Giuseppe Lanza del Vasto

Lanza del Vasto, (Giuseppe Giovanni Luigi Enrico Lanza di Trabia), (September 29, 1901 – January 5, 1981) was a philosopher, poet, artist, and nonviolent activist. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (533x736, 47 KB) Lanza del Vasto © Community of the Ark of Lanza del Vasto, see Pictures from the Community of the Ark of Lanza del Vasto. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (533x736, 47 KB) Lanza del Vasto © Community of the Ark of Lanza del Vasto, see Pictures from the Community of the Ark of Lanza del Vasto. ... September 29 is the 272nd day of the year (273rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... January 5 is the 5th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

He was born in San Vito dei Normanni, Italy and died in Murcia, Spain. San Vito dei Normanni is a small town in the southern part of Apulia, Italy, in the Salento area. ... Murcia () is a city and municipality on the river Segura in southeastern Spain and the capital of the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia. ...

A western disciple of Mohandas K. Gandhi, he worked for inter-religious dialogue, spiritual renewal, ecological activism and nonviolence. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (October 2, 1869 – January 30, 1948) (Devanagari: मोहनदास करमचन्द गांधी), called Mahatma Gandhi, was the charismatic leader who brought the cause of Indias independence from British colonial rule to... Nonviolence (or non-violence) can be both a political strategy or moral philosophy that rejects the use of violence in efforts to attain social or political change. ...

Youth in Italy

Meeting Gandhi

In December 1936, Lanza went to India, joining the movement for Indian independence led by Gandhi. He knew of Gandhi through a book by Romain Rolland. He spent six months with the Mahatma, then in June 1937, went to the source of the Ganges river in the Himalayas, a famous pilgrimage site. There he saw a vision who told him "Go back and found!" 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (October 2, 1869 – January 30, 1948) (Devanagari: मोहनदास करमचन्द गांधी), called Mahatma Gandhi, was the charismatic leader who brought the cause of Indias independence from British colonial rule to... Romain Rolland (January 29, 1866 - December 30, 1944) was a French writer. ... Mahatma is Sanskrit for Great Soul (महात्मा mahātmā: महा mahā (great) + आत्मं or आत्मन ātman (soul)). This epithet is applied to people like Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, though sources vary on who first gave him this name. ... 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Early morning on the Ganges The River Ganges (Ganga in Indian languages) (Devanagiri गंगा) is a major river in northern India. ... Perspective view of the Himalayas and Mount Everest as seen from space looking south-south-east from over the Tibetan Plateau. ...

He left then India and went back to Europe. In 1938, he went to Palestine, then in the midst of civil war, to Jerusalem and Bethlehem, "between two lines of tanks". Map of the British Mandate of Palestine. ... Panoramic view from Mt. ... Bethlehem (Arabic بيت لحم   house of meat; Standard Hebrew בית לחם house of bread, Bet léḥem / Bet láḥem; Tiberian Hebrew Bêṯ léḥem / Bêṯ lāḥem; Greek: Βηθλεέμ) is a city in the West Bank under Palestinian Authority considered a central hub of Palestinian cultural and tourism industries. ...

He come back to Paris at the time when the Second World War started. He wrote some poetry books and in 1943 he published the story of his trip to India, Return to the Source, which became a huge success. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...

Foundation of the Ark

He founded the Community of the Ark in 1948 which first met a lot of difficulties. In 1954, he went back to India to participate in non-violent struggles with Vinoba. The Community of the Arc is a small Catholic commune in southern France that was founded in 1948 by Lanza del Vasto. ... Vinoba Bhave (September 11, 1895–November 15, 1982), born Vinayak Narahari Bhave, often called Acharya Vinoba Bhave (Acharya in Sanskrit means teacher) is considered as a National Teacher of India who has left his firm imprint on the religious, social and political consciousness of India. ...

In 1962, the Community of the Ark settled in Haut-Languedoc, in South of France, at the Borie Noble, near Lodève, in a deserted village. The community, once numbering over a hundred members, now suffers from an aging population (now under thirty members) and a lack of interest in its work and lifestyle. Coat of arms of the province of Languedoc, now being used as an official flag by the Midi-Pyrénees region as well as by the city of Toulouse Languedoc (Lengadòc in Occitan) is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc... // Geography Lodève is an attractive medieval town in southern France, in the Hérault département, of which it is a sous-préfecture. ...

Nonviolent struggles

In 1957, during the Algerian war of independence, del Vasto started with other known people (General of Bollardière, François Mauriac, Robert Barrat, etc.) a movement of protest against torture. He fasted for 21 days. In 1958, he demonstrated against the nuclear power plant in Marcoule,France, which produced plutonium for nuclear weapons. Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Combatants FLN (1954-62) MNA (1954-62) France (1954-62) FAF (1960-61) OAS (1961-62) Commanders Ferhat Abbas Hocine Aït Ahmed Ahmed Ben Bella Krim Belkacem Larbi Ben MHidi Rabah Bitat Mohamed Boudiaf Messali Hadj Pierre Mendès-France General Jacques Massu General Maurice Challe Charles de... François Mauriac (October 11, 1885 – September 1, 1970) was a French author, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. ... American motion picture actor; Born: 10 July 1889 New York, NY- Died: 7 January 1970 Hollywood, California. ... Fasting is the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food and in some cases drink, for a period of time. ... Year 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Marcoule is located in the Chusclan and Codolet French communes, near Bagnols-sur-Cèze in the Gard department, which is in the touristic, wine and agricultural Côtes-du-Rhône region. ... General Name, Symbol, Number plutonium, Pu, 94 Chemical series actinides Group, Period, Block n/a, 7, f Appearance silvery white Atomic mass (244) g/mol Electron configuration [Rn] 5f6 7s2 Electrons per shell 2, 8, 18, 32, 24, 8, 2 Physical properties Phase solid Density (near r. ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 km (11 mi) above the epicenter. ...

