Superheroes of urban decorum, with the goal of preserving the city of Florence from filth, neglect, and decay. Men and women who, driven by a strong civic sense and the desire to restore clean, livable spaces to the community, spend their free time renovating and caring for the city's environment.
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ANGELS OF BEAUTY
They are the Angels of Beauty, founded in 2010 in Florence as an association that later became a non-profit organization, working in the streets, squares, gardens, and corners of the Tuscan capital to make a practical contribution to the preservation of the city's beauty, a true open-air museum like many places on the peninsula.
They offer a wide range of services and contributions: from groups of educators for children and teenagers, the citizens of tomorrow, to the removal of graffiti on buildings and homes in the suburbs or historic center, from maintaining green spaces, parks, and gardens to maintaining villas, parks, and historic homes. They also clean up playgrounds, roadsides, riverbeds, and other spaces left neglected and degraded that can be redeveloped and returned to the city, such as the Piazzetta dei Tre Re in Florence.
Not only local initiatives, but also, and above all, citizen awareness campaigns on the care of public spaces, such as the Cambia Gesto campaign, on disposing of cigarette butts in the environment. The goal is to foster civic awareness among those who live and work in cities.
TO KNOW MORE: Retake Roma, the volunteers who have been cleaning up the city's neighborhoods for ten years.
ANGELS OF BEAUTY FOUNDATION
In the years the non-profit organization Angeli del Bello has achieved important goals: only in the city of Florence does it collect over 3500 volunteers and supporters, Also arriving in other Tuscan and Italian cities such as Ascoli Piceno, Naples, Verona, Milan, and Rome. As well as Bielle, Brescia, and Savona.
No special qualifications are needed to become a superhero of beauty; all you need is the same desire to care for the common good. Volunteers are retirees, professionals, merchants, artisans, entrepreneurs, Italian and international students, companies, and associations who have decided to become Angels of Beauty. The secret to their cohesion and effectiveness, based above all on conviviality and cooperation, is their team spirit: the Angels of Beauty never move alone, organizing themselves into "intervention teams" according to a specific schedule of operations. They pay particular attention to the safety of their volunteers: each is insured and wears protective gear. gloves as personal protective equipment.
Finally, it is also important to make the Angeli del Bello groups recognisable, to make their presence reassuring and concrete in the streets of the city in which they operate, as Giorgio Moretti, president of the Angeli del Bello Foundation, also underlines, summarising the objectives and the way the non-profit organisation operates as follows: «Love for Florence, the desire to get involved. Taking concrete action for the city. Being on the road. Recognizable. A sure point of reference. This is what the Angels of Beauty volunteers are. A blend of patience and determination for the care and decorum of the city.
ALSO READ: Palermo: Manzoni, Prévert, Alfieri, and Gibran appear on the walls. Against degradation.
THE VOLUNTEER ANGELS OF BEAUTY
Only in Florence the Angels of Beauty (www.angelidelbello.org) have so far completed 190 projects, with nearly 1 million hours of work from 35 volunteers to combat the waste of urban decay. Never before in Italy has a public space maintenance operation been so successful in mobilizing so many human resources, strengthening participation and civic sense.
POTENTIAL OF ANGELS OF BEAUTY
But the potential of the Angels of Beauty project, if adopted on a large scale, is enormous. Especially in a historical moment in which municipal administrations are struggling to cover the costs of maintenance and urban decor, not to mention cleaning. It has been estimated that if the project were implemented in Italy's 5 most populous cities, 500 teams of workers would be at work within eight years. With the potential to train and employ 36 people.
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ALLIANCE OF ANGELS OF BEAUTY, COMMUNITAS CONSORTIUM, AND EXTAPULITA
For now, the Angels of Beauty have formed an alliance with the Consortium Communitas and Extrapulita. The latter is a volunteer association whose mission is to "restore splendor to people and cities." Its projects to improve urban cleanliness and decor also serve to provide jobs for immigrants, ensuring their successful immigration and integration.www.extrapulita.net)The Communitas Consortium (www.consorziocommunitas.it), Under the aegis of Caritas, it is a social network supporting the most vulnerable. Together, they aim to make the Angels of Beauty's participation in public life a structural project, thanks also to financing to be activated with European funds, sponsorships from private companies, and widespread collections through thecrowdfundingA project that seems like a dream, and could change the outlook for the Third Sector in Italy, one of our country's strengths.
(Featured image accompanying the text taken from the Angeli del Bello Foundation website)
The Angeli Del Bello Foundation is a candidate for the 2021 Non Sprecare Award, in the "Associations" section. To submit your projects, follow the instructions provided. here.
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