Historical Outline or Cenno storico
Don Bosco
[p. 3] Historical Outline (Cenno Storico) of the Oratory of St. Francis de Sales
This Oratory, a gathering of young people on Sundays and holy days, began in the Church of St. Francis of Assisi.1 For many years during the summertime, the Rev. Fr. [Joseph] Caffasso2 used to teach catechism every Sunday to bricklayers' boys in a little room attached to the sacristy of the aforementioned church. The heavy workload this priest had taken on caused him to interrupt this work, which he loved so much.3 I took it up towards the end of 1841, and I began by gathering in that same place two young adults who were in grave need of religious instruction. These were joined by others, and during 1842 the number went up to twenty, and sometimes twenty-five.4
From these beginnings I learned two very important truths: first, that in general young people are not bad in themselves but more often than not they become such through contact with evil companions; second, that even these bad youngsters, if separated one from the other, are susceptible to great moral change.
In 1843 the catechism classes continued on the same footing and the number increased to fifty, the most that the place assigned to me could accommodate. All the while, while visiting the prisons of Turin,5] I was able to verify that the poor unfortunates committed to that place of punishment are generally poor young men who come into the city from far away either because they need to find work, or encouraged by some rascally companion. These young people are left to themselves particularly on Sundays and holy days and spend the little money they earn during the week on games [of chance] or on sweetmeats. This is beginning of many vices; in no time at all, these young people, who were good, are found to be themselves at risk and putting others at risk. Nor can the prisons better them in any way, because while detained there they learn more refined ways of doing evil, so that when they are released they become worse.[p. 4] I turned therefore to this class of youngster as the most abandoned and at risk; and during the week, either with promises or with little gifts, I tried to win over more pupils (allievi). I succeeded, and their number increased greatly, so that, when in the summer of 1844 larger premises were placed at my disposal, I found myself at times with some eighty youths around me. I experienced great happiness at seeing myself surrounded by pupils (allievi) who behaved as I wanted, all of them started on a job, and whose conduct both on weekdays and Sundays I could some how vouch for. As I looked over them [seated before me], I could visualise one returned to parents from whom he had fled, another placed with an employer, all of them well on the way to learning their religion.
But the community life characteristic of a place like the Pastoral Institute of St. Francis of Assisi (Convitto), the silence and good order required by the services conducted in that public and very well attended church, got in the way of my plans. And even though the well-deserving, late-lamented Dr. Guala6 encouraged me to persevere, nevertheless I clearly perceived the need for new [and larger] premises. Because religious instruction occupies the young people for only a certain period of time, after which they need some outlet: hikes, games, and the like.
Providence arranged that in late October 1844 I should be appointed to the Refuge (Rifugio) as spiritual director. I invited my boys (figli) to come and visit me at my new residence, and the following Sunday they gathered there in much larger numbers than usual. My room served both as oratory and playground.7 What a sight! No chair, table or anything else in the room could escape the attack of that friendly invasion.8
Meanwhile, I and the Rev. Dr. [John] Borrelli,9 who from then on became the Oratory's staunchest supporter, had chosen a room that was intended as dining room and common room for the priests working at the Refuge, and that seemed big enough for our purposes, and adapted it as a chapel. The Archbishop 10 gave his kind approval, and on the day of Mary's Immaculate Conception (December 8, 1844),11 the chapel we had long hoped for was blessed, with the faculty of celebrating the holy sacrifice of the Mass, and of giving benediction with the Blessed Sacrament.
The news of a chapel destined exclusively for the young, the liturgical services prepared especially for them, a bit of open space to romp around in, proved to be powerful attractions; so that our church, which began to be called Oratory at that time, [p. 5] became quickly overcrowded. We made do as well as we could. Catechism classes were held in every corner: in rooms, kitchen and corridors. It was all oratory.
Things were moving along when an occurrence (or better, Divine Providence acting with hidden purposes) turned our oratory upside down. On August 10, 1845 the Little Hospital of St. Philomena was opened, and the premises we had been using for nine months had to be given over to other uses. Another meeting place had to be found.12
Following a formal request, the Mayor of the city allowed us to go to St Martin's chapel near the Molazzi or city Mills. So on Sunday we announced the change of place.13 The boys were partly sad at having to leave a place they had come to like as their very own and partly anxious about something new but they readied themselves to go. You would have seen one carrying a chair, another a bench, some carrying a picture or statue, others the vestments or altar cloths or cruets. Some of the more playful ones would have stilts or bocce balls or throwing discs, but they were all keen to see the new oratory.14
Two months went by peacefully there, although we could not do things perfectly since we couldn't celebrate Mass or have Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, nor was it all that easy to have recreation. [p 6.] But that period of calm was a prelude to a storm that would put the Oratory to a more severe trial. Word got around that these gatherings of youngsters were dangerous and that at any moment they could move from having recreation to creating a riot. What kind of riot could ignorant, penniless boys with weapons cause! They were only gathering to learn catechism; they would have trembled even at hearing the fluttering of a crow! But despite this the rumours kept growing and a report was sent to the mayor where I was described as the head of the gang, and that at the mills they were making an intolerable racket, a disturbance that nobody could put up with, damage down to the walls, benches and even the paving in the courtyard.15 I had quite something to say about the fact that these claims had no substance but it was all in vain. An order was issued that we had to immediately evacuate the locale we had been previously given to us.
I then asked if we could go to the Holy Cross cenotaph church,16 known as St Peter in Chains. Permission was given. We happily went off there but it was just a single festive occasion, because new reports were written and sent to the mayor where our gatherings were described as acts of insubordination and we were soon prohibited from setting foot there ever again.
I make no mention of names of individuals who sent these acrimonious reports off to the City [authorities]; I merely observe (God forbid that I take any delight in it) that one person lived just one more day and the other three days after having made their report. This was something that made a deep impression on the youngsters who were aware of the fact.
So what were we to do? I found myself with a heap of materials for the church and for games, a crowd of youngsters that followed me everywhere and not an inch of ground where we could go to.
Afraid that my children would stop coming, I hid all my worries and on Sundays took them off one day to Sassi, another to the Madonna di Campagna, and another to the Cappuccini del monte. The number of boys grew rather than diminishing.17 [p. 7] In the meantime, as the winter was drawing near, and the weather no longer favored excursions into the countryside, I and Dr. [John] Borrelli rented three rooms in the Moretta house,18 a building not far distant from the present site of the Oratory in Valdocco.19 During that winter our activities were limited20 to simple catechism lessons on the evening of each Sunday and holy day.
