Fra’ Sole on the threshold of the third year

“Love for the environment brings with it both value and profit on a number of levels: on the one hand, it reduces costs, thanks to the possibility of using capital for energy saving and sustainability measures, while on the other, it makes an effective, practical contribution to caring for Earth, our common home; and lastly, with it comes a sense of coherence and satisfaction with regard to the original ecology manifesto written by Saint Francis: the Canticle of the Sun, which provides us with the inspiration for the essential values of peace and harmony between humankind and creation”

With these words fra’ Mauro Gambetti, Custodian Father of the Sacred Convent, describes the spirit with which the franciscan religious community decided to start the project Fra’ Sole.

Almost two years have passed since the project has been signed off by its promoters. The agreement envisaged a number of interventions for the reduction of the environmental footprint of the Monumental Complex of Assisi, of the friars community that lives there and of the millions of pilgrims that every year visit the site.

“Each one of us must share responsibility for the need to pursue a sustainable approach based on equity within and between the generations, with a view to improving the living conditions of the poorest populations on Earth and future generations”

That is how Walter Ganapini, General Manager of ARPA Umbria, an honored member of the scientific committee of the European Environment Agency, outlines the spirit that has characterize the project since its beginning. Now, after achieving its first goals, Fra’ Sole looks at the future actions that lie ahead, also thanks to the entry of new partners.

Now want to tell this path to disseminate the message of sustainability and ecology of Fra’ Sole. The document we have drawn up is available in 4 different languages: Italian, English, Spanish and Polish, and, step by step, it allows to analyze its different themes.

Important objectives have been achieved to date, however the path is anything but concluded, and, thanks to the adhesion of new organisations, new interventions and solutions have been identified, as Giuseppe Lanzi, Project Coordinator and Managing Director of Sisifo, explains:

“Not only Waste, Water and Energy, but also the relationship with money, with the local area and with visitors to the Monumental Complex of Assisi. The fact that Fra’ Sole has become a common action for Ethical Financing and for the Circular Economy is another positive outcome that we will continue to work on, inspired by the Integral Ecology approach foreseen by Pope Francis.”

In the file you can read the thoughts of each partner about the nature of the project and the contribution that each of them bring and will continue to bring to Fra’ Sole: distinct voices of a single chorus that compose the spirit and the objectives of the project.

Currently the brochures of the project have already been distributed during two important events:

• the General Chapter of Friars Minor Conventual in Assisi, that have gathered between May and June the spokespeople of the order from all around the world;
• the Shareholder’s Assembly of Banca Etica, held in Bologna and Bilbao;

• here for the English version;
• here for the Italian version;
• here for the Spanish version;
• here for the Polish version;