Grassina Touristic Activities Centre

CAT onlus was created by some genuine Grassina’s citizens, who wanted to renew the old traditions. One of all, the historical commemoration of Good Friday, beloved of many generations since 1700.
In 1979, a group of enthusiasts grassinesi revisited the event in theatrical form, with text and original musical adaptation. It was mostly a religious experience, but this gave the impetus to the recovery of the historical representation of today.
Thanks to Riccardo Barbetti, who with enthusiasm and perseverance succeeded in involving an entire country, there were many people in that first glimpse of the 80’s who tenaciously rebuilt and improved what had been destroyed by the flood of 1966. Around the volunteers of the organization, joined a hundred grassinesi that with a self-taxation, prepared all dresses at his own expense to attend the Friday Procession of the Passion and the “scenes” of Calvary.
It was reborn in 1983, based on dialogues and musical adaptations taken from the old text of the ’50s by Riccardo Melani, the “Historical commemoration of the Passion of Christ” and with it the CAT (Touristic Activities Centre), which will become non-profit association in 2004.

Various activities there were in the early years of the association: in addition to having undertaken the modernization of the commemoration, featuring small and large innovations each year, who have revived the show in time, the CAT has distinguished himself as to expand its horizons up to organize every year at Easter, popular cultural events that rotate around the commemoration, with the aim of keeping alive the interest for the event and also take care of other local traditions and cultural events, not forgetting to also work on other activities such as production of interesting and valuable books on local history, the publication of fine collections of photographs or actively participate in the restoration of cultural heritage of the area.
It is in the early ’90s that the CAT, an association well established and included in the europassion circuit, can expand its activities, creating new events such as the “cavalcata dei Magi” or the traditional “cena al borghetto”, which brings together every year in June grassinesi that for one day reclaim their streets. Meanwhile, thanks to increased financial resources, the association can renew and purchase most of the material that is used in the main event.
At the Beginning of the new the century, the commemoration has become one of the most important national events: invitations arrive to replicate the show elsewhere that culminate in the two editions made in Florence, with the characters immersed in the splendor of a beautiful city adorned by tourists extremely excited about the show that took place during the day.
Meanwhile, the CAT, which has become “big”, helped to found the Association Europassione per l’Italia , which includes all the major passions of our country, hosting and organizing meetings, among other things important for the maintenance and improvement of these traditional events.
In recent times, thanks to the strong appreciation and trust recognized by the Municipality of Bagno a Ripoli, the CAT becomes responsible for the coordinamento delle associazioni di Grassina  in Grassina, an important milestone for the organization, dissemination and preservation of assets and traditions of our country .

Centro Attività Turistica Grassina
Via Dante Alighieri, 11 50012 Grassina (FI)
Telefono/Fax +39 055 646051
Cellulare +39 333 8270007

E-mail: catgrassina@virgilio.it

Sito web:
www.rievstoricagrassina.it
www.catgrassina.org

The CAT logo was made by Silvano Campeggi.