The objectives of the CISM, presented in article 3 of the statute, can be summarized in the three words, which form the subtitle of the Center: Philosophia, Scientia, Vita and which indicate three areas of interest that are still current.
In fact, they represent three essential components of our daily life and the three pillars of research aimed at the knowledge, recovery and enhancement of a rich common heritage, a link between different cultures, now without borders, which are going to travel together the path of the third. Millennium.
The Center is inspired by the idea of research, documentation and elaboration of all the elements that fall within the sphere of late-ancient, medieval, humanistic and modern monastic culture in an interdisciplinary vision that embraces all the "artes", from theology to the sciences natural, from the arts to the traditions of life, combining in a universal framework spirit, soul and body.
The preservation of the ancient cultural and philosophical heritage, the promotion of human values, the reflections of the mind and the emotions of the soul, respect for nature and the striving for the good of humanity are the perennial elements of the monastic culture of many centuries up to the present day. This culture, not enclosed within the walls of a monastery, but made accessible to today's public, will be the fulcrum of the new International Center for Monastic Studies.
According to the statute, the purposes of the CISM are as follows:
- Promote historical, archaeological, artistic, environmental, architectural and demoanthropological studies and research both in national and international territory
- promote and create, also on behalf of third parties, educational paths, permanent or itinerant exhibitions of a historical, archaeological, artistic, environmental, architectural and demo-anthropological nature both in national and international territory
- to promote and create publications, including multimedia on computer support of a historical, archaeological, artistic, environmental, architectural and demoanthropological nature both nationally and internationally
- promote classical culture in all its forms;
- promote and implement, including on behalf of third parties, the inventory and cataloging of environmental, historical, artistic, architectural and documentary assets;
- promote, create and manage, also on behalf of third parties, databases aimed at the above points:
- promote and participate in regional, national and European projects aimed at the above points
The activities of the association and its aims are inspired by the principles of equal opportunities between men and women and respectful of the inviolable rights of the person.
For this purpose, conferences, seminars, courses and other events, projects and activities will be organized, also in collaboration with other bodies, as well as book editions and various types of publications will be printed. The Study Center wants to become a meeting point for young and old, a crossroads of scholars and enthusiasts from all over Europe and possibly also from other cultural areas.
The methodology of the work does not want to close itself off in theoretical research, but to highlight its links with the real external world. The almost familiar environment of the association's headquarters may be emblematic for the work that must be developed: a capillary in situ and virtual work, made possible thanks to the spirit of friendship that has accompanied the new Study Center from the very beginning.
The choice of Cividale del Friuli was dictated by the strategic importance of the city, linked both to its history and to its central location, in the heart of what was once the Patriarchate of Aquileia, today made up of all the neighboring regions of the three states Austria, Italy, Slovenia. Cividale and its surroundings, therefore, are an ideal place for such an activity open to all geographical, cultural and scientific directions.
The role of the former convent of San Giorgio, formerly known as "Il Giardino del Chiostro", an educational farm legally recognized by the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, will take on a new meaning in a research laboratory context, in an atmosphere of serene collaboration and sharing. and in compliance with the parameters defined by the international scientific community.