Aldo Capitini (23 December 1899 – 19 October 1968) was an Italian philosopher, poet, political activist, anti-fascist, and educator. He was one of the first Italians to take up and develop

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

's theories of

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 ...

and was known as "the Italian Gandhi".

Life

Early life, 1899–1920

CapitiniNational Association of Friends Aldo Capitini (1968) was born in

Perugia Perugia ( , ; ; ) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area. It has 162,467 ...

in 1899. His father was a municipal official and his mother a tailor. From an early age, Capitini was interested in philosophy and literature. Up to the age of 17, he followed

Futurism Futurism ( ) was an Art movement, artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such as the ...

and the nationalists who supported the intervention of Italy in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. From 1918 to 1919 he moved to support humanitarian, pacifist and socialist causes. He was committed to the study of

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

and

Greek literature Greek literature () dates back from the ancient Greek literature, beginning in 800 BC, to the modern Greek literature of today. Ancient Greek literature was written in an Ancient Greek dialect, literature ranges from the oldest surviving wri ...

. Capitini was physically fragile and an invalid.Capitini 1990: 11 Prolonged illness in his youth led to religious conversion and the radical change of his political views. Of this period he said, "During the World War I was a teenager, but I followed the tragedy of humanity. ... Moreover, I suffered a long painful illness and was unable to work. Thus, I understood the limitations of my activist culture in the fibres of my being, which gave paramount value to action, to violence, and to enjoyment, and I felt a deep interest in, and solidarity with, the problems of those who suffer, those who cannot act, and those who are overwhelmed. I would need to envisage a reality where suffering people were perfectly well, and not thrown on the edge of civilization, waiting for death and nothingness. This is how my religious search really started". In 1919 he acquired a Technical Institute diploma. Then, in 1924, he enrolled in the

Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa The Scuola Normale Superiore (commonly known in Italy as "la Normale") is a public university in Pisa and Florence, Tuscany, Italy, currently attended by about 600 undergraduate and postgraduate (PhD) students. Together with the University of Pi ...

, completing his master's degree in philosophy in 1928.

Under Fascism, 1922–1945

In the late 1920s, Capitini became a follower of Gandhi's nonviolence and a vegetarian. His views on religion reversed when the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

signed the

Lateran Treaty The Lateran Treaty (; ) was one component of the Lateran Pacts of 1929, agreements between Italy under Victor Emmanuel III and Benito Mussolini and the Holy See under Pope Pius XI to settle the long-standing Roman question. The treaty and ass ...

with the Fascist dictatorship in 1929. As a result, Capitini committed to his

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

activities. From then on, he proposed that religions should go beyond their

dogmatism Dogma, in its broadest sense, is any belief held definitively and without the possibility of reform. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, or Islam ...

and their authoritarian structure to be at the service of marginalized people and those who had no voice in society. In 1930, he began working as a secretary at the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa. He became close to anti-fascist students, as a professor being a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

. In 1933, the director of the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, a Fascist intellectual

Giovanni Gentile Giovanni Gentile ( , ; 30 May 1875 – 15 April 1944) was an Italian pedagogue, philosopher, and politician. He, alongside Benedetto Croce, was one of the major exponents of Italian idealism in Italian philosophy, and also devised his own sys ...

, asked Capitini to join the Fascist Party. Capitini refused and was dismissed. He then applied himself to nonviolent non-cooperation. In order to survive, he returned to his family in

, where he undertook private lessons until the end of

World War II 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 ...

in 1945. Capitini propagated anti-fascism from 1933 to 1943, meeting with groups of young people, especially in central Italy. He published three books on philosophy and religion, which passed the Fascist censorship, with support from the liberal philosopher

Benedetto Croce Benedetto Croce, ( , ; 25 February 1866 – 20 November 1952) was an Italian idealist philosopher, historian, and politician who wrote on numerous topics, including philosophy, history, historiography, and aesthetics. A Cultural liberalism, poli ...

. He was imprisoned twice for five months for his anti-fascist activities in 1942/3. In July 1944, with Emma Thomas, an English

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

, Capitini founded the Centro di Orientamento Sociale (Centre for Social Orientation) in Perugia. It was successful and spread to other cities, including

Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

Lucca Città di Lucca ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its Province of Lucca, province has a population of 383,9 ...

Arezzo Arezzo ( , ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the Province of Arezzo, province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of Above mean sea level, above sea level. As of 2 ...

Ancona Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...

