The project
The Seed of the Common Good is a joint project between the Community of Friars Minor Conventual, the Opera di Santa Croce and Aboca, in collaboration with the Fondazione Progetto Valtiberina.
The Community of Friars Minor Conventual has animated the spiritual life of Santa Croce ever since the foundation of the basilica. Santa Croce is one of the most ancient places of worship in Florence and over the centuries it has preserved its original identity as a place of prayer, worship and the transmission of faith, including through art. This is the main intent of the various religious activities still carried out today by the Franciscan community, which welcomes worshippers and pilgrims every day. These activities are supported by cultural initiatives organised by the Santa Croce Library and the magazine Città di Vita, both founded by the Community of Friars Minor Conventual.
The Opera di Santa Croce is one of the oldest fabbricerie in Italy, and is today a non-profit, lay foundation. It is responsible for the management, conservation and enhancement of the Monumental Complex of Santa Croce, owned by the Italian Ministry of the Interior’s Fondo Edifici di Culto and the Municipality of Florence. Santa Croce’s immense artistic and architectural legacy demands continuous conservation, which the Opera performs in full accordance with the Franciscan Community and the ownership bodies of the monumental complex, whilst respecting the sacredness of the site and its multifaceted identity as a religious, historical, artistic and civic asset.
Aboca focuses on people’s health, offering 100% natural, biodegradable, evidence-based products that respect the human body and the environment. We are all made up of the same matter: the genetic code, DNA. Plants, animals, humans: we all share the same language, and we are interconnected. For over 40 years, Aboca has been studying those connections, searching for the solutions to human health in the complexity of nature. As part of its continuous research, Aboca plans and offers cultural activities to raise awareness of the profound connection between humans and nature, and how each needs the other in a mutually harmonious relationship that must be rediscovered if we are to live happier and healthier lives.
Fondazione Progetto Valtiberina is an association dedicated to the qualitative growth of the Valtiberina region, which is located at the heart of the Cammini di San Francesco, between Umbria and Tuscany. The Foundation develops environmental, economic, cultural and social projects. Every year it organises the Festival dei Cammini di Francesco, creating a genuine space for discussion and reflection on the ways in which Franciscan concerns are still relevant today, after more than eight hundred years, and can provide a stimulus for the advancement of modern society towards a renewed harmony between humans and nature.