Lanza Del Vasto

Biography

Lanza del Vasto (born Giuseppe Giovanni Luigi Maria Enrico Lanza di Trabia-Branciforte; 29 September 1901 – 6 January 1981) was an Italian philosopher, poet, artist, Catholic and nonviolent activist.

He was born in San Vito dei Normanni, Italy and died in Murcia, Spain.

A western disciple of Mohandas K. Gandhi, he worked for inter-religious dialogue, spiritual renewal, ecological activism and nonviolence.

His father, Don Luigi Giuseppe Lanza di Trabia-Branciforte, was Sicilian and his mother, Anne-Marie Henriette Nauts-Oedenkoven, was born in Antwerp, in Belgium. Very early he traveled in Italy and Europe. He entered the University of Pisa in 1922.

In December 1936, Lanza went to India,...