Sermig - Arsenale della Pace
The Sermig, Servizio Missionario Giovani, is an organization founded in Turin on 24 May 1964 by Ernesto Olivero, his wife and a group of young people; since 1983 it has been based in the former military arsenal of Borgo Dora, transformed into the Arsenale della Pace, at piazza Borgo Dora 61.[1][2][3]
The military arsenal
Gunpowder was already being ground on the site in the 16th century; after the 1852 gunpowder explosion, the arsenal was rebuilt to a design by Castellazzi, with the works completed in 1867 and a contribution from the City, to manufacture gun carriages and wagons.[1] The bombings of 1942 and 1943 destroyed sheds, warehouses and workshops, and after the war the works closed and passed to the City.[1]
The Arsenale della Pace
On 2 August 1983 the Sermig moved into the former arsenal and began transforming it thanks to the unpaid work of many people.[2][1] In 1987 the first night shelter for men opened there, in 1989 the outpatient clinic, in 1994 the restoration school and in 1998 the women's shelter; since 2001 the Comoglio studio has restored the entrance, the music school, the guest quarters and the former saddlery buildings, which became a restoration school, nursery and residences.[2][1] The Sermig reports 3,000 meals a day and 3,730 development projects.[3]
The other arsenals
The Sermig has opened the Arsenale della Speranza in São Paulo, Brazil (1996), the Arsenale dell'Incontro in Madaba, Jordan, which supports children with disabilities, and in 2017 the Arsenale dell'Armonia in Pecetto Torinese.[2][4] On 2 August 2021 it was entrusted with the Basilica di Superga, and on 12 November 2021 President Sergio Mattarella inaugurated the PalaSermig.[2] At the end of every year the Sermig organizes a peace march from corso Palermo to piazza Castello.[5]
Sources
- MuseoTorino
- Sermig
- Sermig
- ANSA — 9 February 2026
- ANSA — 29 December 2024