School and university initiatives
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9.2 School and university initiatives
The cult of St. Michael and the paths dedicated to him have proved to be fertile ground for interdisciplinary educational projects, capable of involving schools and universities in the enhancement of cultural and spiritual heritage. Numerous educational experiences, in fact, have been able to combine historical research, exploration of the territory and the personal growth of students, often in a workshop and participatory form.
Local school projects
It involves primary and secondary schools in Gargano, Piedmont and Umbria. It includes: explorations in local sanctuaries, historical cartography workshops, creation of 'pilgrim diaries', dramatisations and podcasts.
• "The path told by the children" - Monte Sant'Angelo (FG)
School PON project with creation of illustrated maps, collection of oral testimonies and production of a documentary video with families.
• "Geography of Saints. Walking with Saint Michael' - Istituto Comprensivo di Gravina (BA)
Digital mapping activities with QR codes on sacred places, drawings, poems and performances to narrate the pilgrimage between sacred and territory.
Academic paths and university research
• University of Florence - CAMMINI Project (SAGAS Department)
Research and public history on medieval pilgrimages and cults of saints, with theses and publications on the Via Micaelica and the evolution of religious paths in Italy.
• University of Bari - Workshop 'Images and Devotion: Saint Michael in the South'
Activities with Cultural Heritage students for the analysis of Michaelic iconography and the digitisation of local historical sources.
• Roma Tre University - 'Places and Paths of Spirituality'.
Seminar activities on medieval pilgrimage, focusing on Monte Sant'Angelo, the Sacra and Mont-Saint-Michel. Some papers are published online.
• Erasmus+ and PCTO projects on European paths of faith
Several high schools (in Apulia, Lazio and Piedmont) have joined exchanges with French and Irish students on the micaelico paths, combining language, history and sustainable mobility.
Educational impact
These paths demonstrate how the micaelico cult can become an opportunity for active learning, cultural and spiritual citizenship. Through encounters with the land, with tradition and with others, students discover a new way of living the heritage of the past as a resource for the future.