Assisi Assisi (, also ; ; from ; Central Italian: ''Ascesi'') is a town and comune of Italy in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Monte Subasio. It is generally regarded as the birthplace of the Latin poet Prope ...

and

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

. It failed to establish itself permanently because of the indifference of the Left and the hostility of the Christian Democratic Party.

Post-war, 1946–1968

Capitini stood aside from the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

and the new Italian Republic, but promoted causes and became the most important exponent of nonviolence in Italy. In 1946, he arranged a meeting on religious problems, hoping to find a synthesis between social and religious life. After further meetings in 1947, the Religious Movement was established, to promote

religious freedom Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice ...

in Italy. In 1948, it held its first Italian congress for religious reform, in Rome. In 1950, Capitini organized the first Italian conference in Rome on the subject of conscientious objection. Capitini attended the World Congress of Religions for Peace Foundation, held in London in 1950. He proposed the establishment of a Nonviolent Religious International Movement. He protested against the appeal made by the meeting to religious leaders, saying that leaders are responsible for the compromise of states and wars and that the Congress had to address directly appeal to people individually. He participated in the Congress of

Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; , ), also known as ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six orthodox (Āstika and nāstika, ''āstika'') traditions of Hindu philosophy and textual exegesis. The word ''Vedanta'' means 'conclusion of the Vedas', and encompa ...

in London in 1951, with the theme "Peace, unity of the world, the spiritual community". In January 1952, Capitini promoted an International Conference for Nonviolence in Perugia. At the end of the meeting, he created an International Coordinating Center for Nonviolence. In the same year he held another conference in Perugia to study nonviolence with respect for plant and animal life. The outcome of the conference was the creation of the Italian Vegetarian Society, with Capitini as president and based in Perugia. The society became a collective effort after 20 years based on Capitini's personal control; it continues as the Italian Vegetarian Association. In 1953, Capitini also held the first West-East Asia Conference in Perugia. The aim of the meeting was to highlight the similarities between Asia and Western countries, especially from the nonviolence perspective. In 1954, Capitini held a seminar of lectures and discussions on the methodology of Gandhi in Perugia. Bandiera pace

Capitini became a professor of pedagogy at the University of Cagliari in 1956, and in 1965 was granted a transfer to the

University of Perugia The University of Perugia ( Italian ''Università degli Studi di Perugia'') is a public university in Perugia, Italy. It was founded in 1308, as attested by the Bull issued by Pope Clement V certifying the birth of the Studium Generale. The offi ...

with the same chair. In 1961, with the help of political forces of the Left, Capitini promoted a 24 km March for Peace and the Brotherhood of Peoples from Perugia to

in 1961, in the context of international tension. Its purpose was to assert that "peace is prepared in time of peace". The March was repeated many times, most recently in 2011. From the 1961 March the Italian Advisory Council for Peace was set up, with Capitini was appointed as president; also the Nonviolent Movement for Peace, with as Secretary Capitini. Capitini organized the National Conference on Disarmament Affairs in

in 1962, and held a seminar on techniques of nonviolence in Perugia in 1963, with the participation of leaders of the Committee of 100. Inspired by the peace flags used on British peace marches, Capitini had some women of Perugia hurriedly sew together coloured strips of material for the 1961 peace march. The Story of the Peace Flag
(Italian) The use of the flag became widespread with the ''Pace da tutti i balconi'' ("Peace from every balcony") campaign in 2002, a protest against the impending war in Iraq and is now used by peace organizations throughout the world. In 2003, the Italian newspaper '' Corriere della Sera'' reported the opinion of leading advertising executives that it had become more popular than the Italian national flag. The original flag was kept by Capitini's collaborator, Lanfranco Mencaroni, at Collevalenza, near Todi. In 2011, plans were announced to transfer it to the Palazzo dei Priori in Perugia. At the 12th Congress of

War Resisters' International War Resisters' International (WRI), headquartered in London, is an international anti-war organisation with members and affiliates in over 40 countries. History ''War Resisters' International'' was founded in Bilthoven, Netherlands in 1921 un ...

in Rome in 1966, Capitini gave a paper on ''International nonviolence and permanent revolution''. Two meetings in Perugia were the first congresses of the Nonviolent Movement for Peace. Capitini introduced a report, on the violent revolutionary methods, arguing that nonviolent revolution is much more effective. Capitini promoted A.D.E.S.S.P.I. (Associazione per la difesa e lo sviluppo della scuola pubblica italiana ssociation for the protection and development of the Italian public school. This association was launched to defend and promote the rights of everyone to an education. In particular, the Association defended freedom of instruction by attempting to make formal education similar to the confessional. To achieve this, the Association was the guarantor and controller of legislative and administrative power. Among those Capitini engaged with his causes were

Danilo Dolci Danilo Dolci (28 June 1924 – 30 December 1997) was an Italian social activist, sociologist, popular educator and poet. He is best known for his opposition to poverty, social exclusion and the Mafia in Sicily, and is considered to be one of the ...

