Pro Loco Don Donato Paesano
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Don Donato Paesano City Association was established in 2012 with the intent of promoting Eboli’s products, traditions and cultures. Its name comes from the name its historical parish priests, who the city will never forget.
All his life was dedicated to help the society and he was also the project creator of Agosto Ebolitano (trad. Eboli August), which was one of the biggest folklore events in South of Italy in the 1970’s.
The group works together with other local associations in organising events and public happenings, such as fairs, conventions, theatre and music shows and trips based on nature, art and architecture.
Don Donato Paesano
He was born on the 31st December 1928 in house based in the city centre, close to the Church of San Nicola and bombed during the Second World War. During his childhood, he was poor and he faced war.Once this finished, during his penultimate year of Agrarian School, he was introduced to Father Enrico Mastrangelo, Eboli priest who became then his spiritual guide.
He started attending the Seminary in May 1945 and became Priest on the 29th of June 1953. His first Mass was celebrated in the Church of San Nicola de Schola Graeca and he became Vice Parish Priest of the Salerno Cathedral 4 years later, in 1957.
The year after he was appointed Chaplain of the Eboli Juvenile Institute and he covered this role for 30 years.
His Evangelical life was characterised by social commitment toward the young and needy ones, including through teaching, as he had been the Religion professor in Eboli and Salerno. In Eboli he inaugurated the Industrial and Artistic High Schools. The 8th April 1988 he was assigned as Dean of the Churches of San Nicola de Schola Graeca, San Biagio and Sant’Eustacchio and Sant’Antonio da Padova (which belongs to S.S. Trinità Monastery).
He was also deeply involved in activities of architectural rescue of sacred places of the city, as Rettoria di Sant’Antonio, San Biagio (Mass has no longer been celebrated since 1980 and it is now the meeting point for many local associations) and San Donato (7th of August).
Together with some friends, he founded the ‘Eburina Town Association’, which was the organiser of the first ‘Eboli August’ in 1972 and since then, it has been offering a number of cultural, sport, artistic and especially traditional initiatives. Participants are not only local or national groups, but also European, and they all meet up in the very centrally located Repubblica Square.
After 7 editions, it has become more and more structured and nowadays it is one of the most important folk events in South of Italy.
The initial goal of the event was to rediscover and promote the city of Eboli and the area nearby.
Father Donato Paesano died on 13th October 2011 in Eboli and here the memory of one of the fathers of the city, as well as all the extraordinary efforts to make Eboli a beautiful place where to live is still vivid.
