Un Prete visionario - Antonio Sperti e l'orfanotrofio di Belluno

On Thursday, November 27, the presentation of the volume by Leopoldo A. Cafaro "A Visionary Priest - Antonio Sperti and the Orphanage of Belluno" will take place at Palazzo Crepadona.

Introduced by Adriana Lotto, historian, and Giorgio Reolon, Bellunese Institute of Social and Cultural Research. In 1855, the Belluno area was struck by a severe cholera epidemic, and many children suddenly found themselves orphaned.

The Bellunese priest Don Antonio Sperti (1821-1898) was so affected that he decided to abandon his position as director of the Gregoriano Gymnasium to dedicate himself to the poor orphans. In December 1855, he rented some rooms in the former Capuchin convent in the central Piazza Campitello in Belluno and brought 14 boys there: thus, the Sperti Orphanage was born. After just three years, Don Antonio was able to open a new, more welcoming and spacious location, and later, not satisfied, he wanted to restore and reopen the nearby church of San Rocco, which was then abandoned.

Throughout his life, he had to face debts as well as criticism related to numerous initiatives, but strong in his unwavering faith, he succeeded in overcoming all difficulties, even in creative ways. Surprising were the pilgrimages, true tours with the orphanage's band that traveled, on foot, through the provinces of Northern Italy. In 1861, the band arrived (this time by train) in Turin, where Don Sperti met his colleague and mentor Don Giovanni Bosco.