«The idea was born in Trent, in Tonadico, in the Primiero Valley, where eight of the first ten summer Mariapolises took place, in the period from 1949 to 1959. The Mariapolises were a coexistence of people of every social category, of all ages, men and women, of the most varied vocations, which constituted, during the summer months, almost a temporary town characterized by the practice, by all its inhabitants, of the new commandment of Jesus: ‘Love one another as I have loved you’ (Jn 13:34), the central norm of Jesus’ teaching. One day during one of these Mariapolises, I was on a hilltop, admiring the green plain of the valley, and I seemed to understand that the Lord would have wanted one day, in some place, a town similar to the one that was taking place, but a permanent one; and, with my imagination, I ‘saw’ the valley populated with houses and cottages. […] But there was another moment when the idea of the permanent Mariapolis made its way into my mind. In Switzerland, during the summer of 1962, together with my first women and men companions, I was admiring the marvelous Benedictine Abbey of Einsiedeln surrounded by meadows and hotels. I understood (then) that also because of our spirituality, which was new in the Church, a little city would arise, almost an incarnation of it. It would have in itself the main elements of a modern city with houses, a church, shops, fields, various industries, and schools…».

The Pioneers

The stories, memories and memoirs of those who helped to found the little city of Loppiano.