The installation was created by Madhava and Margherita at their Grotta Sonora, or “The Sounding Cave.” Consisting of unique handmade gongs and other instruments, called “sound sculptures,” the sound path makes tours of MOSA an auditory as well as a visual experience.
After months under lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some ISKCON temples around the world are gradually starting to reopen in phases, with safety restrictions in place according to their local government recommendations.
In Italy, the worst hit country in Europe, neither the general public nor devotees can visit the temple because all places of worship – churches, mosques, temples – have been closed down, and everyone has been quarantined in their homes.
A new ISKCON temple is set to open in the historic town of Velletri in the Castelli Romani hills, Italy, about an hour south of Rome city center.
Villa Vrindavana Yoga Center is providing yoga enthusiasts an authentic experience in a spiritual community, as well as a non-judgemental, pressure-free zone where they can decide how deep they want to dive.
This January, Prefect Maurizio Falco and Deputy Mayor Elena Baio of the Italian city of Piacenza received representatives from the main religions in the area, including ISKCON devotees Raghunath Das (Renato Dacarro) and Pritha Dasi (Paola Rossi).
It all started when Mukundananda Das from Rome expressed keen interest in bringing the movie to Italy and he got encouraged to find a distributor.
There were about 15 attendees participating from Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, Ireland and Belgium.
“I have a long-standing friendship with Imam Izzeddin Elzir, Parabhakti dasa says, and when this year he invited us to participate in their prayer I thought it was a special occasion, during it something special have to be done."
Parabhakti Das, President of ISKCON’s Villa Vrindavana community near Florence, Italy, presented at a panel discussion on preserving authenticity in yoga during the European Academy of Religion’s annual conference this spring.
The giant book is funded by ISKCON Italy through donations and designed by the Mediterranean branch of the BBT, which claims it will be the largest sacred text in the world.
Although he had serious health problems for many years, he never complained or even talked about his struggle with disease; nor did he give up.
Last week, ISKCON Communications European (ICE) leaders and representatives from 17 Countries gathered in Prabhupada Desh just outside of Venice, Italy, to discuss and share their thoughts on some pressing issues such as women's position in ISKCON, veganism, social media and other topics.
On the 5th of November ISKCON Turin, Italy, celebrated the opening of a new Temple situated near the city’s downtown.
ISKCON Italy’s Narada Muni Das (Fabio Pianigiani) participated at a conference held in the Italian Parliamanet celebrating the bi-centennary of Baha’u’llah.
A seminar, held on September 26th, 2017, in Italy’s House of Parliament, at the Sala del Refettorio, and organized in co-operation with MP Lacquaniti, has discussed the problems of religious freedom in Russia, a cause of serious concern in Europe.
This is a film about the Hare Krishna community in Villa Vrindavana near Florence in Italy. It shows the different aspects of the project and we hear from some of the residents. A video by Vrisabhanu Das.
Torino Iskcon Cultural Center has celebrated the 2nd Anniversary. A video by Citra Karuni devi dasi.
The local municipality in Turin, one of the largest cities in Italy, is financially supporting ISKCON’s local Food For Life effort. Devotees feed 100 homeless people at two shelters every Monday. And local public, moved by the devotees' effort, are streaming in to volunteer.
Mayapur Academy's new Italian branch allows devotees in the Western World and particularly Europe to learn the knowledge, skills and values they need to serve as pujaris in ISKCON without traveling all the way to Mayapur in India. Units include astrology Tulasi care and worship, jewelry making, cooking, festivals, yajnas, turban making, and flower decorations.
A film by Vrisahbhanu Das.
For the past ten years, the Mayapur Academy – run by the ISKCON Deity Worship Ministry – has offered devotees a four-month intensive training course that equips them with all the knowledge, skills and values they need to serve as pujaris in ISKCON. Many successful graduates have come away from the course with diplomas in archana. But it’s not always easy for devotees to travel so far and be away from their services or homes for four months.
On October 4th, in Rome, Italy, an extraordinary event took place at the House of Representatives of the Italian Parliament. The opportunity for ISKCON to acquire national visibility in such an important setting is a huge step towards to finally officially recieve the status of a "religious movement" from the Italian government along with the rights to maintain chaplancies in hospitals and schools, to be exempt from some taxes, and to receive tax donations.
“Last year, this was just a dream of mine, but I was confident that Krishna would help me find a way to do something relevant for this historical anniversary,” says Villa Vrindavana President Parabhakti Das. “Sure enough, my dear friend Narada Muni Prabhu, a famous musician who is well acquainted with many influential people, came along and offered his help and that opened the doors to the Parliament.”
Italy’s ISKCON 50th anniversary celebrations commenced on November 25th, 2015 with the planting of a sacred Banyan tree in Piazza Vittorio in Rome.
November 2015 will be a month remembered in worry and fear for Muslims all over Europe, after the Paris attacks, yet again marked the tensions their religious community faces in Europe and the rest of the world. Just a week before the attacks, from Oct. 26 – Nov 2nd, youth from all over Europe were building a network of peace and connection at the Religions for Peace Interfaith Youth Conference, in San Gandolfo Italy.
By Rome Reports.
After several internal events celebrating its progress so far, the Museum of Sacred Art (MOSA) is set to officially open in Villa Vrindavana, Italy, at the end of this month. The museum is MOSA’s second branch, with the first running in Radhadesh, Belgium since 2009 and currently attracting around 12,000 visitors a year.
