Now, dear boys and good leaders, it is up to you to continue on this safe ‘scout path’, keeping your flame higher and higher, towards heaven... know how to be vigilant custodians of the observance of the Law, it must ALWAYS be the launching pad for the greatest undertakings, to reach the highest levels and to live a pure and joyful life without compromise in such a corrupt world, in the Babylon of contestations that are more negative than constructive for a better world. Fundamental principles that give our scouting, desired and so many times blessed by the Supreme Hierarchies of the Church, the honour of calling itself ‘Catholic’
Padre "Antonino" Stefano Antonini
OUR STORY
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
This was written in 1972, the year the Prato 4 group was born, by Padre Stefano Antonini (or as everyone called him Padre Antonino), the man who, in 1947, gave life to the rebirth of scouting in Prato, founding the Prato 1 scout group inside the cloister of San Francesco, guests of the community of friars of the Carmelite order, who hosted us until the 1990s.
The Prato 4 scout group was founded in 1972 when we were still ASCI, Italian Catholic adult scouts, and joined it in 1974 with the advent of AGESCI, the Italian Catholic Guides and Scouts Association.
In reality, however, our group’s roots go back even further in time as, since its inception, it has always remained, as its headquarters, inside the cloister of San Francesco, that is, since 1947 under the name Prato 1.
In 1972, the years of the student protests, some of the leaders of the then Prato 1, in contrast with the community of friars of the time, had to emigrate to another location, but kept the name Prato 1.
Those who instead remained in San Francesco continued their activities, but took on the name Prato 4.
Since then, we have always remained guests of the Carmelite community until 2014, when the church of San Francesco, now passed to the diocese, we moved to the Basilica of S.M. Carceri, inside the Oratory, now the St. Anna Educational Centre.
In 1972, our group started out with a men’s section only because, still ASCI, it consisted of 39 elements between leaders and boys: the riparto, as it was called then, was called ‘San Giorgio’. It was later joined by the Rover Branch and the North Star Branco.
In the following years, a second pack, Southern Cross, and another boys’ unit, “Robinson”, were born. In addition, with the entry of girls into our group, a new girls’ unit, New Horizon, joined the already existing units, and the Rover and Cub Scout Branches welcomed the first Girl Guides and female Cub Scouts respectively from Prato 4.
At the beginning of the 1990s, the two men’s divisions merged, giving rise to the Golden Arrow Reparto.
Today we are a large community, with around 180 girls, boys, leaders and church assistants.
OUR PLACES
OUR TEAM
Get to know our fantastic Capi Community (Community of Leaders) made up of girls, boys, women, men and assistants, who every day put themselves at the service of the new generations, giving them unique experiences!
THE EDUCATIONAL PROJECTS
To learn about its contents, please read THE CONTENTS
The result of the work of the AGESCI Prato 4 group leader community – the educational project is a working tool aimed at making the group’s educational action more targeted, continuous and effective. The project stems from an analysis of the reality in which the group operates aimed at identifying the emerging educational needs – in a transversal manner in relation to the age groups involving our youngsters – and with a particular focus on the territory in which we are inserted.
First of all, this document is a support for the leaders of today and tomorrow, so that they have a guide for drafting and checking the various unit programmes according to common objectives, shared by the Capi Community.
Secondly, it is a public document shared with all the families, so that, looking at common objectives, the synergy between leaders and parents may increase for the good of the girls and boys in the group.
In 2024, moreover, a further initiative was promoted within the framework of the St. Anne’s Educational Pole, with a mutual collaboration between the various entities operating within the Pole itself, such as clearly our scout group, the Opera Santa Rita Foundation, the St. Anne’s Citizen Oratory, the non-profit organisations ‘Salesians for the Social’ and ‘The Long Sunday’, and Casa Edoardo; this synergy is encapsulated within the document ‘Pastoral Educational Project’.
Our group, founded in 1974, has a very interesting history that directly ‘collides’ with the historical, political and cultural changes of the last century.
Click here to read it.
