Festival of the two Parks....along the trails of art and culture among peoples
The Festival intends to highlight the "common sense" of a creative part of the territory of the two National Parks of Monti Sibillini and Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga, straddling the Italian regions: Abruzzo, Marche, Lazio, Umbria, in order to let citizens responsibly and creatively regain a sense of belonging to the territories, to protect and valorize them, with the languages of art, culture and sport starting from the wonderful environmental, naturalistic and cultural microcosm
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
No
No
Yes
2022-12-18
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): CIAC - Centro Internazionale Antropoartistico Counseling Type of organisation: Non-profit organisation First name of representative: Italia Gabriella Last name of representative: SORGI Gender: Female Nationality: Italy Function: President Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Corso di Sotto 49 Town: Ascoli Piceno Postal code: 63100 Country: Italy Direct Tel:+39 0736 250818 E-mail:info@festivaldeidueparchi.it Website:http://www.festivaldeidueparchi.it
The “Festival dei due Parchi … along the trails... of art and culture among peoples" was born in 2010 on the initiative of Dr Gabriella SORGI and the Institute CIAC – Center International AnthropoArtistic Counseling, founded by her in the town of Ascoli Piceno.
The Festival intends to highlight the "common sense" of a creative part of the territory of the two National Parks of Monti Sibillini and Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga, straddling the Italian regions: Abruzzo, Marche, Lazio, Umbria, in order to let citizens responsibly and creatively regain a sense of belonging to the territories, to protect and valorize them, with the languages of art, culture and sport starting from the wonderful environmental, naturalistic and cultural microcosm.
The Festival drives citizens, businesses, associations and institutions to gather and valorize the emerging energies of these territories, the energies of yesterday, today and those aiming at tomorrow, which, just like the protected animals and botanical species are not easily glimpsed. The Festival proposes a deep love for the beauty of nature, of artistic, cultural, anthropological and social traditions, rediscovering them through creative events able to let the intention of continuity prevail, in the sacredness of Nature and the Environment: sacredness that springs from the sacrifices that hard life brings you, along with the demanding and tiring experiences that require training and long times, such as when you climb the peaks, the slopes, the cliffs and, finally, you reach those wonderful places where you feel the beauty vibrate "within of you and all around you".
No external beauty would be the same if that tiring journey, that harsh training, didn't come to make it sacred. This is why the events of the Festival, retracing ancient sheep tracks which are physical places, but also life experiences lived on the skin, listen to people, stories, places, evocations, broken promises, aspirations, giving them shape and voice
Co-creation and sense of belonging
Experiential events
regeneration
Experiential events
well being
The Festival proposes itself as an opportunity of encounter amongst people, of exchange and fusion amongst arts and cultures for the protection and valorization of the natural and cultural heritage to be preserved also, and above all, for the future generations: "I entrust myself to the soul you can breathe in these places, in the dream of seeing today's young people who might feel the spirits of their ancestors, in the paths of the time that was, for the time that is and will be" (cit. Sorgi): this is one of the "mottos".
The Festival has proposed an original and creative way, respectful of places and ecosystems, to allow citizens to rediscover a unique natural and cultural heritage through experiential cultural and sporting events to discover the National Parks of Monti Sibillini and Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga, and neighboring territories, of their “Natura 2000” sites and related Sites of Community Interest (SIC), Special Areas of Conservation (ZSC) and Special Protection Areas (ZPS).
Besides bringing to the attention of participants the typical faunal and vegetable peculiarities, the agricultural and traditional breeding practices, the organization of all the events entails the preventive assessments of potential environmental impacts on the ecosystems involved, adopting measures aimed at neutralize such impacts (if any) with the goal of organizing zero-impact events in terms of waste generation, noise pollution, while minimizing energy consumption.
Moreover, the Festival:
- has reopened numerous trails, thanks to the annual cleaning activities, also contributing to the restoration of important paths useful for the prevention and fight against forest fires;
- has been removing (and still does) wastes of various kinds abandoned in the paths and sites interested by its events.
