«SEMPER IN MELIUS MUTARI POTEST» Giovanni Battista da Cassine: preacher and scientist (17th-18th century)

Organized by the IRSAC Institute for the Historical Reconstruction of Arts and Customs (APS) of Cassine and the Davide Lajolo Cultural Association of Vinchio (AT), with the patronage of the Municipality of Cassine and the collaboration of the UNESCO Club of Alessandria, the conference "Semper in melius mutari potest" (Empty for Better Changes) will be held in conjunction with the exhibition of the original manuscript of the "Chorographica descriptio Provinciarum et Conventuum omnium Ordinis Minorum S. Francisci Capucinorum secundum veram illorum distantiam servata quantum fieri potuit Climatum constitutione" (Chorographic Descriptio Provinciarum et Conventuum omnium Ordinis Minorum S. Francisci Capucinorum secundum veram illorum distantiam servata quantum fieri potuit Climatum constitutione), a geographical atlas of the Capuchin Provinces created by the Capuchin Friar Giovanni Battista da Cassine and printed in Milan in 1712. The initiative aims to highlight the figures of two Franciscan friars from the towns of Cassine and Vinchio who, in In the 18th century, they proved to be distinguished intellectuals and also worked as cartographers, becoming experts in cartographic techniques and renowned globe makers and decorators. The work of the two clerics will be the subject of presentations by Professor Ezio Claudio Pia (Crism, Turin - Ciham, Lyon) "Comuni utilitati in lucem prodita." Giovanni Battista da Cassine between the history of science, maps, and globes; Francesco Scalfari (Italian Society of Anthropology and Ethnology) 18th-century cartography between science and politics; Domenico Bussi (Davide Lajolo Cultural Association) The globes of Pietro Maria da Vinchio: techniques and tools; The conference, introduced by Francesca Petralia of IRSAC APS and the UNESCO Club of Alessandria and Professor Laurana Lajolo of the Davide Lajolo Cultural Association, will conclude with the screening of the video "Representing the Universe. "The Terrestrial and Celestial Globes of Father Pietro Maria da Vinchio and His Time" by Lucio Laugelli. The initiative, marking the eighth centenary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi, aims to contribute to the local appreciation of the spiritual, cultural, and social legacy of the Saint's work, manifested in his faith, but also in art, literature, and the modern concept of ecology and brotherhood. This concept has also received recognition from the UNESCO General Conference with the inclusion of the Saint's celebrations in the "UNESCO Anniversaries 2026-2027" program.