The “History, Culture, Traditions and Territory Study Centre of San Amanzio” Cultural Association was founded in Jelsi(Province of Campobasso, Italy) in February 2002. The basic idea behind San Amanzio Cultural Association has been developed by Giuseppe Santella, with the aim to recover and follow the thread of the tradition as an identity element of the citizens of Jelsi, in Italy and all over the world. Everyday people migrate to metropolitan areas, pushed from the same hopes and the same needs which have always pushed our emigrants throughout the world. Each ethnic group want to retain his identity and his culture and their successors need to ask themselves these simple but fundamental questions: who are we? where do we come from? which is our identity? History, culture and traditions allow us to answer these questions, actually our history, our culture and our traditions have they roots on a village, an hamlet, a small and rural community. For these reason, our aim is not a mere and nostalgic proposal of the past that, as we know, can never be recovered; on the contrary, the purpose is to propose our history, even when it has been made to bud from the arid earth working hard. It is a strong call for young people, whatever they are born or live, they look to Jelsi as their family’s origin and identity. This is the Association’s aim: it will be a tool of meeting and a service for all citizens, both inside and outside our community.
History, culture and traditions allow us to answer these simple but fundamental questions: who are we? where do we come from? which is our identity?
In a continuously changing world, our culture is a sure compass which allow us of not losing our identity
A map which allow us to look back with admiration at the path we have followed, but with a future-oriented vision
the totality of way of living and thinking which have become embedded throughout the ages
The chest that holds and protects our cultural treasure
In 2002, Giuseppe Santella, supported by a group of other interested people, founded the San Amanzio Cultural Association with commitment and devotion. They restored the statue of the Saint and the reliquary containing the precious relics to their former glory – the relics were given from the Holy Roman Catholic Church to the community of Jelsi, in 1740. The celebrations in honour of the Saint were interrupted due to the outbreak of the Second World War. The festival has been brought back to the top by San Amanzio Association, due also to the kind cooperation of our fellow citizens.
28th and 29th - June 2024 JELSI (CB)
Ssan Amanzio Association holds an annual competition for the award of a scholarship for students who are attending the Secondary School. The main aim of this initiative is to foster a direct participation of younger citizens and to raise the profile of our local cultural heritage: revaluating of folk traditions, our local history and our vernacular heritage.
