{"id":78200,"date":"2026-05-20T13:50:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T12:50:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spaziospadoni.org\/training-institutions\/confraternita-di-misericordia-di-anghiari\/"},"modified":"2026-08-21T16:55:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T15:55:24","slug":"confraternity-of-mercy-of-anghiari","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/spaziospadoni.org\/en\/training-institutions\/confraternity-of-mercy-of-anghiari\/","title":{"rendered":"Confraternity of Mercy of Anghiari"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Confraternity of Mercy of Anghiari is a voluntary association belonging to the Confraternities of Mercy Movement, founded in Florence in 1244 by Pietro da Verona, later known as Saint Peter Martyr. Today, the Confraternities of Mercy are present in Italy and abroad through more than 700 confraternities.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Confraternity<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

History<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The organized charitable movement arose in Anghiari in the year 1348, with the birth of the “Company of Saint Mary of Mercy” also known as “Company of the Blacks”, assisted by the “Brotherhood of Saint Mary of Borghetto” or “Brotherhood of Anghiari”. \u201cCompany of the Holy Spirit\u201d originated in 1564 and later transformed into \u201cConfraternity of Mercy\u201d. The Statutory Chapters of the Brotherhood, approved in 1817, are the first organic collection that has come down to us of rules aimed at regulating its action. In 1855 the “Regulation of Charity Works” was approved, an important step for the Institution, a prelude to a commitment that would become one of the cornerstones of future welfare activity. The services carried out so far by the Brothers out of a pure spirit of care are thus noted, including the transport of the sick to the hospital; furthermore, the Regulation includes services such as assistance to the sick and weekly collections to support the poor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 24 August 1856 the Confraternity of Mercy of Anghiari was affiliated to the venerable “Archconfraternity of Mercy of Florence”. With a royal decree of 5 May 1863, a keystone in the history of the Institution, the Company was recognized as a “Moral Body”, with the title of “Confraternity of Mercy”; the new Statutes of 1863, in preparation since July 1859, document the tenacious desire of the Confraternity to participate in the life of the city community, permeating every aspect of it, through a constant commitment to which the affiliates are called to uphold. In the second half of the 19th century, the Confraternity of Mercy of Anghiari emerged as a rapidly growing institution. The suppressions of the Leopoldian and Napoleonic eras are now distant memories, the result of an era perceived as light years away compared to the progress made in recent decades by the Company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1869 the Confraternity of Mercy decreed the forthcoming opening of a new hospital, which in fact opened its doors to the first patients the following year with the name “Hospital of Mercy”, in eternal memory of the key role played by the Brotherhood in its foundation; the administration of the hospital, for the first five years, remains joint with that of the institution itself. The Crispi law n. 6972 of 17 July 1890 and the subsequent regulation issued with royal decree no. 99 of 5 February 1891, decreed the transformation of private charity into public charity, once again undermining the certainties of autonomy and independence of the Confraternity, which was forced to make a new important statutory change. The new statutory project, approved by the Magistrate on 24 April 1899 and by the Assembly of the brothers on the following 7 May, was presented to the state authority for the necessary approval. Thus began a long and tormented process between the Brotherhood and the Council of State, which through the prefecture of Arezzo proposed further changes to the initial project. After a strenuous battle that lasted for over three years in defense of its history and the principles underlying the existence of the Institution, the general assembly of the Brothers accepts some amendments to the new statutory project, formally sanctioned and approved by Royal Decree of 21 October 1903. Although forced to come to terms with the superior authority, the Brotherhood thus manages to preserve its independence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1899 in Pistoia 40 Confraternities created the \u201cFederation of the Confraternities of Mercy\u201d which in 1947 became \u201cNational Confederation of the Confraternities of Mercy of Italy\u201d, to which the Confraternity of Mercy of Anghiari is affiliated. Already at the beginning of 1971 the need was felt within the Company to provide for the revision of the current Statute, in force since 1903, inadequate in the face of the new social needs which entail an update of the statutory aims of the Confraternities of Mercy, based on new and more modern forms of intervention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1972 the development of a new Statute began on the basis of the one proposed by the National Confederation, carefully studied in order to adapt it to local needs. The project was sanctioned by the General Assembly of the Brothers which met on 11 June 1972, and sent to the Tuscany Region for the necessary approval which would take years to arrive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The work carried out by the Institution had by then extended beyond the local level. Ready to intervene in the event of natural disasters, the Confraternity of Mercy of Anghiari provided valuable assistance to the people of Friuli affected by the earthquake of 6 May 1976, setting an example as an active and participatory institution fully integrated into and involved in national events. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new legislative provisions, however, risk nullifying years of efforts, reopening the abyss from which the Brotherhood was saved in 1903. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Article 25 of Presidential Decree no. 616 of 24 July 1977 assigned to the municipalities all administrative functions relating to the organisation and provision of welfare and charitable services; consequently, paragraph 5 of that article established the transfer to the municipalities of the functions, staff and assets of the institutions concerned operating at regional level. Alfredo Merlini, then president of the National Confederation, nevertheless succeeded in securing Parliament\u2019s approval of Article 45 of Law no. 833 of 23 December 1978 on the National Health Service, under which the Confraternities of Mercy having the legal status of IPAB were exempted from the dissolution envisaged by the notorious Article 25. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was therefore only through the tireless work of the National Confederation of the Confraternities of Mercy of Italy that similar institutions operating throughout the peninsula managed to escape the oblivion to which the law would have condemned them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In October 1985, the Brotherhood was finally declared to be in possession of the requirements established by the new law, and included among the associative institutions whose activities are based on the voluntary and personal services of the members.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, the Confraternity of Mercy of Anghiari seeks to embrace the message that the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II addressed to the Confraternities of Mercy during the audience of 14 June 1986; that meeting marked a new historical course for the Italian Confraternities of Mercy on the eve of the third millennium, a course that sees them as \u201cpromoters of the civilisation of love and tireless witnesses to the culture of charity\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Activities<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n