2023 is the “Milanian year”: it marks the centenary of the birth of Don Lorenzo Milani, priest of a progressive Catholicism, teacher, educator, radical activist, and an inspiring figure of the past century for his choices and his ideas of emancipation, peace, and freedom.
Sanguemisto dedicated six performances to the Prior of Barbiana, all staged during the summer of 2023. The themes dear to Don Milani—peace, social justice, school, attention to the marginalized, women’s rights, and more—are among the founding values of the Florentine company.
Each performance carries in its title the phrase “Mi sta a cuore…” (“I care about…”), one of the possible translations of Don Milani’s “I care”, the inscription placed on the door of the School of Barbiana that became the motto, the slogan, the guiding principle of all his work.
Four of the six performances were staged in neighborhood libraries of Florence in the early evening: unusual places and times for theater productions, with the aim of engaging an equally unusual and unconventional audience.
“Mi sta a cuore una Scuola migliore” inaugurated the Milanian series, addressing one of the most significant legacies of the Prior of Barbiana: his embodied vision of a just, inclusive school that fosters critical thinking and citizenship.
The subtitle reads: “A performance freely inspired by the School of Barbiana and the challenges of educating today.” In this case, Rodolfo Vezzosi took on a dual role: actor, director, and founder of Sanguemisto, but also long-time high school teacher and educator, deeply engaged with the school of today.
On stage, a mix of readings, videos, music, acting, and an unusual invitation: the audience was encouraged to participate with contributions and interventions on the theme.
Performed on July 4, 2023, at the “F. Buonarroti” Library in Florence in the early evening.
“Mi sta a cuore crescere, mutare, amare” (I care about growing, changing, loving) stars dancer Isabella Giustina, who has reworked her show “Mutamenti” (Changes), produced by the dance company Company Blu, for Milan’s centenary. Change and transformation were among the aims of Don Milani’s work: he sought, with all his strength, to help a group of poor and uneducated young people to grow and become fully-fledged citizens.
Isabella Giustina’s dance gives body, space, and concreteness to the theme of change.
Performed at Parco dell’Anconella, one of the most popular venues of the Florentine Summer, on July 6, 2023, in the evening.
“Mi sta a cuore la Pace la Giustizia Sociale” (I Care About Peace and Social Justice) was the third performance in the series dedicated to Don Milani. On stage, actor, author, and storyteller Alberto Di Matteo recounted four stories, some little known, drawn from Milani’s life: Barbiana, Don Lorenzo and the Communists, the Letter to Military Chaplains, and the Letter to a Teacher. Di Matteo interwove excerpts from Milani’s letters with autobiography and personal memories.
The stories were interspersed with songs from the 1960s and 1970s echoing Milani’s themes, performed by Chiara D’Andrea and Patrizio Pierattini.
Staged on July 12, 2023, at the Biblioteca dell’Orticoltura, Giardino dell’Orticoltura, in the early evening.
“Mi sta a cuore la Storia e la Memoria” (I Care About History and Memory) featured I Vincanto, the trio of singers/musicians who had already taken part in other Sanguemisto performances. Here they performed their traditional folk repertoire of late 19th- and early 20th-century songs dedicated to work, war, and workers’ and peasants’ struggles.
Cultivating history and memory not for nostalgia, but to exercise and develop critical thinking and questioning about the past: this was the Milanian message conveyed by the evening with I Vincanto.
Performed at Villa Arrivabene, another key venue of the Estate Fiorentina, on July 27, 2023, in the evening.
“Mi stanno a cuore i salvataggi in mare” (I Care About Rescues at Sea) was a theater and music performance once again addressing the phenomenon of migrants and the many shipwrecks and rescues of our contemporary age. The connection with Don Milani here was more indirect, but the parallel was clear: the marginalized youth of Barbiana then are today’s marginalized, crossing our seas in search of hope and a better future.
Performed at the “P. Thouar” Library in Florence (Oltrarno district) on September 7, 2023, in the early evening.
Finally, “Mi stanno a cuore i diritti delle donne” (I Care About Women’s Rights), the last performance of the series, highlighted a lesser-known aspect of Don Milani’s activity: his early recognition, alongside the feminist movements of the 1960s, of the urgency of women’s issues. It is too often forgotten that, along with the so-called “Boys of Barbiana,” just as many “Girls of Barbiana” emerged from his school, later becoming women, mothers, wives, workers, and aware and evolved citizens.
The performance was dedicated to Mahsa Amini, the young Iranian woman arrested by the Religious Police of her country for not respecting the mandatory veil law, who died in prison under circumstances never fully clarified on September 16, 2022.
Once again, the past resonates with the present: the Girls of Barbiana serve as a counterpoint to the Iranian girls and women of today who are fighting against a brutal regime to affirm their rights.
Performed at the Biblioteca CaNova (Isolotto district) on September 21, 2023, in the early evening.