Ave Maria, Florida

History

Ave Maria, Florida is an unincorporated community that was founded in 2005 by Ave Maria Development Company, a partnership consisting of the Barron Collier Companies and the Ave Maria Foundation led by Roman Catholic philanthropist and activist Tom Monaghan, founder of Domino's Pizza and the leader of Ave Maria University at the time. Monaghan served as president of Ave Maria University until February 2011. The development of the town was made possible when the Florida legislature created the Ave Maria Stewardship Community District, a limited local government whose purpose is to provide community infrastructure, including community development systems, facilities, services, projects, and improvements. It is one of the top-selling master planned communities in the United States.

Commerce

Ave Maria is home to various institutions and businesses. Local news is covered by a local online newspaper called the Ave Herald and a monthly print and internet magazine Ave Maria Living shares human interest stories about the community.

Ave Maria Oratory

The town was planned with the large Ave Maria Oratory church in the center, the facade of which displays sculptor Márton Váró's 30-foot-tall (9 m) sculpture of the Annunciation, depicting the Archangel Gabriel greeting the Virgin Mary with the words "Ave Maria" (Hail Mary). Váró's "Good Shepherd" sculpture is also featured inside the Oratory, also carved in marble from Cave Michelangelo in Carrara, Italy.

The Oratory serves as the home of the Roman Catholic Church of Ave Maria Oratory, part of the Diocese of Venice, which serves as the parish for the university and the local residents. One of the oratory's most distinctive characteristics is its steel structure, much of which is exposed internally and externally. The landmark church received an architectural award from the American Institute of Steel Construction in 2008. Monaghan has had a significant interest in architecture for more than 50 years and has been one of the world's largest collectors of the works and memorabilia of Frank Lloyd Wright. He drew the oratory's first sketches himself on a napkin.

Ecology

Ave Maria has a severe mosquito problem, and has been sprayed more than 30 times via airplane with pesticides by the Collier Mosquito Control District in 2015 with organophosphates and pyrethroids, making it the most sprayed area in Southwest Florida. The Collier Mosquito Control District spokesman, stated in 2012 to the Ave Maria Herald, "The chemical used in the spraying is Naled, an organophosphate that the EPA has determined to be extremely safe". This statement is contrary to the EPA's own 2006 re-registration document for Naled, which requires a 48-hour re-entry interval for farm workers as "Naled can cause cholinesterase inhibition in humans".