An angellic-looking choir, trained by the famous Italian Gregorian chanter, Fabrizio Mastroianni, sing Gregorian, Hebrew and Sanskrit (Govindam Adi Purusham) chants at the opening ceremony of the Bhaktivedanta Institute's international conference, Life And Its Origin, at the Protomoteca Hall, Rome. November 12th 2004.
Young religious environmental leaders from around the world, including four ISKCON devotees, attended an environmental “convergence” and march in Rome at the end of June. The event was put on by Our Voices, a New Jersey based international organization created to encourage religious communities to put pressure on political leaders for the upcoming 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris.
Villa Vrindavana, Florence, Italy.
A conference with Radhanath in Torino, Italy. A video by Inci Mutlu Milano.
Devotees headed by ISKCON Communications director for Italy Parabhakti Das organized and participated in the Diwali celebrations at Rome’s City Hall on October 23rd, with positive results. “If Brussels is the diplomatic capital of Europe, Rome is its capital from the religious and cultural point of view,” Parabhakti says. “So it is important that our movement is well represented and clearly visible in this world-famous city.”
Seventeen hundred people flooded into ISKCON Italy’s Villaggio Hare Krishna on the outskirts of Milan to celebrate Krishna’s birthday, and to catch their first glimpse of the stunning new painted ceiling of the community’s Radha-Ramana temple. The one-hundred square meter (1,076 sq ft) oil painting is divided into two distinct sections, one depicting Sri Chaitanya’s pastimes, the other Lord Krishna’s.
There is a growing interest today in learning about different cultures and ways of life. In schools, in the workplace and in society in general, more and more people are sharing their traditions and different aspects of spirituality with each other. This year, two primary schools in Tavazzano and Sordio, in the province of Lodi, Italy, presented the culture of India.
On the weekend of Friday June 6th to Sunday June 8th, around 500 yoga practioners from Tuscany and beyond attended a yoga festival with a difference: the third annual Bhakti Festival at Villa Vrindavana, Italy. The festival was established in 2012 by ISKCON Villa Vrindavana and Yogendra, leader of the Samadhi yoga school in Florence
Since the first Italian Rathayatra in Viareggio, Tuscany in 1981, the ancient parade festival has been celebrated at least once a year in cities such as Florence, Milan, and Verona. But there hasn’t been a Rathayatra in Italy’s renowned capital, Rome, until this May. Spurring devotees on was the fact that May 2014 was the 40th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s visit in 1974 to Rome, where he stayed for one week.
Italian devotees danced for joy down the streets of Rome, looking up at Lord Jagannath’s colorful chariot as they celebrated the first ever Rathayatra festival in their capital on May 31st, 2104.
Wearing the traditional habit and crucifix which has been her signature look on the show, the Sicilian nun immediately thanked God
A young women becomes a nun. She travels to Brazil to work with poor children and then returns to Italy to live quietly in a convent in Milan. Now she is the star of Italy’s version of the TV show “The Voice.”
A 25-year-old Italian nun wowed the judges of Italy’s version of “The Voice” with an Alicia Keys song. According to HuffPo: “If I had found you at Mass I would always be in church,” said J-Ax, an Italian rapper who is one of the judges. “You and me are like the devil and holy water.”
On Friday July 11th, the second floor of the Museum of Spiritual Art (MOSA) in Villa Vrindavana, Italy will be completed and receive an internal opening ceremony attended by devotees. The museum is the second branch of MOSA in ISKCON, modeled after the original in Radhadesh, Belgium. It is located in the most historic part of Villa Vrindavana’s Villa, dating back to the 16th century.
Senagetaway presents The Kirtan Experience 2013. A trip to Florence, Italy for over 150 students. Here's a teaser video.
For info visit www.psena.com
In 2013, a new Sacred Art Museum opened in Villa Vrindavana, Tuscany, Italy.
Music by Hanumen.
This January, ISKCON Italy was made a member of the Florence Council for Religious Dialogue, an official government entity. This is a major development for ISKCON, which has been working with non-government interfaith groups since 2005 and has held many interfaith conferences and events at the Villa Vrindavana community.
The first phase of the Villa Vrindavana museum which just opened, fills five large rooms with twenty grand sized paintings of India’s classic literature, the Mahabharata. The paintings reveal in vibrant colors the drama, emotion, intrigue, and divine purposes of the Mahabharata and its epic battle between the forces of good and evil.
For the 4th time in a row, Italy's Villa Vrindavana will host the "Sravana Kirtanam - Keep Your Faith Alive by Hearing and Singing" festival on 6th and the 7th of July, 2013.
ISKCON’s 8th ELM (European Leaders Meetings), held from October 2 – 3 in Villa Vrindavana, Italy this year, yielded inspiring news on the year's accomplishments, as well as some exciting new plans.
They plan to take a lot of photos and record the experience when they go on a faith-based trip to Italy and Bosnia in May. The Grand Rapids couple will visit the Vatican, as well as religious sites in Monte Ste. Angelo, Loreto and Lanciano. In Bosnia, the city of Medjugorje holds a place where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to children every day since 1981.
The major Italian weekly magazine L'espresso has published a piece of investigative journalism on how Catholic priests handle their confessions; the Vatican became enraged at the disclosures.