At this time the gossip that had already for some time been making the rounds, that the oratories were a deliberate way of getting young people away from their own parishes in order to instruct them in suspect principles, grew more insistent. This allegation was grounded on the fact that I allowed my young people every kind of recreation, a long as they did not sin, or do anything that could be regarded as reprehensible conduct. In response to the allegation [that I was drawing young people away from their parishes], I pointed out that my purpose was to gather together only those young people who did not belong to any parish. As a matter of fact most of the youngsters were from out of town and did not even know to which parish they belonged. But the more I tried to explain the truth of the matter, the more sinister was the cast thrown upon it.21
Furthermore, certain events took place that forced us to leave the Moretta house,22 so that in March 1846 I had to lease a small grass field from the Filippi brothers,23 at the location where at present stands the pig-iron foundry. And there I was under the wide and starry sky, in the middle of a field bordered by a sorry-looking hedgerow that kept out only those who did not want to come in. There I was with some three hundred young men who found their heaven on earth in that oratory — an oratory the roof and the walls of which were nothing but sky.
To make matters worse, the Vicar of the City, Marquis [Michael] Cavour,24 informed and prejudiced against these weekend gatherings, sent for me. He briefly reported what was being rumored about the oratory, and then said to me:
“My good Father, let me give you a sound piece of advice. Get rid of those villains, because these gatherings are dangerous”. [p. 8] I replied:
“All I am trying to do is to better the lot of these poor boys. If the City would care to provide any kind of premises for me, I have every hope of being able to very much lessen the number of troublemakers, and at the same time, the numbers of those who go to prison”.
“You are fooling yourself my good priest; these efforts are all in vain. Where will you get the money? I cannot allow such gatherings”.
“The results we have had convince me that these efforts are not in vain:the money is in the Lord's hands, and sometimes he uses the most paltry of instruments to carry out his work…”.
“But I cannot allow such gatherings”.
“Don't grant them for me, Sir, but grant it for the good of these boys (figli) who will end up badly left to their own devices”-
“I am not here to argue; this is a disorder and I want to put a stop to it. You do know that without permission no assembly is allowed”.
“My assemblies have no political aim; they are merely to teach catechism to poor boys and I do this with the Archbishop's permission”.
“The Archbishop has been informed of these matters?”
“He is informed and I have never put a foot out of place without asking him for his advice and consent”.
“But I cannot allow these assemblies”.
“I do believe, Sir, that you would not want to prohibit me from teaching catechism, which has the Archbishop's permission”.
“Go, and I will speak with the Archbishop, but do not be obstinate when the orders are issued otherwise you will force me into measures I would prefer not to take”.
The Archbishop had knowledge of everything and urged me to be patient and have courage. In the meantime in order to be able to attend more directly to the care of my boys (figli), I was forced to resign from the Refuge, and as a result,25 I was without employment and without means of support. Every project of mine was given a sinister interpretation, I was physically exhausted with my health undermined, to the point that the word was put around that I had become insane.
[p. 9] Failing to make others understand my plans, I sought to mark time, because I was deeply convinced that events would prove me right in what I was doing. Furthermore, I wanted so much to have a suitable site that in my mind I imagined this to be already a fact. This was the reason why even my dearest friends thought that I was out of my mind. And my co-workers, since I would not give in to them and desist from my undertaking, abandoned me entirely.
Dr. Borrelli went along with my ideas. However, since no other course seemed open to us, he thought we should pick [just] a dozen of the younger children and teach them their catechism privately, and wait of a better opportunity to go forward with our plans.
“No” I replied, “This is not the way. This is the Lord's work; he began it, and he has to bring it to completion.”
“But meanwhile”, he insisted, “Where will we gather our boys?”
“In the Oratory”.
“But where is this Oratory?”
“I see it there in readiness: I see a church, a house, and an enclosed playground. It is there, and I see it.”
“But where are these things?”
“I do not know where they are, but I see them.”
I insisted because of my lively wish to have these things. I was thoroughly convinced that God would provide them.
Dr. Borrelli felt sorry for me in that condition, and he too reluctantly expressed doubts about my sanity. Father Caffasso kept telling me not to take any decision for the duration. The Archbishop [Louis Fransoni], however, was inclined to agree that I should stay with the work.
All the while Marquis Cavour firmly held to the position that these gatherings, which he claimed were dangerous, should stop. But not wanting to take a decision that might displease the Archbishop, he with [p. 10] his office staff 26 (the equivalent of our city council) arranged for a meeting at the Archbishop's palace. The Archbishop later confided to me that it looked like the last judgement. The discussion was brief, but the verdict was that such gatherings must absolutely stop.
Fortunately Count [Luigi?] Provana di Collegno 27 at the time was serving in the Vicar's Council as Head of the Accounting Department. He had always encouraged me and supported my work financially both from his own private purse and on behalf of His Majesty King Charles Albert.28 This sovereign, gratefully remembered, appreciated the work of the oratory and would send financial help in times of special need. Through Count Collegno he often expressed to me his satisfaction with our special priestly ministry. He placed our ministry on a par with the work of the foreign missions, and would have liked to see such gatherings of young people at risk held in every city of the realm. When he learned of my predicament, he sent me 300 francs by the same Count with words of encouragement. He also let the Vicar's office know that he wished such Sunday gatherings of young people to continue. The Vicar should take care to prevent any disorder that might arise.
The Vicar obeyed and took steps to that effect. He ordered a number of security guards29 to attend our meetings and report. The guards sat through catechism, sermon, and hymn singing, and stood by during recreation, and then reported everything to the Vicar. By and by his attitude changed for the better, and so did the situation at the oratory.
[p. 11] The beginning of the current Oratory at Valdocco and its growth until the present day
It was a Sunday evening on the fifteenth of March, a memorable day for our Oratory, when seeing such a huge number of boys playing, and seeing myself alone in their midst, my health and strength at an end, without knowing where I could go now that the field we had rented was to be put to other use, I became so emotional that I burst into tears. “My God”, I began saying, raising my eyes to heaven, “Why don't you let me know where you want me to gather these dear boys of mine? Oh please let me know, tell me what I must do!”
