City Angels is an Italian volunteer association based in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. It was founded in 1994 by the journalist and university lecturer Mario Furlan.

History

City Angels was founded on 7 September 1994 in

as a secular, multi-ethnic, gay-friendly and anti-racist group of volunteers inspired by the

Guardian Angels A guardian angel is a type of angel that is assigned to protect and guide a particular person, group or nation. Belief in tutelary beings can be traced throughout all antiquity. The idea of angels that guard over people played a major role i ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, but conceived to combine public safety with humanitarian aid. The first team worked with a homeless shelter run by Camillian priest Ettore Boschini near Milano Centrale railway station. After several months of grassroots activity, City Angels were formally inaugurated on 8 February 1995 in the Church of the Carmine, in the Brera district. In 2007, City Angels opened ''Casa Silvana'', a municipal night shelter named after a murdered homeless woman and inaugurated by then-mayor

Letizia Moratti Letizia Maria Moratti (née Brichetto Arnaboldi; born 26 November 1949) is an Italian businesswoman and politician. She was president of RAI (1994–1996), Minister of Education, University and Research (2001–2006), mayor of Milan (2006–201 ...

. The municipality later entrusted them with additional hostels; by 2014 they managed three facilities (≈400 beds) and in 2016 opened a 130-bed shelter in Niguarda named “Elio Fiorucci” after the designer who created the group’s logo. In 2017, City Angels launched the ''Oasi del clochard'' (Homeless Oasis), a cluster of prefabricated houses on the site of a former Roma camp; it closed in 2019 when the land lease was not renewed. Since 2020 the association has managed accommodation in

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

Varese Varese ( , ; or ; ; ; archaic ) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 was 80,559. It is the capital of the Province of Varese. The hinterland or exurban part ...

and, since 2023,

Sondrio Sondrio (; ; ; archaic or ; ) is an Italian city, ''comune'' and administrative centre for the province of Sondrio, located in the heart of the Valtellina. , Sondrio counted approximately 21,876 inhabitants. In 2007, Sondrio was named the Alpine ...

. During the

COVID-19 pandemic in Italy The COVID-19 pandemic in Italy was part of the COVID-19 pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus was first confirmed to have spread to Italy on 31 January 2 ...

(March–May 2020) volunteers distributed food, medicines, masks and sanitiser to older people, people with disabilities and the homeless in every city where they operate, and kept soup kitchens and public showers open in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...

and Monza when other operators closed. After the outbreak of the

war in Ukraine The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

(2022), chapters in Rome, Milan, Bergamo, Voghera, Monza, Parma and Campomarino coordinated the collection and shipment of essential supplies to the conflict zone. As of 2024, City Angels is present in 20 Italian cities and two Swiss ones.

Volunteers

City Angels are private citizens who assist people in social or economic exclusion (homeless people, substance users, sex workers, migrants, older adults, people with disabilities, crime victims, prisoners and abandoned animals). Many volunteers combine daytime jobs or studies with night-time or weekend patrols. Their unarmed uniform consists of black trousers and shoes, a red jacket or T-shirt and a blue beret modelled on the UN peacekeepers’ headgear.

Training

Applicants must pass a psycho-aptitude test and complete a 20-hour course covering first aid, criminal law, psychology, communication and addictions. They also learn ''Wilding'', a self-defence system developed by Furlan.

Emblem

Designer

Elio Fiorucci Elio Fiorucci (; 10 June 1935 – 19 July 2015) was an Italian fashion designer and the founder of the Fiorucci fashion label. Beginning in retailing at the age of 14, he later created a fashion brand that had worldwide success during the 1970s ...

created the logo, which shows an eagle with outstretched wings protecting a city skyline; the image is topped by the words “City Angels” and the motto “Solidarietà e Sicurezza”.

''Maroni decree''

In early 2009 the Interior Minister

Roberto Maroni Roberto Ernesto Maroni (; 15 March 1955 – 22 November 2022) was an Italian politician from Varese and a past President of Lombardy. He was the leader of the Northern League, a party seeking autonomy or independence for Northern Italy or Pa ...

promoted a “security decree” authorising unarmed citizen patrols. City Angels were often cited as a successful example in cities such as Milan, and several mayors (Rome, Turin) said they preferred cooperating with them rather than creating new patrols. The association did not register under the decree, as Furlan argued that its members are social workers, not security patrols.

Operations

Italy

City Angels are active in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

Voghera image:Voghera Castle.jpg, The Castle of Voghera in a 19th-century etching. Voghera (Emilian dialect, Vogherese dialect of Emilian: ''Vughera''; Latin language, Latin: ''Forum Iulii Iriensium'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Pavia i ...

Ancona Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...

Novara Novara (; Novarese Lombard, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous ...

Como Como (, ; , or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Nestled at the southwestern branch of the picturesque Lake Como, the city is a renowned tourist destination, ce ...

Campomarino Campomarino ( Arbërisht: ''Këmarini'') is an Arbëreshë ''comune'' in the Province of Campobasso, in the Italian region Molise, located about northeast of Campobasso, and about southeast of Termoli. The commune includes the seaside/tourist ...

Lecco Lecco (, , ; ) is a city of approximately 47,000 inhabitants in Lombardy, Northern Italy, north of Milan. It lies at the end of the south-eastern branch of Lake Como (the branch is named ''Branch of Lecco'' / ''Ramo di Lecco''). The Bergamasqu ...

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

Busto Arsizio Busto Arsizio (; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the south-easternmost part of the province of Varese, in the Italy, Italian region of Lombardy, north of Milan. The economy of Busto Arsizio is mainly based on industry and commerce. It is the ...

Gallarate Gallarate (; Lombard language, Lombard: ''Galaraa'') is a city and ''comune'' of Alto Milanese of Lombardy and of Milan metropolitan area, northern Italy, in the Province of Varese. It has a population of some 54,000 people. It is the junction ...

and

Saronno Saronno (; ) is a ''comune'' of Lombardy, Italy, in the province of Varese. It received the honorary title of city with a presidential decree in 1960. With an estimated population of inhabitants, it is the most densely populated among the big m ...

Switzerland

The Swiss chapter has been based in

Lugano Lugano ( , , ; ) is a city and municipality within the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is the largest city in both Ticino and the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland. Lugano has a population () of , and an u ...

since 2014 and, since 2018, also in

Chiasso Chiasso (; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Mendrisio (district), Mendrisio in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Ticino in Switzerland. As Extreme points of Switzerland, the southernmost of Switzerland's ...

, where it cooperates with the border police.

Awards and prizes

The City Angels have received several awards in their history by the institutions. Among these the most important are: * 1999: "Ambrogino d'Oro", the most important recognition in the City of

* 2000: Motta Goodness Award * 2007: Paul Harris Award of the Rotary Club International to Mario Furlan, founder of City Angels * 2008: "Ambrogino d'Oro" (to the honorary City Angel Eddy Gardner) * 2008: Ambassador for Peace Award of the World Peace Organisation * 2009: The Gift of Humanity Award * 2013: Carlo Porta Award * 2018: Gold medal of the City of Bergamo * 2019: "Bronzi di Riace" award to Mario Furlan, founder of City Angels

References

External links

Official Italian site

Official Swiss site
{{Authority control Non-profit organisations based in Italy Volunteer cooperatives Community development organizations Civil crime prevention