Finally, as regards the promotion of sustainability, a special mention to the Festival's National Poetry Contest aimed at involving young students on environmental issues
The Festival proposes to the participants an original manner of enjoying natural beauty, for instance in the mountain area of the two national parks, with the idea that the participants themselves might create a new choral beauty, embodied in the experiential artistic, cultural, sporting events, by inspiring them through the rediscovery, the valorization of the emerging energies of these territories, those from yesterday, today and those aimed to tomorrow, which, just like the protected animals and botanical species are not easily glimpsed. The Festival proposes a deep love for the beauty of nature, of artistic, cultural, anthropological and social traditions, rediscovering them through creative events able to let the intention of continuity prevail, in the sacredness of Nature and the Environment: sacredness that springs from the sacrifices that hard life brings you, along with the demanding and tiring experiences that require training and long times, such as when you climb the peaks, the slopes, the cliffs and, finally, you reach those wonderful places where you feel the beauty vibrate "within of you and all around you".
No external beauty would be the same if that tiring journey, that harsh training, didn't come to make it sacred. This is the reason why its events do not arise simply from pre-packaged solutions or effective recipes of fashionable theories, able to grant the utmost visibility and attractiveness. The Festival prefers its own languages and manners, like the subtitle clarifies it’s a matter of moving "along the paths of art and culture among peoples", retracing ancient sheep tracks both as physical places, but also as life experiences lived on one’s skin, listening to people, stories, places, suggestions, evocations, broken promises, aspirations, trying to give them shape and voice.
First of all, it is necessary to highlight how the Festival dei due Parchi is born and takes place mainly in remote mountain areas characterized for many decades by dynamics that have impoverished the social and economic fabric and whose critical issues have culminated, in more recent times, in the devastating and dramatic seismic events of 2016-2017, which caused invaluable losses, pains, damages and devastations, where the rubble of the buildings and infrastructures destroyed by the earthquake are still present, and decades will be need to rebuild.
The Festival has continued to animate such territories even in the most difficult post-earthquake periods and has recently continued to operate, within existing rules, even during the recent pandemic emergency.
The Festival aims at granting the utmost accessibility to its events, for instance by proposing routes with differentiated difficulty for athletes who compete in running events or for those who intend to simply enjoy mountain or rural paths by walking/hiking, with specific routes for families, parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren so that they can spend quality time together with cultural or sport experiences. To this purpose we can mention the run and walk in the vineyards where children can directly experience the grape harvest.
The Festival operates according to an organizational model that entails the encounter and cooperation of all the subjects of all those operating in the area, whether they are public bodies, businesses, associations, ordinary citizens, sharing with them the annual program of events, also in order to avoid concomitance with other realities, even outside the territory, or by democratically deciding with participants and interested parties postponement/cancellation of events, for instance due to bad weather.
The participation fees are differentiated to encourage participation; some events are based on donations; other are totally free
The Festival has involved, asking for a direct commitment of citizens and civil society both as regards organizing or taking part in the events. As for the organization:
- both inhabitants and local associations of the places where the events are held are involved in the definition of routes for running and hiking events as well as in the cleaning and signposting of said trails paths and in the removal of waste; they are also involved in the preparation of refreshment points with food and drinks along the route also to ensure the safety of the participants, in celebration of the “animus loci”, of today's custodians of yesterday's and today's traditions in continuity.
Local businesses, farmers, breeders and artisans have always been involved through their products, used for prizes and welcome packs, or as refreshments for the participants, who are also welcome in local accommodation facilities and restaurants to discover local gastronomy and wine traditions.
The teachers and students of the dance, music and art schools have been involved in the realization of the artistic reviews with their own music, choreographies and artistic creations.
The teachers and their pupils of local schools have been involved in the National Poetry Contest of the two Parks through the writing of poems on topics related to environmental and local sustainability, including the traditions of taste, smells, colors and affirm the "common sense of feelings", to the discovery of the value and importance of nature, of contemplation and preservation of natural beauties and in particular those of the National Parks of Monti Sibillini and Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga.