These were the kinds of words that were churning in my heart when at that moment a certain Soave Pancrazio30 came to me saying that there was a Mr Pinardi 31 who had a place I could rent which would be very suitable for my purpose. I went immediately. It was a shed. We spoke about it, agreed on a rental price and on how we could turn the place into a chapel. It all took just a few minutes. I ran back quickly to my boys, called them together and overwhelmed with happiness began to shout: “Courage boys, we have an Oratory. We will have a church, a sacristy, a place for school and for recreation”.
This news was greeted with enthusiasm and on Easter Sunday in April we carried all the equipment for church and recreation there and the new chapel was inaugurated. A little later other rooms in the same Pinardi house were rented where we started the Sunday and evening schools. Cav. Gonella, 32 an outstanding benefactor of this Oratory, was so pleased with these classes that [p. 12] he set out to introduce them at St. Pelagia's. The city itself took the evening schools into consideration and opened them in various suburbs around the city where today it is easy for any artisan who so desires to get basic education.33 Since the things that followed this period are well known to everyone, I limit myself to noting them briefly.
1846. One Sunday in April the current church was blessed and given faculties for celebrating Mass, teaching catechism, preaching and having Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.34
The Sunday and evening schools made good progress teaching reading, writing, singing, bible history, arithmetic and Italian. Oratory pupils put on public demonstrations of what they were learning.
In November, I took up residence in the Home attached to the Oratory. Many priests, including Frs Vola, Carpano and Trivero took part in what was happening at the Oratory.35
1847. The St Aloysius sodality was set up36 with the approval of the ecclesiastical authorities. A statue of the Saint was arranged for and the six Sundays leading up to the feast of St Aloysius were grandly celebrated. On the feast day itself the Archbishop came to administer the Sacrament of Confirmation to a large group of boys and we enacted a comedy with singing and music.
Additional rooms were were rented37 thanks to which a number of evening classes were added to.38We took in two poor young boys, orphaned, without a trade and ignorant of religion.39 This is how the Home began and it continued to grow.
Given the large number of boys that were coming to the Oratory and because the church and the enclosure at Valdocco had become too small, a new Oratory [p.13] was opened at Porta Nuova in the Vaglietti, now the Turvano house, on the feast of the Immaculate Conception under the title of St Aloysius Gonzaga,40 and Fr Giacinto Carpano was put in charge. This new Oratory began using the same rules and had the same aim as the one at Valdocco; soon it too was filled with boys.
1848. The number of boys (figli) taken in as boarders had increased to fifteen. Following a number of problems that had arisen because we were preparing the boys for admission to Holy Communion, the Archbishop formally gave faculties for preparations for Confirmation and Communion and for fulfilling the Easter duties in the chapel at the Oratory.
The first Retreats41 were held for a selected group of boys at the Home attached to the Oratory and we saw excellent results. The City council sent a commission to visit the Oratories and after sending a letter expressing their satisfaction they offered a subsidy of 600 francs. The Institute for the Education of the Destitute (Mendacità)42 also came to the aid of the Oratories with a temporary subsidy. We made a solemn procession to Our Lady of Consolation (Consolata)43 for Communion in May in honour of Our Blessed Lady. We had already done that for two years, but without the procession. The pictures of the Stations of the Cross were blessed and together we made a visit to the Altar of Repose on Holy Thursday,44 then in the evening that day for the first time we held the ceremony of the /Lavabo/45 (Washing of the Feet).
This same year piano and organ lessons began, and the boys (figli)46 began to go out to sing Mass and Vespers with church choirs in Turin, Carignano, Chieri, Rivoli etc.47
1849. The entire Pinardi House, the area in front and behind the house was rented.48 The church had been extended by at least half. The number of boys in the Home was now thirty. The Pope49 fled Rome and went to Gaeta in the Kingdom of Naples and the boys at the Oratory took up a collection which deeply moved the Holy Father and he had Cardinal Antonelli50 [p. 14] write a letter of thanks and sent his blessing on the boys at the Oratory. Then from Gaeta he sent a packet of 60 dozen rosaries for the boys at the Oratory and these were distributed with much celebration on 20 July. See the booklet printed for that occasion.
Because of the war Fr Cocchis 51 closed the Guardian Angel Oratory52 and it remained closed for a year and was then entrusted to us. Fr Vola was asked to run it.
The Senate and the Ministry sent a commission to visit the Oratories53 and their report and discussion was favourable. See the Piedmontese Gazzette 29 March 1849.
Savio Ascanio54 was the first young man in the Oratory to receive the clerical habit.
1850. 55 We bought the Pinardi House and the house attached. The number of boys living in was now fifty. The number of boys coming to the Oratory of St Francis de Sales was extraordinary so we planned a new church and on 20 July Cav. Cotta56 laid the foundation stone and Canon Moreno57 blessed it amidst a huge crowd of people. The the acts of this function are in writing.
The Bishop of Biella58 in a circular of his recommended the building of the new church and collected a thousand francs. Since were lacked money to continue the church we organised a Lottery which was held the following year and was very favourably received. We collected three thousand three hundred items which, deducting expenses, produced a net result of 26 thousand francs.
On the first of June the Mutual Aid Society began.59 The statutes can be seen in the printed booklet.
1851. 60 On 20 June, the Feast of Our Lady of Consolation (Consolata) the new church was blessed with much pomp, many distinguished people in attendance and much joy, and the first sacred ceremonies were held there. The attached poem gives a hint of how much was done on that day: 'Come augel di ramo in ramo' etc.61
Various purchases were made for the church; the St Aloysius altar was bought. The choir loft was built.
[p. 15] 1852. The explosion at the powder mill62 on 26 April the year before rocked the Home at the Oratory so this year we built a new construction workshop and damaged it considerably. It was close to being finished (2 December) when it almost completely collapsed63 causing much fear and damage. Nobody, fortunately was injured.
Mr Michael Scanagatti offered a set of elegant candelabra for the main altar64. The bell tower was built. Since there was no further space for evening classes, some were held in the new church. The old church was turned into a dormitory and study and classrooms.
Fr Cafasso had the current pulpit built.
1853. Building started on the part of the house which had collapsed: it was completed, furnished and by October was being lived in. The new area meant that the dormitories, refectory for the boys who were living in could be better organised. By now there were 65 of them.
Cav. Duprè65 bought a communion rail (balaustrina) of marble and embellished the St Aloysius altar. The Marquis Fassati66 provided a marble railing for that, and a set of brass candelabra for Our Lady's altar.
