Nestled in the heart of the medieval village of Castagnetoli, in Lungiana, is the headquarters of our initiatives. Known as “St. Francesco,” this historic home has been a beacon of hope for over four decades, welcoming people from diverse backgrounds around the world. The home is owned by the Cavicchioli family but managed by the Papa Giovanni XXIII Community Association.
Maek boasts a long-standing partnership with this important Italian association, collaborating on initiatives aimed at promoting social and cultural development, both locally and internationally.
The “San Francesco” house was born in the square of Castagnetoli, built by grandfather Francesco Cavicchioli and great-grandfather Pietro and other people of the family. The house immediately became a point of reference for the family and the local community.
Mauro Cavicchioli is born, and the house is officially inaugurated which in the years to come, thanks to the sacrifices of his parents, becomes larger and more functional to accommodate more people.
The family experiences an encounter that will change their life forever, coincidentally during an evening in a community for the rehabilitation of drug addicts. It will be a fateful encounter, those stories of great suffering involve the family, which begins to commit itself more decisively towards a radical life choice. In this period, the first sporadic receptions of people from the streets (drug addicts, alcoholics, etc.) and from prison began.
Mauro and Norina, as the parents of the family, meet the Pope John XXIII community in Rimini and are very impressed by it. A few months after the first official welcome through cooperation with this national association.
Given the numerous welcomes with specific and individualized projects, the house will become a family home to give a family to those who don't have one. Also in the same year there was a structural expansion of the house, with re-roofing and creation of new internal spaces, fundamental for increasing the family.
Official inauguration of the “San Francesco” family home by Don Oreste Benzi as the general manager of the Pope John XXIII Association.
The family business linked to the beekeeping world restarts to give a job opportunity to the people welcomed. Bees have been linked to the Cavicchioli family for over 4 generations. In the same year there was the idea of using an abandoned space to create a social cooperative, the Pingiglione, which over the years became an inclusive and central hub throughout the Lungiana.
The adventure begins in central Africa, always linked to prisons and the world of hospitality. The family home supports, through its members, crucial projects for the reintegration of people in prison and/or street children.
The collaboration between family home and Maek APS begins in the development of Erasmus+ mobility and the involvement of young Europeans.