Nomadelfia – a proposal – (2017-2019)

Enrico Genovesi, Italy

Its name derives from the Greek terms nomos and adelphia, meaning: “Where brotherhood is law”.

Nomadelfia is a communitarian population rather than a community, situated near the town of Grosseto in Tuscany (Italy). It is a small population with its own Constitution based on the Gospel. Founded in 1948 in the former concentration camp of Fossoli by don Zeno Saltini, its purpose: to give a father and a mother to abandoned children, in a place of peace and harmony.

In Nomadelfia life is inspired in particular by the value of fraternity and peaceful coexistence. An idea of fraternity that focuses on man and his needs, because there is no justice where human needs are not respected. “Peace comes from justice. It is not enough to hope for the value of peace, we need to review ourselves and work to build a fairer society together with others“ (Don Zeno – 1963).

Nomadelfia defines itself as “a proposal”, an alternative model of social life compared to that usually offered by Western societies. Its members, all practicing Catholics, adopt a lifestyle inspired by what is reported in the Acts of the Apostles.

The care of orphan children and children, the response to the social emergency of abandonment between the two wars, represent the first spark that gave birth to Nomadelfia. Today this phenomenon is less extensive, but it still exists, in more complex forms. Nomadelfia is still active in hospitality, in the legal form of foster care.

It currently has about 300 people, 50 families divided into 11 groups, of which almost half are children and teens, the pulsating part of the community.

In Nomadelfia, all possessions are shared. In the spirit of evangelical advice, the population of Nomadelfia leads a life characterised by “sobriety”, i.e. on the basis of true human needs. In Nomadelfia, there is no circulation of money. Everything is designed to guarantee decent living conditions for every human being. Nomadelfia is a revolutionary life proposition.

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