Count Cays,67 the prior of the St Aloysius sodality bought a bell68 which was blessed by the parish priest of Borgo Dora. He provided the current Baldacchino.
For the first time we held the Forty Hours69 and the Octave for the Easter festivities.
We rented out the entire Belleza house70 in order to get rid of the disturbances from this tavern and all the people of suspect behaviour who went there.
1854. 71 Because of the financial crisis this year no new works were undertaken. We simply finished off some of the most essential things. Count Cays was re-elected as prior of the St Aloysius sodality and provided a long new frieze72 which ran the length of the church cornice.
The lack of food,73 work which exposed many young people to danger in body and soul meant that we took in many more boys and their number increased to eighty six.
1The church of St Francis of Assisi had annexed the ex-convent of the Conventuals, from 1817-1818 the location of the Pastoral Institute (Convitto) founded by Frs Luigi Guala and Brunone Lanteri - Cf. Casalis, Dizionario XXI 559-561, 473-477.
2Joseph Cafasso, priest, Saint: born at Castelnuovo d'Asti, Turin diocese in 1811, died in Turin as Rector of the Pastoral Institute in 1860. He had entered there as a student in January 1834 a few months after his priestly ordination (Set. 1833). Lecturer in Moral from 1837 he was responsible for the daily 'conferences' private and public, from 1843. Along with his vast activity as a moralist, confessor, formator of priests and laity, apostle amongst the prisoners, he gave solid support to the work of catechism programs and oratories.
3On the origins of the catechism programs at the Pastoral Institute under St Joseph Cafasso who was lecturer in Moral there from 1837 cf. G. Colombo, Vita del servo di Dio D. Cafasso. Turin, Canonica 1895, pp. 188-189; L. Nicolis di Robilant, Vita del venerabile Giuseppe Cafasso…, vol II Turin, Scuola Tip. Salesiana 1912, pp. 8-9; P. Stella, Don Bosco nella storia della religiosità cattolica, vol I, Rome, LAS 1979, p. 95; Salesian Fr Gioachino Berto radically disagrees in his testimony (ASC 123 - Miscrosch. 556 C 8-11) but especially Fr Abbondio Anzini, also a Salesian, in Vita popolare del Ven. D. Giuseppe Cafasso (San Benigno Can., Libr. Salesiana 1912), pp. 96-103, and in a polemical Memorandum, a manuscript in Feb. 1925 (ASC 123 . microsch. 556 B 1-C 4).
4No reference to the encounter with Bartholomew Garelli who became the progenitor of the oratories in the Memoirs of the Oratory: MO 124-127.
5Cafasso had priests from the Pastoral Institute accompany him to the Turin prisons or entrusted them to Fr John Borel for the Latin catechism programs in preparation for Easter, for retreats and for confessions. Amongst them was Don Bosco. Before the opening of the “Correctional school” for young hoodlums (the Generala) in 1845, some rooms were reserved for men at the Holy Martyrs Church - L. Nicolis di Robilant, Vita del venerabile Giuseppe Cafasso, vol II, p. 81, 94, 96.
6Dr (Fr) Louis Guala (1775-1848, doctor of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Turin, and prime exponent of the Amicizia Cattolica, a friend of Fr Brunone Lanteri, Rector of the church of St Francis of Assisi, in 1808 he began a course in moral theology inspired by St. Alphonsus; the course was legally recognised by Victor Emmanuel I in 1814 and became the Pastoral Institute (Convitto) in 1817-1818 and had definitive ecclesiastical approval from Archbishop Colombano Chiaveroti. “A new school for priests was born, formed in Alphonsian morality and ultramontanism” - G. Tuninetti, Lorenzo Gastaldi 1815-1883, vol I. Rome, Edizioni Piemme 1983, pp. 35-37.
7“Recreation is the major lure for the youth, and we wanted everyone to take part but only with the games that we normally use… Recreations was from 10 until 12 in the morning, from 1 until 2½ in the afternoons and after the end of the services until evening” - chap 2 of the 2nd part of the Regolamento, original ms by Don Bosco's 1852
8The Opera Pia del Rifugio (under the protection of Our Lady of the Refuge of Sinners) was founded by Marchioness Giulietta Falletti di Barolo, nee Colbert, to take in women (for free) who had been in prison or were wayward and wanted to change their lives. They were looked after by the Sisters of the Institute of St Joseph. The Magdalenes and the Little Magdalenes were, women and girls respectively, were added to these. They had chosen a path which could lead to a monastic vocation. Frs John Borel and Sebastian Pacchiotti were already spiritual directors there. Don Bosco joined them while waiting to become the spiritual director of the Little Hospital of St Philomena's, for sick children which was to be opened on 10 August 1845.
9Fr Giovanni (John) Borel, a priest from Turin (1801-1873), chaplain in the schools of St Francesco da Paola then in the Barolo works, was a popular preacher and fervent collaborator of Don Bosco's in the work of the oratories as he was earlier of Cafasso's in the apostolate of the prisons. - On Borel we find a brief profile by Salesian E. Calvi, Il teologo Gio. Battista Borel e il beato Don Bosco, Turin, SEI 1931, 40 pages.
10Archbishop Louis Fransoni, born Genoa 29 March 1789, took refuge in Rome from 1797 until 1814, but was a priest in his home city and entered the Congregation of the Urban missions. Then he was made Bishop of Fossano from 1821, apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Turin in 1831-1832, Archbishop from 1832 until his death. He was exiled in Switzerland in 1848-1850 and expelled from the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1850 after which he set himself up in Lyon until his death on 26 March 1862. Don Bosco had much faith in him and had decisive support from him.
11Don Bosco writes: November and Bonetti corrects it to December.
12“Within the area between the Refuge and the Magdalenes' Monastery in 1843 (=1845) this hospital called St Philomena's was founded for poor girls from 4-14 years of age, preferably the littler ones. There were 56 beds. After some years of trial the pupils at the Refuge made up a kind of religious body called the Oblates of the Virgin Mary and 26 of these helped out at St Philomena's which was under the direction of the Sisters of St Joseph. The girls were taught reading and writing while convalescing”. - Baricco, Torino descritta, p. 826.
