David Lazzaretti Study Center
In Arcidosso, on Monte Amiata, home of Jurisdavidism, a religious movement founded around 1870, founded by the preacher David Lazzaretti, stands one of the most interesting museums in the Tuscan Maremma, the Centro Studi David Lazzaretti.
Jurisdavidism
The Jurisdavidism movement was born in Arcidosso thanks to the action of the preacher David Lazzaretti, originally from this municipality of Amiata, the movement had the main objective of reforming the Catholic religion. According to this religion, there were three eras of human history, defined as "laws":
- Law Justice, and the bearer was Moses
- Law of Grace, and the bearer was Moses
- Law of Law, and the bearer was David Lazzaretti himself
According to Jurisdavidism, the Catholic church, with its strict principles, was remote from men, David Lazzaretti with his movement aimed to make significant changes to the church, such as abolishing the celibacy of priests and ending Roman rites.
Starting from 1870, David Lazzaretti founded three religious institutes:
- the Holy League, also known as the Christian Brotherhood, with welfare purposes
- the Institute of Penitentiary Hermits and Penitents, of a purely religious nature with millenarian and messianic purposes
- the Society of Christian Families, with the primary objective of creating a community of men who lived according to the original spirit of the Christian churches (David established the first Universal Suffrage for these communities, even women were in fact allowed to choose the leading bodies of the community)
The institutes created by David Lazzeretti represented a strong desire to respect divine will, symbolically depicting the three theological virtues, Faith, Hope and Charity. In 1878, after being recognized as a subversive figure, David Lazzaretti was killed by soldiers of the Royal Italian Army in his own hometown, Arcidosso, during a peaceful procession. Nonetheless, his followers continued the movement until 2002, the year of the death of the last high priest, Turpino Chiappini. However, there are still elderly practitioners who live mainly in the Monte Labro area.
Following the death of David Lazzaretti, his followers created a new organizational chart of the Jurisdavid Church, effectively creating the basis for the spread of this religion:
- First Priest
- Twelve Apostles
- Twelve Disciples
- Twelve fellow disciples
The liturgy included the consecration of bread and wine, the act of contrition, prayers and litanies. Baptism, on the other hand, involved a branding on the skin, a double C with a cross in the middle. The places sacred to Jurisdavidism were all on Monte Labro, the tower, built between 1869 and 1870, a small church from 1872 and a hermitage from 1875.
The Study Center
The study center of Arcidosso was born in 1978 during the celebrations for the centenary of the death of David Lazzaretti, and is housed in the Aldobrandesco Castle.
The visit is divided between the three rooms:
- in the first room there are some panels that tell the story of Arcidosso in the 19th century and the figure of David Lazzaretti, there are three Jurisdavidic tunics, two drapes, a wooden sculpture depicting the prophet himself, an interesting charcoal depicting the dying David, and a painting representing the Jurisdavid hierarchy.
- the second room tells of David Lazzaretti’s prophetic activity and the three religious institutes he created
- the third room is a chronological reconstruction of the events that involved David Lazzaretti, his relationships with the religious authorities, the civil authorities, his travels, especially the one in France and finally the procession of 1878 during which the prophet was killed
DAVID LAZZARETTI STUDY CENTER
Aldobrandesco Castle, Arcidosso GR
Tel. 0564968084
OPENING HOURS AND PRICES
From October to June on Saturday and Sunday 10.00 – 13.00 / 15.30 – 18.30
July and August from Tuesday to Sunday 10.00 – 13.00 / 16.00 – 19.00
September from Tuesday to Friday 10.00 – 13.00 / 16.00 – 19.00
Full ticket €5.00
Reduced ticket €3.00
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