The Collegio S. Giuseppe-Istituto de Mérode is a Catholic school of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. It is located in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, in via San Sebastianello 1, at the corner of

Piazza di Spagna Piazza di Spagna ("Spanish Square"), at the bottom of the Spanish Steps, is one of the most famous squares in Rome, Italy. It owes its name to the Palazzo di Spagna, the seat of the Embassy of Spain to the Holy See. There is also the famed Colum ...

, in the

rione A (; plural: ) is a neighbourhood in several Italian cities. A is a territorial subdivision. The larger administrative subdivisions in Rome are the , with the being used only in the historic centre. The word derives from the Latin , the 14 su ...

Campo Marzio Campo Marzio is the 4th ''rione'' of Rome, identified by the initials R. IV. It belongs to the Municipio I and covers a smaller section of the area of the ancient ''Campus Martius''. The logo of this rione is a silver crescent on a blue backgroun ...

. It comprises two buildings, the Collegio S. Giuseppe (that occupies the ancient Albergo Serny) and the Istituto de Mérode (built in 1900). The Collegio S. Giuseppe-Istituto de Mérode includes a primary school, middle school and high school (Liceo Classico and Scientifico).

History

The congregation of the Brothers of the Christian Schools was founded by

Jean-Baptiste de La Salle Jean-Baptiste de La Salle () (; 30 April 1651 – 7 April 1719) was a French priest, educational reformer, and founder of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. He is a saint of the Catholic Church and the patron saint for ...

in the 17th century. The Collegio S. Giuseppe was founded in 1850 as the "Ecole Française", having its seat in Palazzo Poli at the

Trevi Fountain The Trevi Fountain ( it, Fontana di Trevi) is an 18th-century fountain in the Trevi district in Rome, Italy, designed by Italian architect Nicola Salvi and completed by Giuseppe Pannini and several others. Standing high and wide, it is the lar ...

. It was relocated to its current location between Via Alibert and Via San Sebastianello near

in 1885. The Istituto de Mérode was founded in 1871 by Mons.

Xavier de Mérode Xavier de Mérode (Frédéric François Xavier Ghislain; Brussels, 1820 – Rome, 1874) was a Belgian prelate, archbishop and statesman of the Papal states. Biography Xavier de Mérode was the son of Count Félix de Mérode-Westerloo, who ...

at Palazzo Altemps; it was moved to the current location in 1903. The two institutes were joined together in 1929. Roman dialect poet Carlo Alberto Salustri, known as

Trilussa Trilussa, anagrammatic pseudonym of Carlo Alberto Camillo Mariano SalustriSome biographers as Claudio Rendina report ''Marianum'' as his fourth name (Rendina, p.19) ( Rome, 26 October 1871 – 21 December 1950), was an Italian poet, writer an ...

, was a pupil of the school from 1880 to 1886, first in the original location of Palazzo Poli at the

and then at the current location of

piazza di Spagna Piazza di Spagna ("Spanish Square"), at the bottom of the Spanish Steps, is one of the most famous squares in Rome, Italy. It owes its name to the Palazzo di Spagna, the seat of the Embassy of Spain to the Holy See. There is also the famed Colum ...

. Trilussa remained close to the school and its alumni community. In 1938, in the

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

court of the Institute, the basketball team Stella Azzurra Roma was born, after an idea of brother Mario Grottanelli. Following the deportation of Jews by German troops on 16 October 1943, the Institute, like other Roman Catholic schools, hid numerous Jewish children and adults among its students and Brothers. In recognition of his role, the then rector, Sigismondo Ugo Barbaro, has been included among the

Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( he, חֲסִידֵי אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, ; "righteous (plural) of the world's nations") is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to s ...

on 10 May 2017. In 1958 the institute was decorated by the President of the Italian Republic

Giovanni Gronchi Giovanni Gronchi, (; 10 September 1887 – 17 October 1978) was an Italian politician from Christian Democracy who served as the president of Italy from 1955 to 1962 and was marked by a controversial and failed attempt to bring about an "openi ...

with the Italian honor ''Medaglia d'oro ai benemeriti della cultura'' (Gold medal for cultural merits).

Notable alumni

*Carlo Alberto Salustri,

(dialect poet): from 1880 to 1886 * Pio Filippani Ronconi (orientalist): graduated in 1939 * Pietro Calabrese (sports journalist): graduated in 1963 * Giovanni Malagò (businessman and sports personality) in 1978 * Daniele Capezzone (politician): graduated in 1991 * Noemi (singer): graduated in 2001

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Collegio San Giuseppe - Istituto De Merode 1850 establishments in Italy Educational institutions established in 1850 Education in Rome