In Tuscany's Massa Carrara province, fine marble drives the local economy—not just worktops, statues, and the bathrooms of the wealthy, but something more. A small group of friends bound together in a Fede e Luce community (San Pietro di Avenza) has dedicated itself to recovering and reusing marble waste. Nothing is lost. Among them, at the heart of the Gemma Preziosa association, are people society often dismisses as "scraps" themselves. Roberto speaks for them all.
The group meets weekly at a space in Parco La Comasca, shared with another disability-focused association. Each session follows a rhythm: first, they gather to develop art projects centered on "recovering this precious stone, the raw material of so much beauty." Then they bring their chosen designs to life, trusting that hidden capacity in each person will flourish "when given the chance to act." They finish with conversation about shared interests—like weather. Two members discovered a common passion for meteorology and now walk others through satellite maps and weather patterns, especially the systems that shape their region.
Mosaics stand as their flagship project. There is something powerful about imagining an image and bringing it to life through countless small pieces—a perfect mirror of what the association aims for: "creating deep relationships built on trust, harmony, and love, qualities that let us overcome each person's struggles; because love makes great things small and small things great."
Sometimes a choice of design opens a door. When Carlo, 46, asked to make a mosaic of Peter Pan, Roberto and the others pressed him: "Why Peter Pan?" His answer came quietly: "Because he never grows up. I wanted that too. I was happy at school—I had so many friends. Where did they all go?"
What looks like manual labor touches the deepest strings, the ones that have no other way to vibrate. "Each piece we make holds a thought, a feeling, or a story, sending a message of welcome and connection to anyone who joins us. It makes possible, in its own time, the sharing of things that are hard to say in words."
The name Gemma Preziosa was chosen with care: Gemma, for the saint of Lucca, Saint Gemma Galgani, a model of fraternal living; Preziosa, to honor the truth that every person's human richness is absolute value, precious in the eyes of God.
Two Gospel passages anchor Gemma Preziosa's work. The first calls them to "develop the artistic and expressive capacities, the abilities of people with disabilities, even where limited, because these gifts lead to the full realization of every human being" (The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; it is marvelous in our eyes—Mt 21:42). The second sends them forward: to give new value and new life to all the "scraps," to do as Jesus taught, and make all things new (Rev 21:5).
On such foundations, the hidden works of art in each heart can be revealed.
By Cristina Tersigni, 2018