The Humanitarian Society
Reformist politicians and intellectuals like Filippo Turati, Emilio Caldara, and above all brothers Ugo and Giulio Pisa, dedicated women like Alessandrina Ravizza [it] and Maria Montessori, professionals like Alessandro Mazzucotelli, Eugenio Quarti, Alfredo Ravasco [it], artists from Arturo Toscanini to Victor de Sabata, all pledged their support.
Its officers were elected in public assemblies and their declared intention was to combine assistance and training for employment, social commitment and education, emancipation and culture, thereby growing "basic charity into fruitful constructive support.
The two quarters occupied a rectangular area and developed a continuous unit of 12 buildings linked around an exterior perimeter and enclosing a vast courtyard filled with greenery and fenced gardens, perfect for family socialization.
An innovative feature for the time, given that the dwellings were for the working classes, was the presence of a small facilities room in each, fitted with a toilet, sink and direct waste pipe down to the cellars.
The Allied bombings of 1943 razed the buildings in Via Daverio, Via San Barnaba, Via Pace, and Via Fanti to the ground: over 120,000 cubic metres of rubble, but immediately after the War, Riccardo Bauer began a successful reconstruction.
From the reopening of the vocational schools (day and evening, refresher and specialization courses) to the rebirth of the famous “Scuola del Libro” (the book school whose teachers included Bruno Munari and Albe Steiner [it]); publication of a fortnightly emigration bulletin (a working tool for branch offices in direct contact with workers looking to emigrate, but still "unable to establish themselves as bodies of serious information because they are absolutely ignorant of any certain information and therefore unable to work efficiently"[5]); the recovery of the centre for social studies; residential adult education courses; the network of cultural service centres activated in Southern Italy on behalf of the Cassa del Mezzogiorno project (in Sardinia, Cagliari, Alghero, Carbonia–Iglesias are still active).
In 1947, Bauer wrote that "The Humanitarian Society is revived with complex initiatives in its sights, aiming for the systematic preparation of tangible social progress, affirming that idea of harmonious technical, moral and civic advancement of workers which has been the soul of the institution since its origins.
Its new executive refashioned its social commitment, giving life to new forms of “assistance” while also developing the cultural machine: in the 1990s, the Humaniter Foundation was founded as a centre for voluntary work, solidarity and leisure.
Theatre, music, cinema, art, and poetry summer festivals in the cloisters were put in place, as were competitions and scholarships, not forgetting conferences, refresher courses, exhibitions, and book publications.
[7] The Humanitarian Society founded by Prospero Moisè Loria [it] continues its activities today, still pursuing the original statutory purpose, which was to "enable the underprivileged, without distinction, to achieve a situation in which they could help themselves, and to work for the professional, intellectual and moral advancement of workers".
