90th Anniversary of the Istituto Maria Immacolata in Pinerolo

On 3 October 2026 the Istituto Maria Immacolata in Pinerolo, a state-recognized private school founded by the Sisters of St Joseph of Chambéry, celebrates ninety years since it opened its doors to its first pupils, an event that took place on the same day in 1936 at the same site on Viale della Rimembranza. The institute today comprises a primary school, a lower secondary school, and upper secondary programs in languages, science, sports science and economics-social studies.[1][2]

The history of the institute

The educational work of the Sisters of St Joseph in Pinerolo dates back to 1825, when the nuns, summoned to the city by Monsignor Rey, opened a free public school partly supported by the City. In the following years the activity expanded with a boarding school for wealthier families and, from 1846, with a day school also open to the working classes.[2]

Faced with growing demand, in 1933 the Congregation purchased Villa Berard, at the foot of the Santa Brigida hill, to build a new institute there. The foundation stone was laid on 26 August 1934, and the complex, designed by the engineer Emilio Giay, was inaugurated on 10 May 1936. On 3 October of the same year the building opened its doors to 84 pupils of the boarding school, named after Maria Immacolata.[2]

In 1940 the first lower secondary class was established at the new site; with the outbreak of war the institute was requisitioned and turned into a military hospital, housing displaced families in its basements. It returned to being a school in 1945, when the Technical Commercial School and the Vocational Training School arrived from the Mother House.[1][2]

In 1946 the Teacher Training Institute (Istituto Magistrale) was opened, which in 1973 launched in Piedmont, among the first in Italy, the large-scale experimental program for new types of upper secondary schools, with the pedagogical and language tracks followed the next year by the science track. In 2001 the institute was granted recognition as a state-recognized private school. Between 2003 and 2005 the primary school was moved to the Viale della Rimembranza complex, completing the presence of all school levels at the same site. With the 2010 reform of upper secondary schools, the new Languages, Science, and Human Sciences with an economics-social focus tracks were introduced, joined in 2014, after the completion of new sports facilities, by the Sports Science track.[1]

The program of celebrations

The day of 3 October 2026 is open to students, families, teachers, school staff and alumni. The program includes a welcome at 2:30 pm by the alumni association, the opening at 2:45 pm of the exhibition "La nostra storia" (Our History), and at 3 pm the inauguration of the renovated music classroom with a concert. In the afternoon two screenings are planned of the short film "Domani" (Tomorrow), produced by the lower secondary school and the fifth-grade classes of the primary school as part of the Cinema e Scuola program promoted by the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education, followed at 5 pm by the awards ceremony for the drawing competition "La scuola che vorrei" (The School I Would Like). An info point dedicated to "La scuola oggi" (The School Today) is available, along with several mini-workshops run by the upper and lower secondary schools. The day concludes at 5:30 pm with a thanksgiving Mass marking the start of the school year, celebrated by Monsignor Massimo Lovera, diocesan vicar general; in case of bad weather the Mass will instead be held at 5 pm in the nearby Madonna di Fatima parish.[2]

The school's academic coordinator, Simone Ballari, stated that the milestone recalls «the responsibility to renew every day the attentive and persevering work carried out by those who came before us», looking ahead to future challenges, including the impact of artificial intelligence on learning and teaching processes.[1][2]

Pages linking here

Sources

TorinoOggi — 1 October 2026
Eco del Chisone — 1 October 2026

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