13Don Bosco along with others like Fr Michael Rua, Fr Joachim Berto, Fr John Cagliero (future Cardinal) locate the Oratory at St Martin's chapel at the Dora Mills (or Molassi) before taking over the cemetery of St Peter in Chains. Documentation available to us reverses that order without doubt. On 12 July the Ragioneria (Accounts Dept) gave Fr Borel (and his priestly colleagues at the Refuge) “the faculty of using the Mills Chapel for catechising the boys… fixing the hour for this as from midday until three” - quoted by Motto, L'«oratorio»…, p. 215.
14The catechism lessons at St Martin's – excluded however were Mass and other religious services - began on 13 July and finished towards the end of the year because on 14 November the Ragioneria (Accounts Dept) ordered Fr Borel to cease using the Mills chapel from 1 January 1846 – cf. Motto, L'«oratorio»…, p. 214-215.
15Don Bosco expands on and dramatises the amount and significance of these protests. They simply came from the people living around the Mills area (Pizza Emmanuele Filiberto or Porta Palazzo), who had been disturbed by the boys' racket-making. A Council deputation heard their complaints on 7 November thus opening the way for the Accounts Dept decision indicated above.
16The very brief stay at St Peter in Chains took place before the Dora Mills one and precisely on Sunday 25 May 1845. St Peter in Chains had been one of two cemeteries in Turin in 1777 (the other was St Lazarus on the east side). “Both were of the same shape, a square with porticoes on three sides, the church at the back and in the middle a courtyard where the common burial places were - the bodies and coffins were placed one on top of the other, and the more prestigious coffins were placed in an underground crypt running beneath the portico. It was more commonly called (vulgarly so) St Peter's of the cabbages. It remained open exclusively to families who had private graves there. The Turin Council kept a resident chaplain there” - Casalis, Dizionario XXI 196.
17These festive trips to various churches around Turin and surrounds are best assigned to the time they were at the Mills where they could only hold catechism lessons. Sassi was a small town of about 100 inhabitants, many of them launderers, around 3 km from the city along the right bank of the Po on the left of the royal road to the Superga. The Parish (St John's) had been added in 1821. The parish priest Fr Peter Abbondioli (1812-1893) was a friend of Don Bosco's. The Parish church of the Annunciation, known as Madonna di Campagna, run by the Capuchins, is around 3 kms north-east of Turin beyond the left bank of the Dora and on this side of the right bank of the Stura, not far off the right of the road that leads to Venaria Reale. At the time Fr Nicolò di Villafranca Piemonte was parish priest. In 1842 he had opened a school for 150 boys and girls, providing food and clothing for the poorest. - Casalis, Dizionario XXI 156-162; Baricco, Torino descritta, pp. 208-209. The Monte dei Cappuccini is a hill above the Borgo Po on the right bank of the river, with a Capuchin convent and church.
18The house with a ground floor and first floor had about 20 rooms. It belong ed to ex-Capuchin John Baptist Antthony Moretta (1777-1847). The oratory was there between December 1845 and March 1846.
19Valdocco: area west of Borgo Dora between the right bank of the river to the north and Borgo S. Donato on the south-west side.
20St Philip Neri “ran through the squares, along the streets gathering up especially the most neglected boys huddled together in some spot where with innocent and pleasant amusements he kept them far from the corruption of the century and instructed them in the truths of the faith”. - Storia ecclesiastica p. 315. - “I want to show them an approach to Christian living so that they may be both happy and content, teaching them what are the true amusements and true pleasures”. - CG Alla gioventù p. III-IV. - “You can also amuse yourselves I mean with proper games and amusements which will allow you recreation and not lower you” - GP 20.
21There is no mention at this point of the evening classes Don Bosco writes about in the Memoirs of the Oratory: “In that same winter we began night school. It was the first time that there was talk of such… (MO 151). We will say more of these and the Sunday schools further ahead in the Cenni storici.
22Complaints from the residents forced Fr Moretta to not renew the rental.
23The field belonging to brothers Peter, Anthony and Charles Filippi lay alongside, to the east of the Moretta house. At least two hundred metres to the north-east was a shed under construction, attached to the Pinardi house.
24From 1687 until 1848 the vicariate of Turin “was a complex magistrature with legal offices, and administrative and municipal police”. It was the supreme municipal authority. As for the police roles, the Vicar had to “promote observance of orders concerning religion, good behaviour, wholesomeness, enough economical food; peace and safety in the squares and public streets” - Casalis, Dizionario XXI 424. Michael Benso, Marquis di Cavour (1781-1850), firstborn son of Marquis Philip di Philippine de Sales, was a keen anti-Jacobite in his youth, but later grew closer including for practical reasons to the regime of the Empire. He married Adele de Sellon from Geneva in 1805. From 1819 he was a decurion and from 1833 to 1835 one of the two syndics of Turin. In 1835 he was appointed “vicar and general superintendent, including the police” of the city. After the first two years the position was renewed for another four. He gave the job “not only boundless energy and the immense and insatiable activity that he could but also a certain dose of implacability” that brought some severe judgement on him from liberals of his time and afterwards - R. Romeo, Cavour e il suo tempo-1842). Bari, Laterza 1984, pp. 607- 610. Joseph Bracco offers some reasoned and reserved documentation on exactly what Don Bosco recalled of the Marquis Michael Cavour's attitudes, in his important study Don Bosco e le istituzioni in Torino e don Bosco I. Turin 1989, pp. 126-130), where he includes the significant letter of Don Bosco's to the Vicar of the City, 13 March 1846.
25Once the first year of employment with Marchioness Barolo offering spiritual assistance at the Little Hospital of St Philomena's was over, in summer 1846, having chosen to work with the boys of the incipient oratory, Don Bosco left the Refuge, and his belongings were taken to the place he had sublet on the upper floor of the Pinardi house, from 1 July; this is where he would come back to with his mother on 3 November 1846 after a long convalescence. On 1 December Pancrazio Soave sublet the entire Pinardi house with the land around it - Stella, Don Bosco nella storia economica…, pp. 74-75.
26The Ragioneria (Accounts Dept) was not the same as the general municipal council. Don Bosco refers either to the Council which met at least once a month to manage daily concerns in the city or to the general staff which met once a week but which had “particular oversight of the financial management of the city” (hence Accounts Dept).- Caasalis, Dizionario XXI 423.
27Count Collegno was part of the Accounts Department - MO 179 (Count Giuseppe, 1785-1854) - “Rather than Joseph he was probably Louis Provana di Collegno, father of cav. Saverio, long benevolent towards the oratories and the Salesians” - P. Stella, Don Bosco nella storia economica…, p. 80. It was an office of the Ministry of Finance with the task of registration and control of everything that concerned finance, the general treasury and the State budget - Casalis Dizionario XXI 309-310.
