and the President of Senate, Piero Grasso. Rosy Bindi, President of Parliamentary Commission Anti-mafia presented the report “The action of public powers in the mafia struggle: the role of Parliamentary Commission”. After, there was a speech about “The action of regional governments” which joined Stefano Caldoro, Campania President Region and Rosario Crocetta, Sicily Region President. The issue “Role of Mayors” has been discussed by the mayors of Reggio Calabria and Milan Giuseppe Falcomatà and Giuliano Pisapia.
The meeting continued in the afternoon at 14:30 when don Luigi Ciotti gave a speech titled “Associations question local and national institutions” which was followed by a discussion among Parliamentary Commission and regional ones. In conclusion there was a speech by Rosy Bindi.
Salvatore Càlleri, Michele Capasso and Pia Molinari joined the meeting  in behalf of Fondazione Mediterraneo and Caponnetto Foundation –which gave birth together to “Mediterranean Observatory about Organized Criminality and Mafias”.

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POPE FRANCIS IN NAPLES AND THE MONUMENT DEDICATED TO THE UNKNOWN MIGRANT. “MIGRANTS ARE NOT SECOND CLASS CITIZENS”

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Napoli | 21 March 2015
Parent Category: Iniziative (EN) - Category: Maison de la Paix (EN)

During His pastoral visit the Holy Father Francis dedicated particular attention to the migrants.
His words were:

I would like to answer to the sister who spoke in behalf of migrants and homeless people.
She asked for a word which ensures that migrants too are citizens and God’s sons. Is it necessary to arrive at this point? Are migrants second class human beings? We owe let our migrant sisters and brothers that they are citizens as us, God’s sons, they are migrants as us, because we are all migrants to somewhere and maybe we all arrive it. Nobody has to lose the road. We are all migrants, we are all sons of a God who put us in walk. It is not possible to say: “Migrants are in this way and we are in this way”. No! We are all migrants, we are all walking a path. This sentence is not written on a book, but is in our flesh, life path which ensures us that we are migrants, we are all walking and this ensure us that in Jesus we are all sons of God, beloved, desired and saved. Let’s think about this: we are all migrants in the life path, nobody as a stable house in this world, everyone has to go. And we have to go to God: one by one or as that old clever man: “Yes, of course, you can start going, I’ll come as last.”

These words had been pronounced just few minutes before the departure of the Holy Father while he was passing before the Monument with the urn of the “Unknown Migrant” , blessing the participants. In the monument has been hosted the urn with the remains of the “Unknown Migrant”.

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