Lanza del Vasto (born Giuseppe Giovanni Luigi Maria Enrico Lanza di Trabia-Branciforte; 29 September 1901 – 6 January 1981) was an Italian philosopher, poet, artist, Catholic and nonviolent activist. He was born in San Vito dei Normanni,

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and died in

Murcia Murcia ( , , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the Capital (political), capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the Ranked lists of Spanish municipalities#By population, seventh largest city i ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. A western disciple of Mohandas K. Gandhi, he worked for inter-religious dialogue, spiritual renewal, ecological activism and

nonviolence Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...

Youth in Italy

His father, Don Luigi Giuseppe Lanza di Trabia-Branciforte, was Sicilian and his mother, Anne-Marie Henriette Nauts-Oedenkoven, was born in Antwerp, in Belgium. Very early he traveled in Italy and Europe. He entered the University of Pisa in 1922.

Meeting Gandhi

In December 1936, Lanza went to India, joining the movement for Indian independence led by

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...

. He knew of Gandhi through a book by

Romain Rolland Romain Rolland (; 29 January 1866 – 30 December 1944) was a French dramatist, novelist, essayist, art historian and Mysticism, mystic who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1915 "as a tribute to the lofty idealism of his literary pro ...

. He spent six months with the Mahatma, then in June 1937, went to the sources of the

Ganges The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...

and the

Yamuna The Yamuna (; ) is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Bandarpunch peaks of the Low ...

rivers in the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

, a famous pilgrimage site. There he saw a vision which told him "Go back and found!" He then returned to Europe. In 1938, he went to

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, then in the midst of civil war, to

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

and

Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...

, "between two lines of tanks". He came back to Paris at the time when the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

started. He wrote some books of poetry and in 1943 published the story of his trip to India, ''Return to the Source'', which became a huge success.

Foundation of the Ark

He founded the Community of the Ark in 1948 which first met with many difficulties. In 1954, he returned to India to participate in nonviolent anti-feudal struggles with

Vinoba Bhave Vinayak Narahar Bhave, also known as Vinoba Bhave (; 11 September 1895 – 15 November 1982), was an Indian advocate of nonviolence and human rights. Often called ''Acharya'' (Teacher in Sanskrit), he is best known for the Bhoodan Movement. He ...

. In 1962, the Community of the Ark settled in Haut-

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately . History ...

, in the south of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, at "La Borie Noble", near

Lodève Lodève (; , ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Hérault, in the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, southern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, subprefe ...

, in a deserted village. After numbering over a hundred members in the 1970s and 1980s, some communities were closed in the 1990s due to conflicts, ageing population (under thirty members) and a lack of interest in their work and lifestyle. Since 2000, groups are present in a few regions of France, in Belgium, Spain, Italy, Ecuador and Canada.''Régions''
Community of Ark website.

Nonviolent activism

In 1957, during the

Algerian War The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...

, del Vasto started with other well-known people ( General de Bollardière,

François Mauriac François Charles Mauriac (; ; 11 October 1885 – 1 September 1970) was a French novelist, dramatist, critic, poet, and journalist, a member of the'' Académie française'' (from 1933), and laureate of the 1952 Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Pr ...

Robert Barrat Robert Harriot Barrat (July 10, 1891 – January 7, 1970) was an American stage, motion picture, and television character actor. Early years Barratt was born on July 10, 1891 in New York City, and educated in the public schools there. He left ...

, 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 Plutonium is a chemical element; it has symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is a silvery-gray actinide metal that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four ...

for

nuclear weapons A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either nuclear fission, fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and nuclear fusion, fusion reactions (thermonuclear weap ...

. In 1963, he fasted for 40 days 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, ...

during the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

, asking

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...

to stand against war - ''"Pour demander au Pape de prendre position contre la guerre."'' In 1965, he was at the Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Argentina, talking about non-violence during weeks with the students. Lanza muller bolardiere

In 1972, he supported the farmers of the

Larzac Larzac (, ), also known as the Causse of Larzac (French: ''Causses, Causse du Larzac''; ), is a limestone karst plateau in the south of the Massif Central, France, situated between Millau (in the Departments of France, department of Aveyron) ...

plateau against the extension of a military base while fasting for 15 days. In 1974, a community of the Ark settled in the Larzac in a farmhouse bought by the army. In 1976, he participated in the demonstrations against the building of the

fast breeder A breeder reactor is a nuclear reactor that generates more fissile material than it consumes. These reactors can be fueled with more-commonly available isotopes of uranium and thorium, such as uranium-238 and thorium-232, as opposed to the rare ...

reactor

Superphénix Superphénix (; , SPX) was a nuclear power station prototype on the Rhône river at Creys-Mépieu, Creys-Malville in France, close to the border with Switzerland. Superphénix was a 1,242 MWe fast breeder reactor with the twin goals of reprocessi ...

at Creys-Malville, Isère (France).

Death

In January 1981, del Vasto was working to found a new community in Elche de la Sierra, in the Spanish province of Albacete, when on 5 January, he had a

brain hemorrhage The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...

and was taken to the hospital of Ciudad Sanitaria Virgen de La Arrixaca in

. He died there on 6 Jan.

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. * ''Préface au Message Retrouvé de Louis Cattiaux'' (nombreuses traductions en castillan, , italien, anglais, allemand, portugais), Denoël, 1956. * ''L'Arche avait pour voilure une vigne'', Denoël, 1978, 1982. *
Les etymologies imaginaires: Verite, vie et vertu des mots
', 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. ()

Books in English

* ''Return to the Source'', Schocken, New York, 1972. Includes an account of Shantidas's stay with Gandhi. () * ''Make Straight the Way of the Lord: An Anthology of the Philosophical Writings of Lanza del Vasto'', Knopf, New York, 1974. () * ''Warriors of Peace: Writings on the Technique of Nonviolence'', Knopf, New York, 1974. () * ''Principles and Precepts of the Return to the Obvious'', Shocken, New York, 1974. () (Originally published in French under the title "Principes et préceptes du retour à l'évidence", Editions Denoël, Paris, 1945). * ''Gandhi to Vinoba: The New Pilgrimage'', Shocken, New York, 1974. () (Reprint from Rider, London, 1956) (translated by Philip Leon from ''Vinoba, ou le nouveau pélerinage'', Denoël, 1954)

Essays on Lanza del Vasto

* ''Qui est Lanza del Vasto'', by Jacques Madaule, * ''Lanza del Vasto'', by Arnaud de Mareuil (Seghers, 1965) * ''Dialogues avec Lanza del Vasto'', by René Doumerc (Albin Michel) * ''Les Facettes de Cristal'', interviews with Claude-Henri Roquet ( Éditions du Centurion) * ''Lanza del Vasto, sa vie, son œuvre, son message'', by Arnaud de Mareuil (Dangles)

Citations

References

* * * * *

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vasto, Lanza del 1901 births 1981 deaths 20th-century Italian male writers 20th-century Italian non-fiction writers 20th-century Italian philosophers 20th-century Roman Catholics Anti–nuclear power activists Autonomism Catholic pacifists Gandhians Italian activists Italian Christian pacifists Italian expatriates in Spain Italian male non-fiction writers Italian male poets Italian people of Flemish descent Italian Roman Catholics Italian writers in French Lanza family Nonviolence advocates People of Sicilian descent