, a social activist, sociologist, popular educator and poet, known for his opposition against poverty, social exclusion and the Mafia in Sicily; and Lorenzo Milani, a priest and educator known for his civic education of the poor, and for his fight against injustice and violence. Capitini died on 19 October 1968 following the after-effects of surgery.

Views

Capitini was influenced by meeting Claudio Baglietto, a philosopher and conscientious objector who died in exile in Switzerland. His own background had components that Massimiliano Fortuna defined in an essay: integral parts of the Kantian criticism (for the primacy of the moral law), idealism (

Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a 19th-century German idealism, German idealist. His influence extends across a wide range of topics from metaphysical issues in epistemology and ontology, to political phi ...

Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

ian analysis and Gandhian spirituality. To these elements, Norberto Bobbio (1984) added the influence of Giacomo Leopardi (poet and writer) and

Giuseppe Mazzini Giuseppe Mazzini (, ; ; 22 June 1805 – 10 March 1872) was an Italian politician, journalist, and activist for the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) and spearhead of the Italian revolutionary movement. His efforts helped bring about the ...

(politician and philosopher). Capitini, as he wrote in his ''Letters of Religion'', published posthumously in the book ''The Power of All'', to form his own ideas went back "to the teachers of religious life", enumerated as

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

, St. Francis of Assisi, Gandhi and Mazzini. At the end of World War II, he wrote the ''Manifesto of the Liberal Socialism'' with Guido Calogero, in order to combine

liberalism Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...

with

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

. In Capitani's view,

liberal socialism Liberal socialism is a political philosophy that incorporates Liberalism, liberal principles to socialism. This synthesis sees liberalism as the political theory that takes the inner freedom of the human spirit as a given and adopts liberty a ...

(''liberalsocialismo'') should be a pressure group concentrating on

lobbying Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agency, regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by va ...

. Capitini took from the philosopher Carlo Michelstaedter of

Gorizia Gorizia (; ; , ; ; ) is a town and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, Region ...

the importance of persuasion, as the ability to pursue one's own ideals with tenacity, and the power of nonviolence, a gentle power, however determined. In 1948, Pietro Pinna listened to Capitini at a conference sponsored by the Movement of Religion in

. Pinna underwent a trial and a first conviction in 1949. Capitini mobilized to help Pinna and called on the support of intellectual friends and Members of the Italian Parliament. Antonio Vigilante2010 states that there are many similarities between Capitini's religiosity and Buddhism.

