Choice. Witnessing one's choices sometimes places us before challenges that seem bigger than ourselves.
Choice. Witnessing one's choices sometimes places us before challenges that seem bigger than ourselves.
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The location
The location
The Casino Nobile or Casino Principale is a building in Villa Torlonia, a villa on Via Nomentana in Rome. When Giovanni Raimondo Torlonia purchased the Vigna Colonna agricultural estate near the Via Nomentana, he commissioned Giuseppe Valadier to restore the buildings included in the vineyard estate. The first restoration and expansion work on the Casino lasted from 1802 to 1806 and included stuccowork and rearrangement of interior paintings (some of which have been moved to the inner hall of the Casino known as a “Berceau”). Upon the death of Giovanni Torlonia, work on improvements and enlargement of the building was continued by his son Alessandro Torlonia, who called in other artists. Alessandro's idea was to make the entrance to the stable monumental by inserting a vestibule on the facade. A terracotta high relief representing a scene of the Triumph of Bacchus made by Rinaldo Rinaldi was inserted on the pediment.
From 1925 to 1943, the Casino Nobile was used as the residence of Mussolini at Villa Torlonia, who lived there with his family. During this period, two bunkers were added to the structure and modernizations were made.The ground floor and the piano nobile had a representative function, and the rooms had decorations with varying themes from room to room.
The basement and 2nd floor were used as servants' quarters.
Access to the basement level was provided by an underground gallery that still exists today.
From the basement level there is access to the two bunkers erected by Benito Mussolini and to an underground room: one bunker is anti-gas, the other is anti-aircraft; the underground room was discovered through recent renovation work on the building. The decorations and furnishings of the hall, made by Giovan Battista Caretti, succeeded in making it resemble an Etruscan tomb.
Traces of Christian life
Traces of Christian life
From the Gospel of Luke (Lk 9:57-62)
57 As they were going along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 But he said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
The right questions
The right questions
«Dearest Hildegard, you too are surely afflicted with strong concern since you have learned that I am serving in the SS (...) What afflicts my heart, my most faithful companion, is that in the decisive hour, my profession of faith will throw immense pain upon you. The urgency of such a testimony is now inescapable. My superiors have shown too clearly that they reject and hate what is most sacred and intangible for us Catholics. Pray for me, Hildegard, that in the hour of trial I may act without hesitation according to the dictates of God and of my conscience (...) But you are a courageous woman, and not even the personal sacrifices that may be asked to you will be able to induce you to condemn your husband because he preferred to lose his life rather than abandon the path of duty.»
(Letter from Konitz, 9/27/1944)
The one speaking is Josef Mayr-Nusser, a German-speaking South Tyrolean Catholic martyr known because he was enlisted in the SS in 1944. One day before his oath he explained that for reasons of conscience he could not swear, was sentenced to death by the Danzig court for “defeatism,” and was to be executed in Dachau. Exhausted by starvation, Josef Mayr died on 24 February 1945, in a cattle car at Erlangen station.
Believing in love: difficult?
Living in everyday life the values I believe in: impossible?
In what situations in my life do I struggle most to make choices that make me feel like a credible witness to my values?
Dynamic
Dynamic
Discuss with another Pilgrim of Hope.
When faced with issues that question us morally and for which we are asked to make a choice, how do you react? Are you able to stay true to your beliefs/values/morals?
According to Hannah Arendt “no one has the right to obey,” how do you interpret this quote?
Traces of Hope
Traces of Hope
In light of what has been read, experienced, reflected upon, shared... insert words here that summarize the experience.
AGESCI - Branca R/S
AGESCI - Branca R/S
A journey that knows how to make a pilgrimage to the Jubilee of Young people, from 28 July to 3 August 2025, with a rich program and an experience proposed by the Branca R/S for all young people and their communities of reference: Tracce di Speranza (Traces of Hope).
traccedisperanza.agesci.it available to all, born in the Jubilee Year!
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