28Charles Albert of Savoy (1798-1849), Prince of Carignano of an associated branch of Savoy, succeeded Charles Felice on the throne of the Kingdom of Sardinia for want of a male heir in the main branch (1831-1849). - In the monograph by N. Rodolico, Carlo Alberto negli anni di regno 1831-1843 (Florence, Le Monier 1936), it is emphasised several times that the King was practically interested in all charitable works: hospitals, nurseries, the Little House of Cottolengo's, Don Bosco's oratories, unruly boys…
29In reference to the various powers of the Vicar, the security guards might have been simply civic security people or they might have been the more feared public security guards.
30Pancrazio Soave was an immigrant from Verolengo (Turin) who on 10 November 1845 had rented Francis Pinardi's entire building, other than an attached shed which was under construction. His intention was to set up a starch factory. On 5 June 1846 he sublet it three rooms to Don Bosco and on 1 December, the entire building. P. Stella, Don Bosco nella storia economica…, pp. 75-76.
31Francis Pinardi had immigrated from Arcisate (Varese). On 1 April he rented out the shed to Don Bosco that would become his first stable oratory. From 1 April 1849 when the contract with Soave had finished, he rented the whole house to Don Bosco and then sold it to him on 19 February 1851 for 28,500 lire- Stella, Don Bosco nella storia economica…, pp. 75-76, 84-85.
32The explicit reference is to cav.[cav= Cavalierie, or 'Sir'] Mark Gonella (1822-1886), very generous in lending help to Don Bosco, but as for the schools we cannot leave out his father, cav. Andrea (1770-1851), who was generous to the Mendicità. The administration of the latter, in a manifesto on 3 December 1845, announced that it had “petitioned His Majesty for the faculty of establishing evening schools for adults, entrusting them to the Brothers of the Christian Schools”, and that while waiting for appropriate locations one, meanwhile would be “opened in the first days of January in the house of the Brothers of the Christian Schools itself (contrada delle Rosine)”, and next to St Pelagia's church, entrusted to the Mendacità Istruita by the Archbishop, Colombano Chiaveroti. - Cf P. Stella, Don Bosco nella storia economica…, pp. 64-65; C. Verri, I Fratelli delle Scuole Cristiane e la storia della scuola in Piemonte (1829-1859). Contributo alla storia della pedagogia del Risorgimento. Erba (Como), Casa Editrice «Sussisi» [s.d.]. pp.120-121; S. Scaglione, Don Bosco e I Fratelli della Scuole Cristiane, in «Rivista Lasalliana» 55 (1988) no. 1, pp. 18-23 (Tempi e priorità delle scuole seriali in Torino).
33In the first half of 1849 at the proposal of two communal councillors, businessman cav. Gabriel Capello and cav. Zenone Quaglia, a Commission was set up to study suitable initiatives for “promoting the moral and material improvement of the working class”; and “the communal council adopted their proposals, consisting essentially in the setting up of evening schools exclusively for young workers. On 17 November that year the first school was solemnly opened” – Baricco, L'istruzione popolare, pp. 112-113.
34The celebration of the religious services were preceded by a blessing Don Bosco gave the same day at the entrance on 12 April Easter Sunday; the official blessing was on Easter Monday, by Fr Borel who was delegated by the Archbishop, and on the back of this decree authorising the blessing he wrote: “The undesigned carried out the blessing of the Oratory on 13 April, second day of Easter”.
35Fr John Baptist Vola (1805-1872) is often recalled in Don Bosco's letters to Fr Borel from 1856 to 1850 and amongst the benefactors whom these list. Fr G.B. Francesia gave the eulogy at Canon Giacinto Hyacinth) Carpano's (1821-1894) funeral (Il canonico Giacinto G. Carpano, Turin, tip. Salesiana 1894); from a well-to-do family from Bioglio (Biella), he helped Don Bosco with funds and collaborating in the oratories, then extending his activity to other youth welfare works and for ex-prisoners. Fr Joseph Trivero (1816-1894) also helped Don Bosco and his oratories and work with donations. He looked after the chapel of the Holy Shroud. In a letter to Fr Borel on 31 August 1846 Don Bosco wrote: “It is ok for Fr Trivero to lend a hand at the Oratory, but note how he deals with the boys. I know that some are already upset. See that the oil covers every dish at our Oratory” (Em I 71) - Cf Stella, Don Bosco nella storia economica…, pp. 78-82.
36Once the Oratory was set up and steady, the St Aloysius sodality began. In early 1847 Don Bosco wrote the Regulations, approved by the Archbishop on 12 April – cf Stella, Don Bosco nella storia della religiosità cattolica, vol II, pp. 347-349; Idem, Don Bosco nella storia economica…, pp. 259-260. Cf Le sei Domenich e la novena di s. Luigi Gonzaga in GP (1847) 55-71; P. Stella Don Bosco nella storia economica…, pp. 260-261.
37Pancrazio Soave kept the ground floor of the Pinardi house for his business until 1 March 1847. On that date Don Bosco could use the whole building – Stella, Don Bosco nella storia economica…, p. 76.
38In the Oratory of St Francis de Sales “Then on Sundays and later on winter evenings classes began: reading, writing, elements of arithmetic and Italian, and a special opportunity for getting the youngsters familiar with the use of the measurements they felt they had most need of, given that many were working with trades”.- Appeal for a lottery, 20 December 1851 Em I 140. Two display programmes have been preserved from 1848 and 1849: Saggio dei figliuoli dell'Oratorio di san Francesco di Sales sopra la storia sacra dell'Antico Testamento 15 ag. 1848 ore 4 pomeridiane. Turin. Tip. G. B. Paravaia e Comp. 1848; Saggio che danno I figliuoli dell'Oratoio di S. francesco di Sales sul sistema metrico decimale in forma di dialogo il 16 dicembre 1849 ore 2 pomeridiane. Assiste l'ill.mo professore D. G. Ant. Rayneri. Turin. Tip. G.B: Paravia e comp. 1849. For both there is indication that F. Aporti was present: MB III 428 and 601.
39In the MO 199 it describes how the first occupant of the 'attached home' at the Oratory was a fifteen year-old from Valesia. But the registers show, instead that the first two were from Turin, one a student the other a working lad - cf. Stella, Don Bosco nella storia economica…, pp. 175-176.
