51 Facts About Aldo Capitini

Aldo Capitini was an Italian philosopher, poet, political activist, anti-fascist, and educator.

Aldo Capitini was one of the first Italians to take up and develop Mahatma Gandhi's theories of nonviolence and was known as "the Italian Gandhi".

Aldo Capitini's father was a municipal official and his mother a tailor.

From an early age Capitini became interested in philosophy and literature.

Aldo Capitini was committed to the study of the Latin language and Greek literature.

Aldo Capitini was physically fragile and fell ill, discovering solidarity with those who suffered "the last".

Aldo Capitini became a follower of Gandhi's nonviolence and a vegetarian.

Aldo Capitini proposed that all religions should go beyond their dogmatism and their authoritarian structure to be at the service of marginalized people and those who had no voice in society.

Aldo Capitini became close to anti-Fascist students, as a professor being a conscientious objector.

In 1933 the director of the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, the philosopher and Fascist intellectual Giovanni Gentile, asked Aldo Capitini to join the Fascist Party.

Aldo Capitini adopted the propagation of anti-Fascism as an important personal commitment from 1933 to 1943.

Aldo Capitini was imprisoned twice for five months for his anti-fascist activities from 1942 to 1943.

In July 1944, with Emma Thomas, Aldo Capitini founded the Centro di Orientamento Sociale.

Aldo Capitini therefore remained isolated and was not able to play an institutional role in the nascent Italian Republic.

In 1950, Aldo Capitini organized the first Italian conference in Rome on the subject of conscientious objection.

Aldo Capitini attended the World Congress of Religions for Peace Foundation, held in London in 1950.

Aldo Capitini proposed the establishment of a Nonviolent Religious International Movement; nevertheless the suggestion was not accepted.

Aldo Capitini protested against the appeal made by the meeting to religious leaders, saying that leaders are responsible for compromise of states and wars, and that the Congress had to address directly appeal to people individually.

Aldo Capitini participated in the Congress of Vedanta in London in 1951.

In January 1952, Aldo Capitini promoted an International Conference for Nonviolence in Perugia.

In 1953, Aldo Capitini held the first West-East Asia Conference in Perugia.

In 1954, Aldo Capitini held a seminar of lectures and discussions on the methodology of Gandhi in Perugia.

Aldo Capitini became a professor of pedagogy at the University of Cagliari in 1956 and in 1965 granted a transfer to the University of Perugia with the same chair.

Out of the 1961 march, a federation of associations and peoples was born, giving life to the Italian Advisory Council for Peace, Aldo Capitini was appointed as President.

Aldo Capitini organized the National Conference on Disarmament Affairs in Florence in 1962, and held a seminar on techniques of nonviolence in Perugia in 1963, with the participation of leaders of the Committee of 100.

At the 12th Congress of War Resisters' International in Rome in 1966, Aldo Capitini gave a paper on International nonviolence and permanent revolution.

Aldo Capitini introduced a report, on the attempts of political, and social revolution, favoring the method of violence and thinking to transform society by the simple grabbing of power.

Aldo Capitini tried to prove that a nonviolent revolution is much more effective and lasting, partly because it avoids the risks and distortions of the authoritarian practices related to violence.

The Association was a very active and efficient in pursuing its goals and Aldo Capitini was very active supporter and promoter of the initiatives.

Aldo Capitini died on 19 October 1968 following the after-effects of surgery.

The Catholic Church began a complex process of change and openness to the world with the Second Vatican Council ; however Aldo Capitini was not able to see the fruits of this change, dying a few years later.

Finally, Aldo Capitini wanted to transform society by focussing on the spiritual and material needs of persons, taking into account their libertarian and egalitarian pressures.

Aldo Capitini recognized the re-establishment of religion to be an important historical problem, then taking this as a key point of nonviolence.

Aldo Capitini did not want to empty the religious institutions, but wanted to overcome them instead, re-establishing full consciousness so that politics could be understood as a religious act.

The Liberal Socialism movement decided to give him a party ticket, in contrast Aldo Capitini decided not to join the party, because he wanted it to perform political lobbying.

Aldo Capitini approached nonviolence in the late twenties and in 1931 Gandhi visited Italy for a few days.

Aldo Capitini drew many lessons from Gandhian philosophy; he developed an overarching perspective where nonviolence became the source of inspiration for many of its activities and achievements.

Aldo Capitini's work was inspired by the concept of persuasion and openness.

Aldo Capitini believed that individual acts, according to the criteria of its profound consciousness, can create value and find something that is worth more than material existence and formal spirituality.

Persuasion, a word which Aldo Capitini took from the philosopher Carlo Michelstaedter of Gorizia, is the ability to pursue one's own ideals with tenacity, and the power of nonviolence, a gentle power, however determined.

Aldo Capitini mobilized to help young Pinna to his choice of conscientious objection.

Aldo Capitini identifies the idea of co-presence in the value of all, together.

Aldo Capitini wanted that reality to become a space of freedom for everybody.

Aldo Capitini "testifies the superficiality of any institution wishing to present itself as a gateway".

Aldo Capitini identifies four main reasons to understand with a reasonable likelihood because religions have lost their aptitude to be innovative and must radically transform to society and mankind:.

The religious life of Aldo Capitini is a life open to you-all, where it is possible to meet God through 'you'.

Aldo Capitini was one of the first scholars in Italy to understand the significance of relations between East and West.

Aldo Capitini was probably favoured in this comprehension from having adhered to the idea of nonviolence introduced by Gandhi.

Aldo Capitini lived the experience of suffering as the way to religious conversion.

Aldo Capitini is fully within this vision, it is the vision of nonviolent commitment.

Aldo Capitini was opposed and condemned by the traditional Catholic Church, and was regarded as a utopian dreamer for his idea of nonviolence and for his insight to tackle conflicts through nonviolence.