The Sanctuary and Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes

Nursery and the ‘Friends of Children’ Foundation – Via Gandolfi

Persiceto’s first nursery school, established and run by the local community in collaboration with the local council, was founded in 1854 and was initially housed in the ‘Casa del Giudeo’, in Via Rambelli and then, from 1911, in ground-floor premises overlooking the cloister of the church of St Francis, which had by then already been deconsecrated.

In 1931, the directors invested some of the funds at their disposal in a number of government Treasury bonds, a particularly attractive issue with a nine-year maturity – maturing in 1940 – which guaranteed a good annual return and, above all, a wealth of prizes in prize draws.

In the autumn of that same year, the miracle occurred and, to everyone’s great excitement, the number of a winning ticket held by the nursery was identified in the Official Gazette: the State paid out a prize of approximately 500,000 lire (perhaps 5 million euros today) for ticket number 262751, series V.

With this sum, and an additional contribution of 50,000 lire raised through donations from the people of Persiceto, the beautiful building, complete with its adjoining gardens, which we can still see today, was built in a short space of time.

The project was designed by Giovanni Berselli, an engineer employed by the local council. Once the site – which was then deserted – had been identified, the construction work was entrusted to the local firm Ghedini Amedeo, which had won the tender. The nursery school was inaugurated on 28 October 1935 in the presence of leading civil and religious authorities. In this video from the Istituto Luce, you can see the inauguration of the nursery school in 1935:

Since 1911, the management of the nursery school has been, and still is, entrusted to the Minime Sisters of Our Lady of Sorrows. In particular, Sister Chiara Vecchi is commemorated at the foot of the entrance staircase, depicted in a bronze statue by the sculptor Nicoli. Sister Chiara had been a nursery school teacher since 1936 and then served as headmistress from 1971 until her death.

At the entrance, one can see the artistic bas-relief featuring the symbol of the Capitoline Wolf, and in the entrance park there is a replica of the Grotto of Lourdes, commissioned by a native of Persiceto who had emigrated to America, Cav. Alfonso Nicoli, who wished in this way to demonstrate his deep affection for his – and our – community.