The first meeting of the day was in the kindergarten "San Giuseppe", in S. Ilario d'Enza, a village near the city of Reggio Emilia - the children were eagerly waiting for our arrival!
We were joined at the school by the mayor of S. Ilario d'Enza and by Adolfo Soho Brunelli, a Buddist Monk and director of the "House of Tibet", a nearby Buddhist comunity. He also brought us the greetings of the wellknown Lama Tashi Tsering, who could not attend the meeting due to the recent events in Nepal...
... we all joined him in reciting a buddist prayer for peace...
... and then we run all together!
Thank you for this wonderful meeting!!!
New friends on the road!
Our next meeting was in Piazzale Lubiana, shortly after entering the borders of the city of Parma. We paid a visit to the local organic market. Thank you for the support!
We joined by a good friend of the Peace Run, the Marathon champion runner Maria Guida, who run with us in Parma, it was great to meet again...
...Thank you Maria!
We were also joined by some members of the "Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama' at Italia", a muslim community that works towards harmony and friedship among religions. They had a great t-shirt with their motto: "love for all, hate for nobody".
We resumed our Run...
...through the streets of Parma...
...and reached "Piazza Duomo", where we had a nice meeting with the Don Stefano Rosati, Rector of the "Seminario Maggiore of Parma", and with the school chidren from the primary school "U. Adorni".
While waiting for the children to arrive we befriended with some other school kids visiting the cathedral...
... and gave them a spontaneous presentation about the Peace Run.
Nice to meet you!
Shortly afterwards arrived the kids from the primary school "U. Adorni".
So we had another presentation...
...and another group picture!
The children accompanied us to a nearby square called "Piazzale della Pace" (Peace Square).
peace birds!
The mayor of Parma, Mr. Federico Pizzarotti, joined us and received the Peace Torch.
Also, members of the Islamic and Methodist communities attended the meeting.
A big thank to Luciano Mazzoni, President of the interreligious forum of Parma, who was instrumental for organising the interfaith program in Parma and later during the day.
We took a colorful group picture...
...and passed the torch to the children...
... and finally, let's run!!!!
We accompanied the kids to their school and planted a Peace Tree. The school offered us a delicious meal and we were very happy to eat with the children! Special thanks to the cooks who treated us really like guests of honor!
We left Parma and on our way to the next town we had a meeting with the local order of the Templar Knights.
They have a long tradition of welcoming pilgrims along the ancient "strada francigena", and even today they have a house dedicated to host kids from all over the world.
Some young local runners joined us in the nearby town of Fidenza.
In Fidenza we were welcomed by the city representative and we introduced the Peace Run.
We also met Reverend Taitan Guareschi - a Zen monk wellknown all over Europe. He is the founder of the "Fudenji" Temple, located in the hills near the town of Salsomaggiore Terme. We were honored to give him the Peace Torch.
Local police!...
... and local runners!!!
We ended our busy daily schedule with a side trip to Salsomaggiore Terme...
... where we met a special friend, Mr. Sanelli, who created a special icecream flavor in honor of the Peace Run!
He is a real "Maestro Gelatiere"! Really well known for his creations! The ice cream shop is one of the best in Italy. If you should pass by Salsomaggiore you have to check out his gelati!
Mr. Sanelli received the Torch Bearer Award for inspiring many people over the years with his work. His Gelato gives joy to countless people, and we really felt it!
Mr. Sanelli showed us how Gelato is made...
Delicious!
The "Peace Gelato"!
We left Salsomaggiore and reached Piacenza. It rained really hard but we were really happy for this fantastic day!