Athletes and walkers were involved in the events to discover the art of running as an art of living wisely, as an art of reconquering one's body in the fusion between nature and soul, as a physical and spiritual experience
All the Festival editions have been awarded the patronage of the Marche Region, of the Managing Authorities of the National Parks of Monti Sibillini and Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga, as well as of all the Municipalities hosting the Festival events; the same entities have always been involved in the planning of the Festival since its inception and are involved constantly in relation to the planning of the events and the corresponding support they can make available, in the mutual commitment to renew the pact for the life and for the choral beauty of the communities and territories where the Festival operates.
The municipal administrations, in particular, have always been involved in guaranteeing the safety of the participants in the events through the civil protection service, local police and mountain rescue where necessary.
CONI - the Italian National Olympic Committee and the other Sports For All Committees were involved in the planning and organization of the Festival’s sport events.
Physicians and local associations were involved and made themselves available to deliver medical and health assistance at all events.
Local sport associations along with existing organizations for the promotion of local territories have always been involved in defining the calendar of events to avoid concomitance and ensure harmony. Local businesses, especially companies of typical local products (cheese, bread and sweets, legumes, wine, beer, honey, etc.) engaged themselves, offering their products of excellence so that the Festival could offer them to the participants as prizes and welcome packs, contributing to the visibility of local products even outside the territory of origin.
The involvement of various actors in the area has contributed to making the events of the Festival possible. The Festival has great credibility from institutions, businesses and citizens, even without huge financial resources, which has helped offer quality experiences and safety to participants
The “Festival dei due Parchi, along the trails … of art and culture among peoples" was born on the initiative of Dr. Gabriella Sorgi, psychotherapist, sociologist, anthropologist, international trainer, within the activities of the Center International Antropoartistic Counseling (CIAC), for creative enterprises and communication. The Festival is multi-disciplinary and intersectoral in its DNA as it is based on Anthropoartistic Counseling, centered on the "Anthropos" (the person) which is not a technical concept, despite being based on psychological, sociological, anthropological knowledge, rather an artistic concept, focused on the ability to improvise and communicate, to understand the needs and potential for an immediate activation of effective and realistic solutions centered on the human values of art, culture and sport as an input to action, to overcome challenges and concrete limits, using all the means available to establish communication and constructive dialogue between people, between different organizations.
The conception and realization of the project-Festival along its creative events is therefore based on the following disciplines and fields of knowledge:
-human sciences: anthropology, sociology, psychology, neuroscience, philosophy
-artistic disciplines such as: poetry, literature, music, dance, cinema, painting and sculpture
- sports and physical activity: athletics and in particular running, hiking, psycho-motor disciplines
-environmental and land sciences.
The interaction between the disciplines and fields of knowledge and its original synthesis took place within the Center International Antropoartistic Counseling (CIAC) and in particular its 3-year course in anthropoartistic and cultural-sports counseling, where the Festival operators were trained and who have contributed, in choral creativity, to conceiving and giving life to the Festival events year after year, making this synthesis available to participants and other actors involved
Since its inception in 2010, the Festival:
- has given life to dozens of cultural-artistic and sporting events in the territory of at least 15 municipalities included in the territory of the two National Parks of Monti Sibillini and Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga or adjacent to them, involving the territory of 4 regions and 5 provinces, involving over the years thousands of people, institutions, companies and associations. The Festival has also stimulated the spirit of emulation on the same territories, inspiring other people, institutions and associations to rediscover and animate the interested area with other cultural and sporting events outside of those of the Festival.
- it has reopened several trails, forgotten and no longer in use, rediscovered thanks to the work of in-field investigation, trough the creative dialogue with inhabitants; these trails have been reopened with a constant work of trimming the vegetation and maintenance over time, so that citizens could also use them beyond the events organized by the Festival. The reopened and cleaned trails have become a destination for hikers and sportsmen from all areas of Italy, granting additional tourist flows, benefits for all local economic activities, not just accommodation facilities and restaurants.
- has retraced the ancient sheep tracks of the mountain shepherds, inaugurating the trails of spirituality with the "Pilgrimages of the good shepherd", rediscovering the ancient mountain churches, where the prayers are heard echoing in the woods, valleys, rivers, as an opportunity for multi-cultural and multi-confessional encounters, bringing together and unifying representatives of the various confessions and religious communities present in the area towards an uphill trail.