In 1963, he fasted for 40 days in Rome during the Second Vatican Council, asking the pope to stand against war - "Pour demander au pape de prendre position contre la guerre." Nickname: The Eternal City Motto: SPQR: Senatus PopulusQue Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Mayor Walter Veltroni Area    - City 1,500 km²  (580 sq mi... The Second Vatican Council, or Vatican II, was an Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church opened under Pope John XXIII in 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI in 1965. ... Blessed Pope John XXIII (Latin: ), (Italian: Giovanni XXIII), born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli (November 25, 1881 – June 3, 1963), was elected as the 261st Pope of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City on October 28, 1958. ...

In 1965 he was at the Universidad Nacional de La Plata, city of Santa Rosa, province of La Pampa, Argentina, talking about no-violence during weeks with the students. 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ...

In 1972, he supported the farmers of the Larzac plateau against the extension of a military camp while fasting for 15 days. In 1974 a community of the Ark settled in the Larzac in a farmhouse bought by the army. 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... The Causse du Larzac is a limestone karst plateau in the south of the Massif Central, France. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ...

In 1976, he participated to the demonstrations against the building of a surgenerator at Creys-Malville, Isère (France). 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ...

Bibliography

• Ballades aux Dames du temps présent, Paris, 1923.
• Conquiste du Vento, Florence, 1927.
• Fantasia Notturna, théâtre, Florence, 1927.
• Judas, récit biblique, Grasset, 1938, Gallimard, 1992.
• Le Chiffre des Choses, poésies, Robert Laffont, 1942.
• Le Pélerinage aux Sources, Denoël, 1943, Gallimard, 1989, Le Rocher, 1993.
• Dialogue de l'Amitié, avec Luc Dietrich (Laffont, 1942, 1993).
• Choix, poésies, Le Seuil, 1944.
• 'La Marche des Rois, théâtre, R. Laffont, 1944.
• Principes et préceptes du retour à l'évidence, Denoël, 1945, Le Rocher, 1996 sous le titre Eloge de la vie simple.
• La Baronne de Carins, bilingue, poème épique traduit du vieux sicilien, Le Seuil, 1946.
• La Passion, théâtre, Grasset, 1951.
• Commentaire de l'Evangile, Denoël, 1951, Le Rocher, 1994.
• Histoire d'une amitié, dans L'Injuste Grandeur de Luc Dietrich, Denoël, 1951, Le Rocher, 1993.
• Vinoba, ou le nouveau pélerinage, Denoël, 1954, Gallimard, 1982.
• Préfaces aux huit ouvrages de la collection Pensée gandhienne, Denoël, 1985-1965.
• Les Quatre Fléaux, philosophie, Denoël, 1959, Le Rocher, 1993.
• Pacification en Algérie, ou mensonge et violence, édition clandestine, 1960, L'Harmattan, 1988.
• Approches de la Vie Intérieure, Denoël, 1962, Le Rocher, 1992.
• Noé, théâtre, Denoël, 1965.
• La Montée des âmes vivantes, Denoël, 1968.
• L'Homme libre et les ânes sauvages, Denoël, 1969 et 1987.
• La Trinité spirituelle, philosophie, Denoël, 1971, Le Rocher, 1994.
• Technique de la non-violence, Denoël, 1971, Gallimard, 1988.
• L'Arche avait pour voilure une vigne, Denoël, 1978, 1982.
• Etymologies imaginaires, Denoël, 1985.

• David Berger, théâtre, Lion de Judas, 1988.
• Pour éviter la fin du monde, Le Rocher, 1991.
• Le Viatique, 2 tomes, Le Rocher, 1991.
• Les Quatre Pilliers de la paix, Le Rocher, 1992.
• Le Grand Retour, Le Rocher, 1993.
• Pages d'enseignement, Le Rocher, 1993.

Éditions Gallimard is the second most important French publisher, and probably the most respected. ...

Essays on Lanza del Vasto

• Qui est Lanza del Vasto, par Jacques Madaule,
• Lanza del Vasto, par Arnaud de Mareuil (Seghers, 1965)
• Dialogues avec Lanza del Vasto, par René Doumerc (Albin Michel)
• Les Facettes de Cristal, entretiens avec Claude-Henri Roquet (Le Centurion)
• Lanza del Vasto, sa vie, son œuvre, son message, par Arnaud de Mareuil (Dangles)

External links

• http://www.lanzadelvasto.org