Writings

*1937 ''Elementi di un'esperienza religiosa'', (Elements of a Religious Experience, Outlined his religious philosophy and presented the theoretical foundations of the principles of nonviolence.), Laterza, Bari. *1942 ''Vita religiosa'', Cappelli, Bologna. *1943 ''Atti della presenza aperta'', Sansoni, Firenze. *1947 ''Saggio sul soggetto della storia'', La Nuova Italia, Firenze. *1948 ''Esistenza e presenza del soggetto'' in ''Atti del Congresso internazionale di Filosofia'' (II Vol.), Castellani, Milano. *1948 ''La realtà di tutti'', Arti Grafiche Tornar, Pisa. *1948 Religious Problems Today *1949 ''Italia nonviolenta'', (Nonviolent Italy), Libreria Internazionale di Avanguardia, Bologna. *1950 ''Nuova socialità e riforma religiosa'', (New Social Relations and Religious Reform), Einaudi, Torino. *1951 ''L'atto di educare'', La Nuova Italia, Firenze. *1955 ''Religione aperta'', (Open Religion), Guanda, Modena. *1956 ''Colloquio corale'', Pacini Mariotti, Pisa. *1956 Open Revolution *1957 I Argue the Religion of Pius XXII *1958 ''Aggiunta religiosa all'opposizione'', Parenti, Firenze. *1958 Danilo Dolci on nonviolence *1958 The experience of Danilo Dolci *1959 Conscientious Objection in Italy *1961 ''Battezzati non credenti'', (Non-Believing Baptized), Parenti, Firenze. *1962 On the Road to Peace *1962 Nonviolence Today *1964 Founded the magazine Nonviolent Action, which became the official organ of the Nonviolent Movement. *1964 Civic Education in School and Social Life *1965 Religious Life *1967 ''Le tecniche della nonviolenza'', (The Techniques of Nonviolence), Feltrinelli, Milano (rist. Linea D'Ombra, Milano 1989). *1967–1968 ''Educazione aperta'' (2 Vols.), (Open Education), La Nuova Italia, Firenze. *n.d. Letters of Religion An anthology of sixty-three letters written from 1951 to 1968. *1969 ''Il potere di tutti'', introduzione di N. Bobbio, prefazione di P. Pinna, La Nuova Italia, Firenze. *1992 ''Scritti sulla nonviolenza'', a cura di L. Schippa, Protagon, Perugia *1994 ''Scritti filosofici e religiosi'', a cura di M. Martini, Protagon, Perugia *2004 ''Le ragioni della nonviolenza. Antologia degli scritti'', a cura di M. Martini, Ets, Pisa *2007 ''Lettere 1931–1968'', "Epistolario di Aldo Capitini, 1" – con Walter Binni, a cura di L. Binni e L. Giuliani, Carocci, Roma *2008 ''Lettere 1952–1968'', "Epistolario di Aldo Capitini, 2" – con Danilo Dolci, a cura di G. Barone e S. Mazzi, Carocci, Roma *2009 ''Lettere 1936–1968'', "Epistolario di Aldo Capitini, 3" – con Guido Calogero, a cura di Th. Casadei e G. Moscati, Carocci, Roma * He also founded a monthly magazine of national circulation, entitled ''The Power of All'' based on citizen participation in power and the means and methods available to citizens for the control of institutions from below.

References

*Bergagna, L. (1968) ''Incontro con il Gandhi Italiano''(Meeting the Italian Gandhi). La Stampa 22 June 3 *Capitini, A. (1969) ''Il Potere di Tutti'' (The Power of All) Florence: La Nuova Italia *Capitini, A. (1990) ''Elementi di un'Esperienza Religiosa'', Ristampa Anastatica, Edizione del 1947 (Elements of a Religious Experience. Reprint Edition, 1947). Bologna: Cappelli editore *Eurostudium (2005
''Primo Manifesto del Liberalsocialismo''
(First Manifesto of Liberal Socialism) (21 February 2011) *Fortuna, M. (2002) ''Religione Cristiana e Religione Aperta: Linee di un Confronto'' (Christian Religion and Open Religion: a Comparison of Lines). ''Segni e Comprensioni'' (Signs and Understandings) XVI n.s. (47), 17–39 *Gramsci, A. (n.d.

he Future Town. Indifferent 8 March 2011*Mercurelli, C. (2008–2009) ''Guido Calogero, Aldo Capitini, Norberto Bobbio. Tre Idee di Democrazia per Tre Proposte di Pace'' uido Calogero, Aldo Capitini, Norberto Bobbio. Three Ideas of Democracy for Three Proposals for PeaceUnpublished thesis. Milan: University of Milan *Movimento Nonviolento (Nonviolent Movement) (n.d.
''Aldo Capitini''
(21 February 2011) *National Association of Friends of Aldo Capitini (Associazione Nazionale 'Amici di Aldo Capitini') (1968

(Words of Aldo Capitini. Through Two-Thirds of the Century. Autobiography) (19 February 2011) *Nenni, P. (1983) ''I Conti con la Storia. Diari 1967–1971'' o Terms with History. Diaries 1967–1971(3 vols.). Milan: Sugarco Edizioni *Pisu, R. (2006) ''"Abito Indecente", e il Papa non lo Volle Ricevere'' (''“Indecent Dress”, and the Pope did not Wish to Receive Gandhi''). ''La Repubblica'', 18 June 1943 *Ufficio Nazionale per il Servizio Civile (National Bureau for Civil Service) (n.d.
''Alcune Date Salienti della Storia dell'Obiezione di Coscienza''
(Some Key Dates in the History of Conscientious Objection)(online) available from (26 February 2011)

Notes

External links

* Antonino Drago
A Profile of the Italian Non-Violent Aldo Capitini (1899–1968)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Capitini, Aldo 1899 births 1968 deaths 20th-century Italian male writers 20th-century Italian philosophers 20th-century Italian writers Action Party (Italy) politicians Italian anti-fascists Italian pacifists Italian vegetarianism activists Nonviolence advocates Italian social philosophers