Maison de la Paix || Casa Universale delle Culture (EN)

 

CASA UNIVERSALE DELLE CULTURE

The Maison de la Paix - Casa Universale delle Culture is a place strongly representative, in which will convey the knowledge of the different identities and cultures, structuring permanently initiatives aimed at the spreading of peace, necessary for the shared development.

The Maison de la Paix - Casa Universale delle Culture (MdP) is a project conceived by Michele Capasso, approved by many Countries and international organizations. It is an architecture that keeps the memory of many Peace activities which created history, often more than the wars, but it is – above all – a space "to build” Peace.

The architectonical complex has an important symbolic worth: it represents the Countries of the World engaged in the Peace process and the Countries victim of the conflicts.

Proposed by the Fondazione Mediterraneo with the Maison des Alliances – together with the main adherent organizations, such as the Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly, the League of Arab States, the "Anna Lindh" Euro-Mediterranean Foundation and others, the MdP represents a referent point for all the ones who dedicate their lives to peace.

The symbol of the MdP is the "Totem for Peace", an artwork by the Italian sculptor Mario Molinari which the Fondazione Mediterraneo is promoting all around the world, creating the network of the "Cities for Peace".

The first seat of the MdP was inaugurated on the 14th of June 2010 (Maison de la Paix - Casa Universale delle Culture) in the historical building of the Grand Hotel de Londres in Naples.

The action of the Maison de la Paix - Casa Universale delle Culture aims at improving the main activities of the "Universal Forum of Cultures" in: Barcelona (2004), Monterrey (2007), Valparaiso (2010) and Naples (2013).

The Maison de la Paix performs most of the initiatives jointly with the Maison de la Méditerranée.

 

The third stage of the “Federal Europe: towards a constituent phase” journey arrives in Padua, a city symbolising civic engagement and participation, to focus on the contribution of volunteering, associations and the third sector in building a new Europe.
After discussions with the academic world in Salerno and a look at global challenges in Florence, Padua represents the social and community dimension of the federal project. It is no coincidence that the meeting is taking place in a city that has distinguished itself as the European Capital of Volunteering, a lively place of civic networks, solidarity and social innovation.
The meeting on Friday, 30 January 2026, was dedicated to reflecting on the founding values of a truly united Europe and on the necessary responses to the major social issues of our time: inequality, poverty, rights, democratic participation, peace and environmental sustainability. The discussion between the main voluntary organisations and European federalist movements aims to strengthen a shared vision: a federal Europe cannot be created without the active involvement of organised civil society.
The Padua stage therefore aims to be more than just a meeting: it is a laboratory for co-design and co-responsibility, in which the third sector contributes to defining the social profiles of the European federal structure, bringing concrete experiences, real needs and practices of participatory democracy.
This is a fundamental step on the road to the 2026 Naples Summit – at the headquarters of the “United States of the World” – where these energies and proposals will converge to give shape to a true constituent phase of the United States of Europe.

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A Lectio magistralis by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin opened the conference ‘The diplomatic action of the Holy See in the face of new global challenges’, organised by the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy: Peace and justice, voices that continue to rise in different regions of the planet as pillars of order among actions. The denunciation of the use of force to resolve conflicts, the need for solutions that are educational, formative and research-based. Diplomacy as a way to build the common good and, for those who work in the Holy See, the commitment to share people's pain and heal it with evangelical hope. These are some of the points that Cardinal Pietro Parolin highlights in his Lectio magistralis focused on ‘Peace and justice in the diplomacy of the Holy See in the face of new challenges.’ The Secretary of State spoke at this morning's conference, 17 January, in the Ducal Hall of the Apostolic Palace, on the occasion of the 325th anniversary of the founding of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy.
Cardinal Parolin's key words were: "The prevailing multipolarism leads to armed peace or to the establishment of an attitude of mutual distrust between states. We need foresight and healthy realism to be peacemakers".
Secretary-General Michele Capasso emphasised the importance of the content of the letter that Pope Leone XIV sent to the participants and the words of hope that Cardinal Parolin addressed to the diplomats of the Holy See: I repeated to them a phrase that is dear to me and that has characterised our actions from the beginning: ‘Do much, say little’.
‘We find in Cardinal Parolin's Lectio,’ Secretary General Capasso told the press, "the expression according to the lesson of Pope Alexander VII "Do much, say little", when he hopes that “the Holy See's response will remain that of effective and discreet diplomacy, which sees in every level of activity and responsibility the possibility of seeking ways and means to ensure an international order based on justice, in which the principle and goal of coexistence is peace, operating according to the principles, customs and respect for the rules of diplomacy”.
This, Capasso concludes, ties in with the pastoral perspective referred to by Pope Leone XIV in his aforementioned letter: “The diplomatic service is not a profession, but a pastoral vocation: it is the evangelical art of encounter, which seeks paths of reconciliation where men raise walls and mistrust”.
This is the same path we have been following for forty years with the “United States of the World” and which we will continue to follow: “DO MUCH, SAY LITTLE”."

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In front of his legendary "Chalet Ciro", the final farewell was given to Don Antonio De Martino: a central figure, owner and soul of the historic chalet in Mergellina. 
A dear friend of the Foundation, he was a visionary who accompanied us through the difficult moments of our peace mission, sweetening complex peace negotiations with his delicacies. He was always ready to intervene in person at meetings, dinners and gatherings with heads of state and government, ambassadors and representatives of international organisations.
His and his son Ciro's participation in the celebrations for the 25th anniversary of our Foundation, together with the 20th anniversary of the United Arab Emirates for diplomacy, was extraordinary: the Grand Hotel in Rome became the venue for Chalet Ciro and suddenly graffe, ice cream and desserts invaded the distinguished audience: from the then President of the Senate Pietro Grasso to H.E. Jamal Sanad Al Swaidi and many others.
A collection of photos preserves the memory not only of a successful entrepreneur, but also of a true guardian of Neapolitan tradition, capable of transforming a small seaside establishment into a global benchmark for sweet gastronomy.  
His historic motto, "I Make You Happy", will forever remain the symbol of "artisan intelligence" — as Don Antonio liked to define his business — and Chalet Ciro will continue to exist in the spirit of Antonio's history and example, keeping alive the scent of knowledge, traditions, and history that made him a legend and will continue to do so.

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Secretary-General Michele Capasso attended the farewell ceremony for Vincenzo Salamone, President of the Campania Regional Administrative Court.
On this occasion, attended by the highest civil, military and religious authorities, President Salamone's commitment to promoting administrative justice that increasingly serves the needs of the people was remembered.

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