“Jubilee 2025 – In cammino – Abbeys of Europe” made a stop on October 1st in Cisternino, in the province of Brindisi, at the former Basilian Abbey, now the Mother Church of San Nicola di Pàtara.

The word chosen for this fourteenth meeting was: “Community”.

Cisternino is one of the most beautiful villages in Italy, and from the viewpoint of the gardens in front of the Mother Church, one can see the panorama of vineyards, olive groves, farmhouses, and the characteristic trulli of the Itria Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Built during the Norman era and altered in the following centuries, the Church of San Nicola di Pàtara stands on the same site where, in medieval times, the Basilian monks established an Abbey, a meeting point for cultural exchange between East and West. Beneath the building, visitors can explore the archaeological remains of the ancient Church, featuring a semicircular apse and a single nave.

Cisternino is also known for its “fornelli”, small taverns where typical meat specialties are prepared at all hours, keeping alive a tradition of hospitality that has deep roots in the history of this community.

The stop in Puglia began on the day of our arrival, Monday, September 30th, with a visit in the early afternoon to the “Progresso Agricolo Cooperative” in the Fasano countryside, welcomed by President Nicola Pentassuglia and other directors. The cooperative, established in 1977 by a group of about thirty farmers, now has over one hundred members and covers an area of more than one thousand hectares, making it one of the largest production entities in the area. The two-hundred-square-meter facility houses an olive oil mill, a fruit and vegetable warehouse, and two processing lines for vegetables, which are exported throughout Italy and Northern Europe, especially to Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. About 30% of the production is organic, and this percentage is steadily increasing.

Among the typical “specialties” produced and exported are the barattiere watermelon—actually a spherical cucumber—and the pomodoro della regina – queen tomato, characterized by its crown-like stem: a “storage-tomato” that maintains its flavor over time. It is harvested in July and can be consumed until April of the following year when kept in clusters, known as “ramasole”.

The visit concluded in one of the cooperative’s olive groves, a stunning location with numerous centennial trees: “Here, one can truly feel a magical atmosphere – emphasized President Livia Pomodoro – thanks to these olive trees that open their branches like many arms to the breeze of this sunny day”.

The “In cammino” team then moved to the Reception Hall of the Municipality of Fasano, where they met with Mayor Francesco Zaccaria, who, after welcoming remarks, highlighted Fasano’s commitment to organic farming, starting with agricultural choices.

“For example, we have another element that has played a key role in environmental matters for years – added the Mayor – which is our wastewater treatment plant that provides water for local agriculture. Today we serve fifty agricultural enterprises, thanks to research and implementation of this system. We are now even experimenting with drinking water purification. It is indubitably the best operating plant in Italy, located here in Fasano, and it’s worth visiting; it attracts scholars and school groups from across the peninsula. Our goal is to double the kilometers of rural aqueducts to serve more farms”.

“Even in your area – replied President Pomodoro – there is a sustainable vision being promoted, which we have encountered in nearly every community, both ecclesiastical and otherwise, visited so far in Europe. It is the culture of organic farming. We directly experienced this in the Netherlands, where in Koningshoeven they produce the famous La Trappe beer using an ecological filtering system based on ferns and plants. Then we learned about urban renovation in Tilburg, designed for human scale, where many young people gather in the library. These are small seeds that can prove extremely productive. We must not let this diversity fade away, and to do so, the crackling of weapons must cease, as it is too loud, too intense, and too close”.

The day of September 30th concluded with a visit to the Climate Museum, presided over by meteorologist Giuseppe Bari. The museum is located on the premises of the former rural school in Caranna, a hamlet of Cisternino situated 375 meters above sea level.

Pietro Loconte, a member of the “Meteovalleditria” association that manages this small but important cultural and scientific institution present in Caranna for eighteen years, served as our guide.

“Although we will soon be moving to the town of Cisternino – Loconte clarified – to understand the climate, we need scientific instruments and meteorological equipment, which you see around you. Weather forecasts can only be made for one or two days at most; beyond that, we talk about ‘trends.’ To understand the climate of a specific area, decades of observations are required, not just one or two months. The averages we keep for the Itria Valley date back thirty years. We compare them, and in this way, we observe climate change. Unfortunately, it is real and anthropogenic, meaning caused by humans… We will demonstrate how some manual instruments work, while computers are also used in meteorology today. This is a thermo-hygrograph for measuring temperature and humidity; but how does it measure humidity in the air? It works just like a clock, winding it up, and it is thanks to the insertion of a strand of a woman’s hair that, when the air is more humid, it curls up, or when the air is drier, it remains straight, that the device measures the degree of humidity present in the air!”.