A.G.E.S.C.I. is the acronym of the Italian scout association Associazione Guide e Scout Cattolici d’Italia, the largest scout association in the Italian Republic, founded in 1974 (the years of student protests) following the union between the women’s association AGI, founded in turn in 1943 as a counterpart to the men’s associationASCI, founded in turn in Rome in 1916 by Count Mario di Carpegna.
The AGESCI is an active member of the Italian Federation of Scouting (FIS) and, through the latter, the representative of the Italian contingent at the WOSM and WAGGGS, respectively the World Organization of the Scout Movement, currently directed by diplomat Ahmad Alhendawi, with headquarters in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and the World Association of Girl Guidesand Girl Scouts, directed by diplomat Anna Segall, with headquarters in London (United Kingdom).
Once a Scout, always a Scout. Everywhere in the world.
Registration for our group is done exclusively online, using the appropriate procedure.
It takes about 10 minutes to complete the form; if you need to, you can also pause the online registration and resume it later, even from a different device.
Other registration methods (e.g. paper or e-mail) are not active.
No problem!
You can update the data provided in the application (e.g. change of residence, contact details, typing errors, etc.) by simply replying to the automatic email you received upon confirmation, containing your application number.
In all scout groups there are limited places available; we always do our utmost to ensure that all members have quick access to our activities, but this cannot always be guaranteed as it varies depending on several factors, such as the number of applications processed, available places and age.
If you have already submitted your application and would like more information about it, please do not hesitate to contact us by replying to the confirmation email with the file code.
Our group accepts registrations from the age of five.
The activity is subdivided as follows
- L/C Branch (Cub Scouts): 8-12/13 years old
- E/G Branch (Wards): 12/13-16 years old
- R/S Branches (Novitiate and Clan): 16-20/21 years old
- Community Leaders (Co.Ca.): from 21 years old
It is possible to enrol from the age of 5, but it is not possible to start before the age of 8.
No Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts but only Scouts! This distinction was part of the origin of the movement, when institutional activity was completely separate between girls and boys. Today we are all together, so the correct word is just Scout.
If you want to learn more about this topic, we invite you to read this beautiful article by our friends at CNGEI.
Absolutely not. We will never allow ourselves to lead you to be a ‘model Catholic’ or ‘a priest’.
Because of our historical roots in Italy, because of our history, and because we are in any case part of a Catholic association, we offer to all young people and adults, also with the precious help of our Assistants, an activity (which is absolutely NOT catechism) aimed at building/improving their own faith journey within the Roman Catholic Church.
The Faith is yours and the choice therefore remains yours alone. In our association we have accepted, accept and will continue to accept with immense pleasure and without any discrimination people of any religious belief (other Christianity, Islamic, Jewish, etc.), or those who do not identify with anything.
The values that count in our association are others and not the number of times one goes to mass.
In each Branch (L/C, E/G, R/S and Co.Ca.) we always promote, naturally with different inclinations, moments of confrontation and active citizenship, for example by organising activities in symbolic places in our social fabric (e.g. events, museums/memorials, care institutions, prisons, etc.), or through confrontation with other realities.
Such an activity makes it possible to raise a mature awareness of our world from an early age, and to try to be active adults and citizens from an early age, ‘to leave the world a little better than we found it’.
Moreover, starting with the R/S branch (Novitiate and Clan), the girls and boys will always take part in individual volunteer activities (or as we call it, ‘service’) in the service of non-profit organisations in our urban and social fabric, as well as in activities within our association, in helping Co.Ca. members carry out their tasks.
These experiences have led many people (from all sides and ideologies) to choose to continue their civic engagement actively in political life.
Let us mention two Italian scouts who are presidents of the European Parliament, David Sassoli and Antonio Tajani.
The safety of our boys and our leaders is always at the centre of every single activity we perform.
Every leader, when carrying out his or her role, is properly trained and continuously updated on safety and the measures to be taken on various occasions.
Every single activity we carry out is always designed in such a way as to ensure maximum safety for everyone.
