The School
Since 1953, several families and ladies of the Milanese middle class and aristocracy, including Ada Bolchini dell’Acqua, have been committed to supporting mothers and their newborns. In 1956, they opened a Mother’s Home to welcome around thirty mothers with children aged 0 to 3. The facility, built thanks to the contribution of the renowned architect Marco Zanuso and the artist Lucio Fontana (who created the decorations for the internal chapel and ceiling, the famous pink Via Crucis – now kept at the Diocesan Museum of Milan – and the four cherubs on the sides of the altar), immediately began hosting mothers and children at risk of marginalization.
In 1961, the School for Childcare Workers was also established to train specialized staff capable of assisting infants. In the 1970s, the Lorenteggio-Inganni neighborhood grew, and to meet new needs, the building was expanded; thus, in 1971, a Nursery opened for children from external families.
The Mother’s Home increasingly focused on school-based educational activities, and in 1984, the Nursery School (now Preschool) was opened, receiving state-equivalent status in 2001.
In the 1970s, the Lorenteggio-Inganni neighborhood grew, and to meet new needs, the building was expanded; thus, in 1971, a Nursery opened for children from external families.
The Mother’s Home increasingly focused on school-based educational activities, and in 1984, the Nursery School (now Preschool) was opened, receiving state-equivalent status in 2001.
A constant presence over time was that of the sisters of the Order of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, who remained until 2010, the year in which the Pio Istituto pei Figli della Provvidenza took over the building and all the school activities previously managed by the Ada Bolchini dell’Acqua Foundation.
In 2011, the new Spring Section opened for children aged 24 to 36 months, while the housing for mothers and children concluded in 2012.
The School for Childcare Workers, however, closed its doors in 2005.
From the 2010/2011 school year, the building and school activities were transferred to the Pio Istituto pei Figli della Provvidenza, a non-profit organization founded in Milan in 1885 by the priest and educator Don Carlo San Martino, whose work was dedicated to welcoming young people in difficulty and creating a context of positive relationships for them that would help realize God’s plan of love for each of us.
From Don Carlo San Martino’s original program stems the fundamental objective of the training activity, common to all those working in the school: to contribute to the education of children, namely respecting their rights and the integral formation of the person, through the mediation of culture, expressed in an educational context inspired by all the values of the Catholic Christian faith.
100 Years Since Her Birth
In 2024, the Ada Bolchini dell’Acqua Foundation celebrates 100 years since her birth, retracing the fundamental stages of its evolution through the account of an exceptional witness. Its founder, Ada Bolchini dell’Acqua.
We want to share this moving story with you:
School System
The Nursery welcomes children from three months to one year of age in the Infant Bears Section, and children from one to two years of age in the Toddler Bears Section.
The Preschool promotes the development of personal identity, the achievement of autonomy as an openness to relationships with others and to discovery, and the development of children’s skills.
The British Kindergarten, an English-language preschool, offers a play-based educational environment for children aged 3 to 6.
The program follows the EYFS approach, with individual and social activities commonly used in preschool settings in the United Kingdom and the United States.
The Ada Bolchini dell'Acqua School
With a few images and some music, we want to introduce you to our school and tell you about our reality in just a few seconds!
Pio Istituto Pei Figli della Provvidenza
Ada Bolchini dell’Acqua is part of the Pio Istituto Pei Figli della Provvidenza, a non-profit organization recognized by the Lombardy Region
Virtual Tour
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