In a designated room, the museum houses a diagram of the rainfall recorded over the years in the Cisternino area: while the amount of rainfall hasn’t changed much over time, the period during which rain falls has concentrated, leading to droughts or hydrogeological disasters.

The initial meeting on Tuesday, October 1st, was a visit to the Mother Church of San Nicola, guided by Mimmo Tamborrino, an archaeologist and director of the MAAAC, Museo Arte Archeologica Arte Contemporanea di Cisternino – Museum of Archaeological and Contemporary Art of Cisternino, who led us from the upper building down to the basement with the remains of the ancient church dating back to the 10th century. The path winds through what remains of frescoed walls and rock-hewn tombs, on which the current San Nicola was built between the 14th and 15th centuries. A tiny room with pillars is believed to have served as a paradisus, a resting place for the deceased before burial: indeed, in the rocky floor, burial pits filled with bones have been found. The museum contains a collection of sacred objects and furnishings, as well as a small gallery with statues of saints made of stone, wood, and papier-mâché.

At 11 a.m., after a video greeting from H. E. Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, President of the Italian Episcopal Conference, the spiritual meeting began as scheduled: “The relationship of community as a lifestyle: a legacy of the past, a perspective for the future”, coordinated by Antonio Bettanini, Director of “In cammino- Abbeys of Europe”.

Two classes from the “Don Quirico Punzi” Multidisciplinary High School in Cisternino attended the meeting, accompanied by their teachers.

The first speaker was journalist Massimo Sebastiani, head of ANSA.it and creator of the column “The Word of the Week”.

“We will delve into the core, into the heart of words, which can usually take on multiple meanings – began Sebastiani – And we often witness their stiffening. An example in this sense is ‘crisis’, whose original meaning was ‘I choose’. This is also true for ‘community’, a term we heard repeated often during the dramatic days of the coronavirus pandemic. Words often have a karst behavior; they go underground and then re-emerge at a certain point. The same goes for ‘community’: in the 1960s, there were Community Editions linked to Adriano Olivetti, or hippy communities, such as the free town of Christania in Copenhagen. Then the word seemed to disappear, only to resurface during the Covid days… The term derives from the Latin ‘cum’, meaning ‘with’; and ‘munus’ which means both obligation and gift: two obviously different and opposing meanings”.

Sebastiani quoted Pep Guardiola, the coach of Barcelona, who, when asked by a journalist why the team did not play with forwards players, replied: “Our forward is the space”. What better definition of “being a community” than this?…

Following was the speech by Don Giancarlo Carbonara, Pastor of the Mother Church of San Nicola, who conveyed the greetings of H. E. Monsignor Giuseppe Favale, Bishop of Conversano-Monopoli.

Don Giancarlo outlined the four fundamental aspects for every faith community: “First and foremost, listening to the word of God. Then fraternity, as the first Christian communities shared everything, prioritizing the aspect of synodality, walking together without leaving anyone behind, because everyone is equally important in the community. Third, prayer, which is the soul of the individual and the collective. Fourth, serving one another, using the example of the ‘washing of feet’ performed by our Lord. And this means, in my case, being a priest and a man among the people”.

Finally, it was Rupchand, also known as Roberto Corsi, who brought his testimony to the meeting. A devotee of Babaij and a member of the Bhole Baba Ashram, located not far from Cisternino in Contrada Portarino, Roberto began by quoting Lisetta Carmi (Genoa 1924 – Cisternino 2022), a photographer known for her social engagement reports and founder of the Bhole Baba, the first Ashram in the West, in the late 1970s.

“My journey has been an unintended search – he stated. – In 1980, I was dedicated to yoga, which is essentially a physical practice and a breathing technique. In 1984, I went to India and there I met Babaij. But it was during my second trip to India that I discovered there was an Ashram in Cisternino, so from 1985 to 1990, I traveled back and forth from Alexandria, where I lived, to the Bhole Baba until I decided to stay. I married a woman from Cisternino and have lived here for 35 years. In the Ashram, we serve and help people. All men are divine beings; we are like individual drops of water that retain the divine imprint and will one day form an ocean. I have learned that yoga is a state of consciousness that unites the individual self with the collective self. To develop our divine essence, we need silence and contemplation. I have also learned that there is only one religion: humanity, the consciousness of humanity”.

