Ecclesial conference of the Italian Church in Florence

by Andrea Fagioli

In Florence, Michelangelo's David is the recognized symbol of Beauty, even if now only of aesthetic beauty, placed as it is inside a museum, outside of any context. He's handsome, there's no doubt about it. But he doesn't "speak". And to think that he was born as a religious symbol. The David sculpted by Michelangelo is the biblical one, which defeats the giant Goliath because he has God with him. Indeed: in that young man who fells the enemy with a slingshot, his author saw Christ, defender of every people, fullness of every collective heroism, goal of every positive individual aspiration.

When David was sculpted it was intended for a spur of the Florence Cathedral. It was then diverted to Piazza della Signoria at the beginning of the sixteenth century, ending up acquiring a civic value. Because the most beautiful things in Florence were made when the link between the religious roots and the life of the people was strongest.

David, a religious symbol that becomes a civil symbol, is the most obvious example. But there is no shortage of other artistic syntheses of this type in the Tuscan capital, even at an architectural level. It would be enough to think of the Orsanmichele complex, which looks more like a palace than a church. It was once the Garden of San Michele, or the garden of the Benedictine nuns on which the first Loggia del grano (the grain market) was built in the 1380th century, which later became a Marian sanctuary. In the mid-fourteenth century, the loggia no longer seemed a suitable place for the market, which was moved. Thus, in XNUMX, the building was raised by two floors. In the upper part, however, the grain warehouse was set up, while the ten arches of the loggia were closed giving rise to the church, with the Madonna, Mother of the people, in the granary of the Republic intended for the poor, with the saints who belong to heaven, but are on earth the patrons of the Arts, that is, of work.

Orsanmichele has been defined as «the most Florentine monument in Florence» for its character between the religious and the civil: church and granary, sanctuary and warehouse, civic market place and at the same time a place of Marian worship. Even geographically it is located almost halfway between the Duomo and Palazzo Vecchio on whose entrance door, in Piazza della Signoria, we find another important sign: the monogram of Christ of San Bernardino da Siena and the writing, between two lions symbol of the Florentine people, who act Rex regum et Dominus dominantium (Jesus Christ, King of kings and Lord of lords), thus recognizing Christ as the Lord of Florence and affirming, therefore, that Florentines are free and do not have to answer to any human authority. Although this writing desired by Cosimo I attenuated the much more explicit previous one: Jesus Christus Rex florentini populi (Jesus Christ King of the Florentine people).

In short, we have not always had, or been given, the right idea of ​​humanism. Renaissance humanism, contrary to what has often been said and above all wanted to think, is precisely a crossroads in which the intimate connection between man's dependence on God and his creative capacity becomes evident, both reflections of that similarity with God of whom Genesis speaks. A paradox of the Creator's love also sung by the psalmist: «What is man that you remember him, the son of man, that you care about him? Truly you have made him little less than a god, you have crowned him with glory and honor." It is the absolute primacy of man, in every sense, including on the political, economic, social and generally moral level. And it is with this "taste for the human" that the Italian Church experienced the 9th national ecclesial conference from 13 to 5 November in Florence, with the presence of Pope Francis.

The choice of Florence was not random. The «Conference» landed in a space for meeting and discussion, within a city, a history and a tradition, in which believers and non-believers of high cultural profile traveled together along a path of mutual respect and common research.

The theme discussed: «In Jesus Christ the new humanism» could not fail to involve the city where the idea of ​​the centrality of the human being can still be seen in the creations, which are there, as mentioned, to demonstrate how this same idea has not developed against, but thanks to Christianity, in a synthesis of human and Christian values ​​that left the world amazed.

The Conference took place in the scenario of a culture in which the idea predominates that the valorization of humanity can only occur by freeing itself from any religious perspective. The barbarization of humanity seems to take away space from the Christian message itself.

At the Conference the issue was taken up again, in dialogue with all those who desired it, relaunching the prospect of a new humanism for today's Italy and showing how, concretely, Christian inspiration can be the foundation of this relaunch.

In this Italy which has fallen so low, where everything has become a conflict, where the sense of the common good has been lost, where selfishness and partisan interests prevail, the need has been felt to put things back in their place, to create a scale of values ​​shared between men of good will.

What was needed was precisely this national ecclesial conference in which the Church enters into dialogue by invoking in the city, cradle of humanism, a new humanism, which is not closed to transcendence, where man, in the time of the excessive power of technology and science, rediscover microcosm and learn to weave a new relationship between God, humanity and the cosmos. All in the name of beauty, yesterday and today.