THE DIVERSITY OF THE MISERICORDIE

The diversity of the Misericordie, whether is considered through its legendary origin or the history of its tradition or finally through the results of the modern history-scientific investigation, it has a recurring and constant element which is its nature of popular dimension.

Whichever the reading may be, since the beginning the “Misericordie” manifested the propensity to add large quantity of citizens' desiderous to give concrete actualization to the teaching of Christian Charity.

The belief of “acting on God behalf ” the nature of the good deeds in itself, which always require a collective effort, made the Misericordie, from those earlier times a place were the citizens’, often excluded from “meaningful places”, could find a positive role in the public life of his/her community. It wasn’t a political role yet, but certainly, an active one.

This characteristic of the Misericordie makes it a civil and moral wrestling-school. It’s not by chance that in the “history of the tradition” the first "Misericordia" was originated from the “Society of Faith” which, in fact, united the defenses of the religious dogmatic to the “political” sympathies for the communal autonomy.

It's not accidental that, according to the Legendary origin, it had its beginning through an iniciative born from the most humble strata of the society of its time.

Therefore, in the end, it is not accidental, that the most modern history-scientific investigation identifies the roots of the "Misericordie" in the first roman societies, which had religious inspiration but powerful civil manifestation.

This genetic code of the "Misericordie", which run through the centuries, makes it an element of society with whom the various political institutions, succeeded in the evolution of the Story, are forced, soon or later, to confront each other.

Already in the oldest document can be seen that the politic power of that time wanted to control the activities of our associations.
The vicissitude of Arezzo’s “Misericordia” (1374), that very same forced unification of the “Misericordia” with the Bigallo company of Florence (1425), demonstrate that since the beginning the presence of our organizations, free because voluntary, was considered dangerous for those retaining the lever of public power.

Perhaps, with major far sightedness (or astuteness) it has been tried to limit or control the development of our organization, like in the reconstruction case of the Florentine’s “Misericordia” to which is very well known the Medici influence.

Going back through the course of the story, toward more recent times, the large quantity of document available, confirm and further clarify the dimension of this constant attempt of political control.
Through the course of the centuries reiterated attempts indistinctively put on by regimes and diverse political faction which the only objective is to put a limit to the exuberant supporting nature of our associations.

This pre-political aspect with the Christian inspiration, an unmistakable character of the “Misericordie” which has remained unchanged through the centuries, finds, today, in the association structure its natural outlet.