40The decree from the Archbishop erecting the oratory of St Aloysius carries the date of 18 December 1847. It began, then, on the 19th. It was initially entrusted to Fr Giacinto Carpano and Fr Trivero then in 1849 to Fr Peter Ponte, the Marquis Barolo's secretary. The place that was rented out belonged to the widow Vaglietti who appointed as heir Mr Joseph Turvano who was, amongst other things, a notary for the Mendicità Istruita and Don Bosco and a municipal councillor around 1852. In 1858 he was secretary of the Misericordia sodality to which Cafasso also belonged.
41These were preached by Fr Federico Albert (1820-1876), then Palatine chaplain, and parish priest and vicar forane in Lanzo Torinese - MO 207 and note on line 72. The retreats in 1849 are documented on a printed page, Esercizi spirituali alla gioventù. Avviso sacro. Turin, tip. G.B. Paravia e comp. 1849.
42The first formal request for “charitable grants” made to the administrators of the Mendicità Istruita seems to have been on 20 February 1850 (cf Em I 96-97). The Work granted 1,000 lire. Don Bosco made mention of it in a new request on 16 November 1852, “still recalling and grateful for the grant that the worthy Gentlemen of the Pia Opera della Mendicità Istruita gave some three years ago… on behalf of the three Oratories set up in this city” (Em I 172- 173).
43The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Consolation (Consolata) was often the goal of feast day trips in 1845 and 1846. Close to Valdocco and especially dear to Turinese piety, it was an ideal place for nurturing Don Bosco's Marian devotion and that of his boys. In 1834-1857 it ws run by the Oblates of the Virgin Mary founded by Lanteri.
44After the Holy Thursday Mass “In Cena Domini” the consecrated hosts are carried in procession to a “place of repose” in a specially decorated chapel open for visits by the faithful for a short time of adoration. In the colloquial language of the day this was called “visite ai sepolcri” or visiting the tombs.
45Don Bosco incorrectly calls the ceremony of the washing of the feet the Lavabo, the ceremony which recalls when Jesus washed his disciples' feet (Jn 13:1-7). It used be a separate ceremony but is not part of the Mass.
46The figli is the Italian term for Don Bosco's Piedmontese dialect term fieul or fieuj (figli, ragazzi).
47Carignano, Chieri, Rivoli: cities 18, 15, 11 kms respectively south, east and west of Turin.
48Once the term for the sublease from Pancrazio Soave of the whole Pinardi house and grounds had finished Don Bosco rented it all from the owner, Francesco Pinardi on 1 April 1849. cf Stella, Don Bosco nella storia economica…, p. 76. The so-called Pinardi shed was more than 290 metres long and 6 wide. The chapel was 15 metres long. By transferring the sacristy to a small room in the Pinardi house and turning the space left into a choir area the chapel now ran the full length of the shed. Cf Giraudi, L'Oratorio…, pp. 70-73.
49Pius IX (1792-1878; Pope: 1846-1878) left Rome and fled to Gaeta in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies on 24 November 1848 after the assassination of his Minister Pellegrino Rossi (15 Nov); he returned after the retaking of Rome by French troops (4 July 1849), on 12 April 1850. On the involvement of the boys at the Oratory during the exile and the feast on his return on 20 July 1850, Don Bosco invites people to read the brief work he put together: Breve ragguaglio della festa fattasi nel distribuire il regalo di Pio IX ai giovani degli oratori di Torino. Turin, tip. Eredi Botta 1850, 27 p. – OE IV 93-119.
50James Antonelli, born in Sonnino on 12 April 1806, died in Rome on 6 November 1876, was apostolic delegate at Orvieto, Viterbo, Macerata, and treasurer of the Apostolic Chamber in 1845, then cardinal and president of the Advisory Body in 1847; he was a key figure in organising the Pope's flight to Gaeta at the end of November 1848 and the return to Rome in spring 1850. He was Secretary of State from 1850 until his death.
51Fr Cocchis: actually John Cocchi, born in Druent (Turin) in 1813, ordained priest in 1836, a man of many initiatives. In 1849-1850 he was amongst the leaders of the Società di carità a pro dei giovani poveri ed abbandonati; he later founded the College (boarding) of the Artigianelli (young craftsmen or working boys), St Martin's Oratory, the farming community at Moncucco. He died on 25 December 1895, written up in BS 20 (1896), p. 49.
52Don Bosco notes the participation of a group of boys from the Guardian Angel Oratory with Fr Cocchi at the head during the 1848-1849 war between Piedmont and Austria. The Guardian Angel Oratory was re-activated by Don Bosco in autumn 1849 in a place he had rented from lawyers Bronzini Zapelloni and Daziani and it remained under his direction until 1866 when it was transferred to the new parish of St Giulia.
53According to MB 4, 16-25, 42-51 the visit by the Senators Count Fed. Sclopis, the Marquis Ignatius Pallavicini and Count Louis di Collegno would have occurred in January 1850 and the discussion in the Senate on 1 March - “The Senate of the Kingdom unanimously decided that the King's Government should support such a worthy institution of religion and society. The Municipality set up a Commission to recognise the good done there and help it”- L'Armonia, 26 July 1850, cited in Breve ragguaglio, p. 22.
54“Savio received the clerical habit in 1848 at the Cottolengo House, because the Turin Seminary had been closed. Afterwards, he gained permission not go to the seminary in Chieri but to stay at the Oratory and help Don Bosco… In the Oratory the first clerical investitutes were in 1851” - E. Ceria in MO 216, note on line 73. Savio (1831-1902) became a priest and was Rector at the Refuge.
55In the left-hand margin of manuscript B Fr John Bonetti writes: “The year is wrong; bought 15-2-51 and the foundation stone on 20-6-51”. “In an official act drawn up by Turvano, on 19 February 1851 Francis Pinardi sold the land and buildings for 28 thousand five hundred lire to Fathers J. Bosco, J. Borel, Robert Murialdo, Joseph Cafasso. This land and these buildings were bounded by the Filippi brothers' holdings to the east and north, the Giardiniera street to the south and Mrs Bellezza's establishment to the west” - Giraudi L'Oratorio…, p. 99.
56Joseph Cotta, born Turin on 4 April 1785 and died there on 29 December 1868, Senator from 1848: the “banker of charity” left huge sums to charity in life and in death. Don Bosco was not amongst his legacies but he had helped him considerably in life - cf Stella, Don Bosco nella storia economica…, pp. 65-66.
