Presentation
Rivalto Centro Culturale is a non-profit institution at the service of the city of Trieste and the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region.
The centre offers formative activities to people of all ages, ranging from the students of secondary schools to professionals with years of experience in their work. In fact, we believe that the education never ends.
The formative activities of the center may be divided into four fields: cultural, human, professional, and spiritual. We strive to provide to all those that are interested a possibility of improving their scholastic, academic, or professional knowledge. Our activities are very efficient and aim at improving the professional as well as the personal qualities of the participants.
The formative activities’ approach is based on Christian values, without, however, being limited to a particular religion. During our activities, a particular emphasis is put on extreme transparency and the respect of each participant’s liberty and convictions, on the basis of the irreplaceable value of the man and the trust in his abilities .
The activities of Rivalto, especially those of a spiritual nature, are entrusted to Opus Dei, a Personal Prelature of the Catholic Church, founded in 1928 by St. Josemaría Escrivà. Since its foundation, Opus Dei has spread the message that all people are called to holiness through the fulfillment of their work and daily duties. Opus Dei collaborates with the local church, offering means of Christian formation, such as lectures, retreats, and priestly assistance. They are available to all those who want to improve their spiritual life and their apostolate. For more information please go to www.opusdei.org.
Main Activities
1. Study room and tutoring activities.
There are two study rooms and a library with Internet-access available at Rivalto. Following the example of the most advanced educational methods, the cultural center has activated tutoring activities for students. Older or recently graduated students offer their assistance to younger students, helping them in developing their own study method and in a closer examination of various topics. They also offer advice on how to successfully organize the study plan and what the best way to follow lessons is. However, tutoring activities do not consist in private lessons. They main purpose is to help students in facing with responsibility the various stages of their studies. In order to constantly improve the tutoring activities, Rivalto has established fruitful collaboration with the University of Trieste and other postgraduate schools of the city.
2. Public conferences and monothematic general interest meetings.
Organized in various venues of the city, their main purpose is to offer opportunities for a closer examination of the most important current events, such as those concerning the education and the family, from local, national, and international points of view. Speakers are chosen among professionals, university professors and well-known experts.
3. Study groups and national and international congresses.
Interdisciplinary study groups are organized to encourage university students to reflection on subjects of common interest belonging to various disciplines and their closer examination. The conclusions of the study groups’ works are often presented at the end of the academic year during national and international congresses.
4. Language courses abroad.
In an age in which the world is becoming more and more a global village, the knowledge of the most important foreign languages is of the utmost importance. Thanks to its contacts with experienced institutions in various European countries, Rivalto offers to all those interested a possibility of following language courses abroad in the summer.
5. Assistance to patients and elderly people, and summer workcamps.
There are plentiful possibilities of doing volunteer service in Trieste and abroad. We believe that the contact with poverty, illness and another person’s necessities plays a fundamental role in the formation of a truly human character.
6. Sport activities and trips of artistic and cultural nature.
Rivalto pays much attention not only to the organization of cultural activities, but also to the educational meaning of the right use of the free time. Sport activities and trips are an excellent opportunity of learning how to improve friendships, live the spirit of sacrifice, help others and develop important human virtues.
7. Activities of Christian, doctrinal and spiritual nature.
In the educational project offered by Rivalto there are also activities of doctrinal and spiritual nature. The organization of these activities is entrusted to Opus Dei, an institution of the Catholic Church, whose specific aim is to promote the ideal of sanctity in the middle of the world, which can be reached through the fulfillment of ordinary work and in each person’s daily circumstances.