First of all, the Festival has pioneered the re-discovery of the mountain areas of the two National Parks of Monti Sibillini and Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga, enlivening them through cultural-artistic and sporting events, retracing the ancient sheep tracks to highlight the "common sense" of a creative part of the territory, inspiring citizens to re-develop, responsibly and creatively, a sense of belonging of the territories to protect and valorize them, also in the perspective of subsidiarity and complementarity with institutions.
The Festival got started from a wonderful environmental, naturalistic and cultural microcosm of the so-called “minor Italy”, from the blue mountains (Monti Sibillini), as the poet Giacomo Leopardi liked to call them, and in particular from their south-eastern "magic side" which continues without interruption in the Monti della Laga, with the aim of gathering and valorizing with respectful and appropriate languages the energies that dwell here, those emerging from yesterday, today and those aiming to tomorrow, making the intention of continuity prevail, to the detriment of “ephemeral”, which does not suit the sacredness of the mountain; sacredness that comes from the sacrifices towards which hardship brings everyone, the demanding and tiring experiences that require training and long times, such as when you climb the peaks, the slopes, the cliffs and, finally, you reach those wonderful places where you feel the beauty vibrate " inside you and all around you.
No external beauty would be the same if that tiring journey, that harsh training, didn't come to make it sacred. That’s the reason why the events of the Festival, the most traditional ones as well as the new ones flourishing every year, don't come from pre-packaged solutions according to fashionable theories, able to grant the best visibility and attractiveness. The Festival prefers languages and manners of its own "along the trails of art and culture among peoples"
Each and every Festival’s event tells of the love for this land of those who were born here, of those who were welcomed here, of the great or humble talents or geniuses who have found here their shelters. It wants to do it without revealing too much, subduedly, respecting that character, of that particular encounter between man and the environment shaped in this land over the centuries and which is unique. The Festival looks for suitable languages, metaphors to give new wings to broken dreams or loves. And it hopes! The Festival hopes that these might be able to fly again, like the eagles, again and for a long time above the peaks, until evening, until you discover that the night bows in front of Monte Vettore and hands it the halo of the sacred, emanating purple glows before letting it doze off.
As already mentioned, the Festival dei due Parchi is based on the original and innovative methodology of Antrpoartistic Counseling conceived and developed by Dr. Sorgi, psychotherapist, sociologist, anthropologist, international trainer, within the CIAC – Center International Anthropoartistic Counseling for creative enterprises and communication. Anthropoartistic Counseling is centered around the "Anthropos" (the person), not as a technical concept, rather as an artistic concept, which is based on the ability to improvise and communicate, to understand the needs and potential for an immediate activation of effective and realistic solutions centered on the human values of art, culture and sport as an input to action, to overcome concrete challenges and limits, using all the means available to establish communication and constructive dialogue amongst people, amongst different organizations.
Carrying out the project-Festival according to this methodology is possible due to the fact that the Festival’s staff members were trained within the three-year course in anthropoartistic and cultural-sports counseling to learn such methodology
The methodology and above all the feeling of the Festival can be transferred to other places and contexts, always respecting the differences and specificities of each "animus loci".
Walking on the ancient sheep tracks of our ancestors, to get closer to the sky is in fact the common desire of every person and every people of good will who dreams and believes in hard work and sacrifice.
Hiking uphill in mountain trails reminds us that there is the hope of giving ourselves and obtaining those possibilities for the improvement, for ourselves, for our countries, for the whole world, in the awareness that togetherness can create beauty (cit. Dr. Italia Gabriella SORGI).
In every place of the world there is a heritage of humanity to be protected and valorized so that women and men who will walk along these trails can enjoy such wonderful legacies and create new ones (cit. Dr. Italia Gabriella SORGI).
The Festival humbly intends to testify that the encounter amongst persons, different peoples and cultures is possible: "The fusion of the Sacred and the Profane is Beauty for Peace, it is a Work of Art created by the humble, simple and strong hands of the men of good will” (cited by Dr. Italia Gabriella SORGI).
The Festival testifies that it is possible to protect the heritage of humanity, to protect the tangible and intangible natural and cultural heritages, through their cultural-artistic valorization, to let women and men of today and tomorrow enjoy these wonderful legacies
