Mario Sica


Mario Sica is an Italian retired diplomat and served as the International Commissioner of the Italian Scout Federation. He was born in Rome. Sica edited the Italian editions of the works of Robert Baden-Powell and wrote, among other things, the History of Scouting in Italy.
Sica joined Scouting in Florence in 1947, and was head of a Scout unit and Scout group in Florence between 1956 and 1960. He collaborated on translating international works, first for Associazione Scouts Cattolici Italiani and later for its successor, Associazione Guide e Scouts Cattolici Italiani.

Background

When the Scout movement was reborn in Italy after the fascist suppression, there was a need to provide material to raise awareness of Scouting, therefore Sica oversaw the Italian editions of the works of Robert Baden-Powell, often translating them in his own hand.
His diplomatic career, allowing him to travel the world, put him in touch with the realities of Scouts from other countries, which he brought back to Italy. In 1978, he founded the "Baden-Powell" Scout Group in Bern, using the Italian language and AGESCI methodology, for children of Italian immigrants. In the preface to Footsteps of the Founder, László Nagy, the Secretary General of the World Organization of the Scout Movement wrote that the works of Baden-Powell are read in Italian in his own country, rather than English, thanks to the work of Sica.
In 1988, Sica was awarded the 193rd Bronze Wolf, the only distinction of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, awarded by the World Scout Committee for exceptional services to world Scouting.

Works

He has written numerous books on the history and traditions of Scouting.