“These speeches have given us the most important lesson – concluded President Pomodoro – which is that dialogue gives meaning to the community. There are many paths but a single direction: humanity. And to the young people here, I say: talk to each other, share your ideas, and engage in dialogue with everyone, seeking to understand each other’s reasons, because there is no absolute truth. Humanity is the common path for us all to walk together, with no one excluded”.

At 4 p.m., the conference began: “The idea of community as a driver of sustainability. Businesses and the challenge of change” presided over by Livia Pomodoro – holder of the UNESCO Chair “Food Systems for Sustainable Development and Social Inclusion” at the State University of Milan – and coordinated by Antonio Bettanini.

Attending the conference were, in addition to the Mayor of Cisternino Lorenzo Perrini, who brought his greetings and those of the citizens, Annalisa Canzio – Councillor for Culture, Public Education, Nurseries, and Legality – and other representatives of the administration. Among the audience were also representatives of entrepreneurs and managers.

Claudio Serafini, Director of Organic Cities Network Europe, opened the proceedings.

“Our Network – reminded Serafini – was founded in 2018 in Paris, in the presence of President Pomodoro, and includes both large cities like Paris, Vienna, and Nuremberg, and small communities like Seeham in Austria or Loro Ciuffenna in Tuscany. One of the characteristics of the Network is to bring together the territories of rural and local communities with large metropolitan and global realities. The presidency of the Network lasts two years, the first held by Nuremberg, a city that organizes an important organic fair. It then passed to Vienna, and currently, the city holding the presidency is Bremen, with Paris to follow… I am Tuscan, but I must say I find myself in a beautiful region, particularly here, in these communities and in these places that I find truly fascinating for their history, culture, and nature…”.

President Pomodoro took the floor, emphasizing: “We must start from realities like Cisternino to build a community relationship that is also a lifestyle. We have seen the fields and the magnificent olive groves, the archaeological site preserved beneath us, under the Mother Church of San Nicola. A past that must teach us and can teach us a lot. Above all, that our future cannot be built alone, but we must decide to do it together… Cisternino represents for us and for all of Europe a novelty, a new vision of meeting and community”.

Next was the intervention of Pier Filippo Giuggioli, UNESCO Chair at the State University of Milan.

“Europe – stated Professor Giuggioli – must guarantee safe, healthy, and secure food: this is the first point of European agri-food legislation. When a consumer makes a choice, it must be considered and informed. Therefore, consumer information is necessary. Consumers are generally well-prepared to compare prices, but they are not as adept at evaluating the actual content of a specific product. And here lies the solution for the legislator: to provide simple and identical information for all comparable products and services, allowing buyers to navigate without the possibility of errors or misunderstandings… After the Green Deal, the European legislator realizes that it is no longer sufficient to inform only about the food data, but, more difficultly, also about the sustainability of a given product, the supply chains that generate it, and bring it to market… It becomes clear that we must shift from a primarily selfish vision to one of solidarity and support for the community and the common good”.

Francesco Paolo Sisto, Deputy Minister of Justice, spoke via telephone, discussing the political perspective and the government’s programmatic action regarding businesses and the transition to sustainability, a topic that is becoming increasingly central on the political agenda.

The floor was then taken by Giovanni Barbara, a lawyer and lecturer at the “LUM-Giuseppe Degennaro” University of Bari.

“I see the community as the engine of sustainability, which is both a cultural fact and a deep, not superficial, metamorphosis. The first step, the most important, is to inform and educate. Today, people read and gather information about sustainable development goals, the UN SDGs, but we need to continue doing this constantly. We have two fronts: the environment and governance. The latter is in the hands of businesses, which, if they do not have the will to embark on an environmental and social renewal path, will clearly fall short. Those who hold decision-making power must embrace the concept of sustainability. Therefore, cultural change becomes the primary issue”.

In her conclusions, President Pomodoro thanked the speakers and the numerous audience members who followed the conference with interest, which “revealed the fundamental importance of the community’s soul and identity that we carry within us”.

The concert by the “Vitino Zizzi” Wind Orchestra of Cisternino, presided over by Claudio Siliberti and conducted by Maestro Donato Semeraro, joyfully concluded our fourteenth stop.

The Orchestra, founded in 1994 “with the primary goal of spreading a passion for music among young people”, began its performance in front of the Mother Church, before moving to Piazza Vittorio Emanuele. There, accompanied by the applause of the audience filling the square, the musicians performed classical pieces, soundtracks by Ennio Morricone, and compositions created by Maestro Semeraro himself. It was a heartfelt and evocative performance that engaged the entire community!