In addition, an insurance policy covering medical expenses (also abroad) for accidents occurring during the activity is always included with the registration fee. During the first few months of the trial period, when you are not yet enrolled, a temporary two-month insurance policy will be activated by your branch.
If you would like to learn more about what measures we take to ensure safety in our various areas, do not hesitate to ask your branch leaders; you can also consult the safety protocol documents by clicking here.
Agesci is by far the largest scout association in Italy, with over 180,000 member(s), and with thousands of groups scattered throughout all regions of Italy.
Of course, we often do events with other Italian scouts, also from other associations (e.g. the CNGEI friends), and international groups (e.g. the famous Jamboree).
Here are the latest experiences, broken down by branch:
L/C: Regional Gathering near Prato, 2024
E/G: Regional San Giorgio at Barberino di Mugello, 2019
R/S: National Route at Pisa, 2015
Co.Ca.: National Route Capi at Verona, 2024
Our last representative in the Italian contingent at the 2019 Jamboree in West Virginia (United States) was Geneva.
Our last representative in the Italian contingent at the 2020 EuroJamboree was Giacomo.
In addition to these ‘great and historic events’ there are many others annually for each branch, which often see the participation of girls and boys from other groups, even outside the Prato area.
Our association is open to anyone and everyone, and therefore, of course, also to Scouts with disabilities; however, the activities they can do will depend very much on the type of disability and, above all, on the ability of the leaders to cope with it.
In 1981, UNESCO awarded Scouting the Peace Education Prize. The previous military experience of the founder of the Scouts, Robert Baden-Powell, could mislead observers from outside the movement and make them believe that Scouting is a militaristic movement, instead it is based on opposite principles: cadet training imposes a collective education on the boys from the outside, while Scouting encourages the individual to develop his own personality from the inside. So no, Scouts are not paramilitary.
Our leaders will be able to point you in the direction of our partner locations, guaranteeing the lowest expenditure.
Of course: even an adult who wants to try volunteering can become a scout as an adult! The registration process is the same for everyone, so if you are interested in volunteering!
To get started, click here. Fill in the details of ‘Parent 1’ and girl/boy with your own and omit those of ‘Parent 2’.
Life in the open air is a cornerstone of the educational method, so it is very important to have the opportunity to be able to ‘live’ in the midst of nature (such as in a forest).
Starting with the E/G branch, this possibility is exploited more often during outings, St. Georges, Summer Camps and, in the R/S and Co.Ca. branches, also during Routes and Service Camps.
In the Branches (L/C Branch), the younger members carry out their outdoor activities by sleeping in shelters and facilities equipped for their needs.
We love to sing, but we are also often just as out of tune!
We do a lot of activities, but it is true that we sing all the time, but it is not untrue that we are in tune.
Our favourite song, but also the most hated by us, and one that trivially none of us know completely, is ‘Scouting for Boys’, written by Giorgio Prada at the 1986 National Route at Piani di Pezza.
This is a beautiful performance by our friends from Meadow 1.
We also have other very famous scout songs, the ones we sing a bit more often in company, maybe in front of the ‘Mosquito Fire’ or on the Route. You can find the songbook here.
A fundamental rule of our educational method is to make it possible for the children to earn and finance the costs of their activities themselves, also so as not to burden their family budget too much.
Self-financing activities are therefore organised, albeit with different inclinations; the most famous is probably the biscuit sale, but that is not all.
Every year, for example, the E/G branch organises the historical re-enactment of St Joseph’s Batches (Mazze di San Giuseppe), while there have been many different self-financing activities.
Lotteries, removals, emptying cellars, even a Twitch channel.
The leaders are girls, boys, women, men and assistants, who every day put themselves at the service of the new generations, giving them unique experiences in line with our educational method.
Click here to get to know us better and discover ‘who’s behind it’!
All scout leaders are volunteers and receive no remuneration for their service with all scouts.
The money asked from families and received through self-funding serves exclusively to finance our projects (food, utilities, transport, etc.).
Outside the Scouts, every woman and man has her own life, studies and work.