We have reached the third edition of the Empoli anticlerical event. From the very first event, we have faced bureaucratic and financial obstacles imposed by the local administration-which is aligned with the Democratic Party (PD). These include the mandatory submission of a (costly) safety plan, high fees for public spaces, and so on-a form of preemptive suppression of our freedom of action and thought.
In previous years, modern-day Torquemadas even tried to block publicity for the event; displaying arrogance, excuses, and lies, they went so far as to remove a banner that municipal workers themselves had already hung. It was our tenacity that forced them to back down.This year, to achieve their goal, they have concocted a new rule: anyone wishing to hang a banner-even for non-commercial purposes-must file a formal administrative declaration (SCIA), the same procedure required for masonry work. This process requires a professional and entails high costs, on top of the municipal tax. It is all too clear how the dictatorship of "democratic" intolerance operates. Nothing new under the sun; it is the same old story, only more so.
"Pro-government" cultural associations-including political groups and trade unions-receive the exact opposite treatment: steep fee discounts, free access, and handouts of public funds. A portion of this money even goes to the local Curia; all forms of power are intertwined with religion. Interests and domination go hand in hand.
We invite you to join us in opposing them at the event taking place in Empoli's Piazza Farinata degli Uberti on September 12, from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM.
There will be an anticlerical photography exhibition, a wide selection of books from libertarian publishers, and a "de-baptism" information stall. At 11:30 AM, in the hamlet of Pontorme, we will pay tribute to Giordano Bruno-burned at the stake by the Holy Roman Church-by laying a wreath beneath the plaque commemorating him and delivering a speech to reaffirm that ideas are stronger than fire.
At 1:00 PM, lunch in the square (*). At 3:30 PM, musical *Pasquinate* (satirical verses) titled "On the Path of the Talking Statues" with Stefano Fabbroni. At 4:00 PM, presentation of the book *Anarcophysis: Escape from the State of Nature* with Raimondo Maria Depraho.
At 5:00 PM, a public talk by Daniele Ratti: "Franciscans in the Service of the Inquisition and Colonialism."
From 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM, "Rebel Songs" with Paolo Becherini, Simone Pacini, and Catia Milani, followed by singer-songwriter Piero Zannelli and a brief tribute to Francesco Guccini.
Let us unite to silence the annoying tolling of church bells-the work of those venomous reptiles who act as the most powerful obstacles hindering the emancipation of the exploited; they side with the masters in every conflict, standing as our enemies and always aligning themselves with power. Consider our own Municipality, which cloaks itself in democracy, one-way tolerance, and a false, state-sanctioned, constitutional secularism-all with the aim of ideologically conforming the entire population to the capitalist system. They are aided by the silence of the so-called Left-that "reformist" faction in reverse-which, to secure a position of power within the system, has forgotten that religion is the opium of the people, just as it has forgotten the need for social justice.
These deceivers-whether clad in black or in gaudy, luxurious, and expensive robes-peddle fantasies of new worlds and dogmas designed to subjugate and dominate consciences, all in league with politicians of every stripe, whether they exist merely to stage a fake opposition or are actually in government. Politicians in the clerical-fascist government never miss a chance to publicly flaunt religious imagery, racist slogans, and the mantra: "God, Fatherland, and Family." Alongside dangerous figures like Vannacci, they promote the crucifix, the helmet, and the musket in schools to mold perfect fascists in the vein of Mussolini-while inflicting misery, slavery, assaults on rights and freedoms, war, genocide, and repression upon the rest of us. All the while, they live off our backs without doing a stroke of work.
Therefore, our anticlerical critique does not falter in the face of clericalism's increasingly brazen display of power over public life-whether in its robed, judicial forms or its bourgeois, institutional ones. It is a battle for everyone's freedom (believers included) that seeks to defeat the totalitarian nature of religious doctrines in general, and monotheistic ones in particular-which serve as their logical and historical core. Ultimately, it is a quest to understand the reasons for life, its essence, its rules, and its ethical foundations-a quest for freedom.
We want to live free from all manipulation, lies, coercion, and exploitation, and to rejoice in that freedom. Anarchist ethics, initiative, and agitation can and must serve as the driving force behind a continuous campaign that is anticlerical, antireligious, antimilitarist, and antipatriarchal.
The intermingling we know so well-between God and State, Church and capital, cross and sword-serves only to confirm our atheistic conviction.
It falls to us, as champions of liberty, to fight against this system of exploitation and against all those-across the political spectrum, from left to right-who, despite wearing no clerical robes, act and behave like priests. For we want neither gods nor churches, neither servants nor masters of any kind-neither on earth nor in heaven.
It is up to each of us to continue the self-organized struggle to lay the groundwork for a new, egalitarian, and libertarian society. Let us do so, comrades. It will be the finest demonstration-a genuine expression of our faith, redeemed from religious prejudice-and the best way to reaffirm the freedom of the body, the mind, and the worker. To honor the martyrs of free thought. To remember the struggles and sacrifices of those who left us-often prematurely-such as Claudio, Alberto, Luigi, and so many others unknown to us. For anarchy.
(To reserve a spot for lunch, please call 3516691751).
FAI (Italian Anarchist Federation) - Empoli and Valdelsa
Pietro Gori Libertarian Study Center
https://umanitanova.org/empoli-12-settembre-2026-giorno-dello-sbattezzo/
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Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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