Enhancement and research projects
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7. Projects for Enhancement and Research
The Michaelic cult in the Upper Caserta and Matese areas, so deeply intertwined with history, landscape, and popular spirituality, represents a cultural and religious heritage of great value. Its enhancement cannot be separated from the direct involvement of local communities, widespread educational initiatives, and the creation of a territorial network that brings together memory, spirituality, and innovation.
Educational, Parish, and Community Activities
Numerous local initiatives have already demonstrated how the devotion to the Archangel can become an educational and participatory tool:
• PCTO projects (school-to-work programmes) with local high schools (e.g., Piedimonte Matese, Alife) including digital mapping, photographic collections, and interviews on the cult of Saint Michael.
• Storytelling and drawing workshops in primary schools, where children recount the figure of Saint Michael through legends, oral stories, and graphic representations.
• Parish events (e.g., in Faicchio, Guardiaregia, Gioia Sannitica) with the rediscovery of traditional rites, “minor” processions, and moments of catechesis focused on the value of angelic protection.
• Community days at the Cave of Saint Michael, including celebrations, collective clean-ups, public storytelling, and moments of spirituality in nature.
Collaborations with Local Associations, Universities, and Dioceses
The enhancement of the Michaelic cult is already the subject of inter-institutional collaborations and offers extensive development opportunities:
• Local hiking and cultural associations (e.g., Pro Loco Faicchio, CAI Matese, Cammini del Sannio) promote walking events, trail restoration, and storytelling linked to the Archangel.
• The Dioceses of Alife-Caiazzo, Campobasso-Bojano, and Telese-Cerreto can support diocesan initiatives integrated with youth, family, and vocational ministry.
• Universities (e.g., Federico II, Unisannio, UNIMOL) show interest in interdisciplinary research projects (history, geography, religious anthropology).
• Opportunities for accessing regional calls for proposals, PNRR culture funds, and European funding for slow tourism, spirituality, and intangible heritage.
Ideas for a Michaelic Network of the Matese
To shape a unified and lasting system, the following actions are proposed:
• Creation of a “Michaelic Network of the Matese”: an informal pact between municipalities, parishes, organisations, and associations to coordinate cultural, educational, and spiritual activities.
• Development of an interactive digital map featuring all the Michaelic sites in the area (caves, shrines, churches, pathways), possibly linked to a Matese pilgrim credential.
• Thematic travelling exhibitions (physical and digital) with photographs, ex-votos, school drawings, and oral testimonies.
• Annual Michaelic Festival of the Matese: a cultural-spiritual event featuring hikes, workshops, vigils, and meetings between communities, experts, and walkers.
• Local wiki archive: creation of dedicated pages about the places and traditions of the Michaelic cult in the Matese, within the broader project of the “Archive of the Memory of the Michaelic Cult”.
“The Michaelic cult can unite ridges and communities, past and future: it simply needs to be recognised as a living, shared language, and offered a space to keep walking together.”