57Canon Ottavio Moreno (1779-1852): see earlier comment. In the left margin of the other manuscript B Fr John Bonetti notes: “only the stone was blessed”. Effectively the blessing of the foundation stone happened on 20 July 1851. The solemn blessing of the church took place on 20 June 1852.
58John Peter Losana was bishop of Biella, born Vigone (Turin) in 1793, titular bishop of Abido and Vicar Apostolic at Aleppo (Syria), he was transferred to Biella in 1833 where he remained until his death in February 1873. Two copies of the circular the bishop sent to parishioners of the diocese exist in the ASC, one a ms and the other printed. The date was 13 September 1851. Cf. Letter of Don Bosco, 4 May 1852, thanking the bishop for the circular and the donation of a thousand lire – Em I 155-156.
59The Mutual Aid Society began months earlier; the regulations were printed around June 1850 with a note signed by Don Bosco. Article 18 and final reads thus: “The current regulations will come into force on the first of July 1850”. Cf. Società di mutuo soccorso di alcuni individui della compagnia di San Luigi eretta nell'oratorio di San Francisco di Sales. Turin, tip. Speirani e Ferrero 1850, 8 p. - OE IV 83-90
60More precisely, the Lottery initiative begins 1851 (authorised 9 December) and concluded 1852 (tickets extracted on 12, 13, 14 July). For aims, regulations, promotors etc cf Catalogo degli oggetti offerti per la lotteria a beneficio dell'oratorio maschile di S. Francesco di Sales in Valdocco. Turin, tip. Dir. Da Paolo De-Agostini 1852, XVIII p. - OE IV 145-162. Cf. G. Bracco.
61Don Bosco had a flyer printed by Marietti with the text of the Ode in 21 verses. Above was the title: On the day the new church of the Oratory of St Francis de Sales was blessed, the young people there filled with joy and feelings of sincere gratitude to Benefactors expressed thus. At the end of the Ode a signature: 'In the name of all the Clergy and children at the Oratory, Fr Bosco John'. The text is reproduced in MB IV 437-438 with this notice: “Thousands of copies of this Ode were printed. It was put to music and the youngsters learned it”.
62The factory of piles of gunpowder and explosives belonging to the army was located close by St Peter in Chains' cemetery and a little more than 500 metres from the Oratory of St Francis de Sales. The explosion occurred on 26 April 1852 at 11.45 a.m. And not the 'previous year'. It resulted in some 30 victims amongst its workers.
63There were two collapses: a partial one on 20 November 1852 when a scaffolding or bridge broke, and the second, when nearly the entire building collapsed two weeks later on 2 December. The foundations were restarted in spring. The house was completed in October 1853. - Giraudi, L'Oratorio…, pp. 122-124. The works indicated were done after the opening of the church halfway through 1852.
64Michael Scanagatti was a fairly well-off citizen who appears several times amongst the list of benefactors. He is also found in the list of members of the Lottery Commission in 1852 along with lawyer Gaetano (Cajetan) Bellingeri who worked at the St Aloysius Oratory, and Engineer Joseph Blachier and Mr Federico Bocca, involvedctively in drawing up the plans and managing the building of the church of St Francis de Sales.
65Banker Joseph Louisi Duprè (died 1884), city councillor, member of the Lottery Commission in 1852, son of Joseph Duprè (1767-1852), also a banker.
66Marquis Dominic Fassati Roero San Severino was a great benefactor of Don Bosco's. Born at Casale on 4 August 1804, he was a Major in the Royal Body Guards for King Charles Albert. He died in Turin on 3 May 1878.
67Count Cays, Count of Gilletta and Caselette, was born in Turin on 24 November 1813. He had a Doctorate in Jurisprudence and was a widower at 32 years of age. He was prominent in charitable and social activities in Turin, president of the St Vincent de Paul Conferences, a catechist and benefactor at Don Bosco's Oratories. He was also a member of the Sub-alpine Parliament from 1857 until 1860. In 1877 he asked to join the Salesian Society and in 1878 was ordained priest. He died on 4 October 1882. He was Prior of the St Aloysius sodality for 1853-1855.
68The bell was blessed by Fr Agustine Gattino, priest at St Simon and Jude's parish in Borgo Dora. He had solemnly blessed the.
69The Forty Hours: not a liturgical rite, but regulated by the Instructio Clementina by Clement XI (1705), during which the Blessed Sacrament is exposed in the Monstrance for the veneration of the faithful for 40 hours, usually over 3 consecutive days - Octave: the eight days following Easter Sunday.
70Don Bosco rented Mrs Teresa Caterina Novo's entire house. She was widowed (her name returned to Bellezza). Don Bosco first rented from 1st October 1853 through September 1856, then renewed the contract from 1 October 1856 until September 1859. - Cf. Stella Don Bosco nella storia economica…, pp. 91-92.
71“Had he delayed by a year Don Bosco would have found himself caught up in the general financial crisis of 1853-1854 with building costs and supporting three times the number of boys who were living in compared to 1850” - Stella, Don Bosco nella storia economica…, pp. 90-91.
72The word used is 'panta' (translated here as frieze) a Piedmontese dialect term from the French pente, drapery which decorates the top part of the baldacchino. In this case it was a ledge or cornice running right around the top of the wall of the church of St Francis de Sales.
73“Lack of any kind of food, a larger number of abandoned and wretched boys, the fewer donations from private individuals who now just could not afford it has put me in such a situation of need that I do not know where to turn” - letter to Count Clement Solaro della Margherita, 5 January 1854, Em I 212. - “Now finding myself in an exceptional situation I dare once again to explain my most urgent needs, convinced that they will be kindly listened to… 3rd Keeping some of the poorest and most neglected whose number this year have increased to ninety due to many boys being orphaned and abandoned after the sad outbreak of cholera” - To the Administrators of the Pious Work for education of the Destitute (Mendicità), 13 November 1854, Em I 235. - “The great lack of food to eat and lack of work put some abandoned and at risk boys at even greater risk. They would have ended up badly if they had not been helped with material and moral support. Some of them, around a hundred, most of them orphaned in the fatal outbreak of cholera last year, are actually living in at Valdocco” - Memo to the administrators of the Mendicità, 21 Nov. 1855, Em I 271-272.k,
