Monasteri e pratiche ecologiche. Dalla storia alle proposte di oggi e ritorno

his essay analyses the relationship between monasticism and ecolo- gy in the Christian world (both Catholic and Orthodox). The paper is an interdisciplinary analysis based on primary sources and recent scholarship, alternating with contemporary perspectives based on fieldwork, including surveys and interviews. Since this field has been scarcely studied, we shall attempt to show the different forms that ecology can take, both on a concrete and theoretical level, depending on local communities. We will also highlight the link between ecological community practices, economic factors, and socio-cultural influences. The first part of the text will deal with concrete ecological practices through contemporary case studies of selected Benedictine monasteries. In the second part, the case of the Green Sisters will allow us to grasp the political and media implications that ecological choices can take on in a community. At the same time, the ethnographic case of the monastery of Solan will allow us to consider the issue of the reappropriation of ecological principles from a religious point of view. In the last paragraph, these reflections will lead us to point out how the integration of ecological practices in daily monastic life and its organization gives rise to new forms of monasticism. The latter, even when they do not juxtapose ecology and spirituality, integrate concepts such as responsibility and moderation. Finally, we will also highlight the numerous links that, now as in the past, connect monastic communities with the outside world, its changes and movements.