On Saturday, October 13th—a month after the Twin Towers fell—my husband and I found ourselves living an unexpected day of grace in a beautiful farmhouse at Podere Gugliano near Trequanda, an evocative corner of the Sienese countryside.
Our host was the owner of the house, "father" to eight children of various ages: Professor Fabrizio Mori. Unknown to the masses, he is renowned among paleontologists, especially for his discoveries of twelve-thousand-year-old rock art in the Sahara Desert.
Our initial shyness dissolved at once in the face of his natural hospitality. Seated outside in the lingering autumn sun, we talked while his younger children, Brenda and Daiano—five and seven—circled us with two puppies, drawn by the simple joy of being together.
You might think: of course, in such surroundings, close to nature and far from daily cares, it is easy to feel at peace. But beyond the simple, essential beauty of the place itself, we sensed something deeper—a warmth, an openness, never formal. This was "Centro Lorenzo Mori" in its lived reality.
Young Lives Restored
The name grew clear as we spoke with Professor Mori. Fabrizio lost his only and deeply loved son, Lorenzo, fifteen years old, in an accident twenty-five years ago. After a period of severe depression, with the help of faithful friends and with a vision of restoring the decaying farmhouse at Gugliano—a place Lorenzo himself had chosen for its unique beauty—this distinguished scholar and grief-stricken father found his way forward again.
For Fabrizio, this house is not a shrine to memory, but a living path for the many young people who are, have been, and will be his children—entrusted to him not by blood, but by the Florence Juvenile Court.
For twenty years, Centro Lorenzo Mori has been an educational community. Fabrizio's welcome to the other, the small, the vulnerable, the struggling young person springs from his heart. He transforms what might remain as "endless longing" for his son into an inexhaustible wellspring of loving guidance and care for the many children he has sheltered, protected, and restored to life.
Maurizio and I assumed such "greatness of soul" must come from faith. Fabrizio surprised us once more: gently, with a hint of regret, he said he adheres to no creed, save that of belonging to the same human species—and therefore, as he has learned from his Tuareg friends, to solidarity with all of his kind.
We fell silent. The concrete fruits of his faith are so large, so visible, they brought to mind words by Thomas Merton we had read in Ombre e Luci:
"The Christian life is a continuous discovery of Christ in unexpected and new places."
Centro "Lorenzo Mori"
The social cooperative "Centro Lorenzo Mori" was established in 1977 to address the social, family, and psychophysical needs of young people.
Under agreement with the ASW 7 of Valdichiana (Siena), the Center welcomes up to 8 minors under eighteen whose circumstances threaten their healthy development. These young people come from communities throughout Siena province and the ASL 8 district of Arezzo.
Young people remain at the Center as long as necessary to support their reintegration into their home communities and their transition into employment.
The ratio of staff to residents is one adult for every four young people.
The Center's young people attend local public schools, work in local employment settings, play sports at nearby facilities alongside their peers, take two annual trips—one to the mountains, one to the sea—and build genuine friendships within their community.
— Maurizio and Silvana Zamperoni, 2001
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