Map

Located on the hill of Santa Maria, in the hamlet of Sant'Antonio, the chapel of "Santa Anastasia e della Riconciliazione" was built with wood donated by the Russian city of Mishkin, thanks to two artisans from the same Russian city in collaboration with local workers . It is the same (except in size) to a church built a few years earlier in Mishkin and dedicated to Santa Anastasia (281-304), born in Rome and martyred in Illyricum (a province of the Roman empire corresponding to a part of the ex Yugoslavia) after having helped in every way the Christians persecuted by the Roman authorities.

The construction of the chapel, assembled in the summer of 1996, has assumed an important historical-political significance because it is placed in front of the tombstones on the hill of Santa Maria reminiscent of the soldiers of Magliano Alfieri who died in Russia during the Second World War after the unfortunate shipping desired by Mussolini. For this reason the chapel stands as a sign of reconciliation between the two peoples.

The chapel construction project was born in the context of the ecumenical dialogue between Catholics and Orthodox. On 29 June 1997 the inauguration of the chapel of Saint Anastasia took place in the presence of the bishop of Alba, Mons. Sebastiano Dho and of the Orthodox bishop Goury, representative of the Moscow Patriarchate in Western Europe. They were joined by Catholic priests, among whom Fr Guido Davico, parish priest of Magliano and Orthodox religious. Russian and Italian civil authorities were also present: the Russian Consul of Genoa, administrators of the province of Cuneo and Magliano, as well as those of the Jaroslavl region and the city of Mishkin.

The relations between the Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church, after having experienced a particularly fruitful phase in the eighties of the last century, suffered an abrupt interruption after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The construction of the Chapel of Saint Anastasia testifies to the will of the faithful of both confessions to continue on the path of dialogue and mutual acceptance, the road that led to the historic meeting between Pope Francis and His Holiness Kirill Patriarch of Moscow on 12 February 2016. all of Russia. Since then contacts between Russians and Catholics have intensified and led to the realization of some symbolic gestures of high cultural value, such as the exhibition of Russian icons in the Vatican and especially the pilgrimage of the relics of St. Nicholas in Russia during last summer.

Direct visit
Classroom activity (pre and post the visit):
Vision of Ostrov (Russian: Остров, The Island) a 2006 Russian film about Eastern Orthodox monk
Detailed information on starets (Russian: стáрец) an elder of a Russian Orthodox monastery who functions as venerated adviser and teacher. He is a charismatic spiritual leaders whose wisdom stems from God as obtained from ascetic experience
Activity of verification of the acquired knowledge and skills.