Swiss School Genoa

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The Swiss School in Genoa - Scuola Svizzera di Genova - was a school for the Swiss Abroad that was founded in the 19th century and closed in 1983.

Swiss colony and Swiss institutions

At the beginning of the 19th century, wealthy Swiss merchants , bankers and freight forwarders settled in Genoa . They founded their own institutions: an evangelical reformed church (1824) and an international evangelical hospital (1856), with the participation of all local Protestant communities; a non-profit society (1861), the Helvetic Union ( Unione Elvetica , 1889) and in 1891 a cultural and social association ( Circolo Svizzero ).

Ecole Protestante (1851-1860)

After a first unsuccessful attempt in 1833, the foundation of the Swiss School dates back to 1851, when emigrants from Vaud and the canton of Geneva founded the Ecole Protestante ; for this reason the language of instruction was French . The first director was Louis Oltramare (1851–1856) from Geneva, followed by Louis Steiner (1857–1868), also from Geneva.

The school was only open to Protestant children until 1860. Then, under the influence of Pastor Amédée Bert, the school took on a secular and international character; the Ecole Protestante became the Ecole Suisse, Institut International .

Ecole Suisse

The school was co-educational from the start ; around two dozen boys and girls were taught together in three classes. In addition to the main French language, other languages ​​were taught; Religious instruction was not given. In 1880, 140 pupils attended the school. Thereafter the number of students steadily decreased until 1906, but increased again after 1906. (155 students in 1912, 200 in the school year 1920/21). While the proportion of Swiss students remained roughly the same over the years (25–30%), the number of foreign students increased sharply. Of the 177 students who attended the Swiss School in Genoa in the school year 1922–1923, 43 came from Switzerland.

The founding of Unione Elvetica in 1889 made it possible to purchase their own property on via Peschiera . Before that, the school was on Via Assarotti (until 1871) and on Via Curtatone (until 1890). The school's directors were: A. Bert, Martin Kunz, Albert Lagier, Alfonso Auberson, Léon Weber (1895–1901) and Gabriel Wiéland.

World War II and post-war period

The school had to close its doors in 1942/1943 because of the bombings during the Second World War . It was only reopened in 1946.

In the immediate post-war period, the school's financial situation was precarious. In addition, the proportion of Swiss students steadily decreased (9% in 1983), and the language of instruction, French, was increasingly being replaced by Italian . The federal government withdrew federal subsidies from the school , which led to the school being closed in 1983.

Well-known students

  • Fernanda Pivano (1917–2009), Italian writer and translator

literature

  • Catherine Bosshard-Pfluger (Ed.), Genova - crocevia tra Svizzera e Italia. Il Consolato Generale di Svizzera a Genova 1799-1999 , Frauenfeld / Stuttgart / Vienna 2000 (Huber)
  • Fritz Kübler, Schools of the Swiss Abroad under the microscope , Zurich 1983 (Tages-Anzeiger reprint)
  • Jean Rais, La Presenza svizzera a Genova , Genoa 1998
  • Gaspare Tognola, Genova e la Svizzera , Genoa 1924

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Fritz Kübler, Schools of the Swiss Abroad under the Lupe , Zurich 1983 (special edition Tages-Anzeiger), p. 19
  2. ^ Jean Rais, La Presenza svizzera a Genova , Genua 1998
  3. ↑ Fritz Kübler, Schools of the Swiss Abroad under the Lupe , Zurich 1983 (special edition Tages-Anzeiger), p. 19
  4. ↑ Gaspare Tognola, Genova e la Svizzera , Genua 1924, p. 46
  5. ^ Catherine Bosshard-Pfluger (ed.), Genova - crocevia tra Svizzera e Italia. Il Consolato Generale di Svizzera a Genova 1799-1999 , Frauenfeld / Stuttgart / Vienna 2000 (Huber), p. 94
  6. ↑ Ibid., P. 95
  7. ↑ Gaspare Tognola, Genova e la Svizzera , Genua 1924, p. 47
  8. ↑ Ibid., P. 47
  9. ^ Catherine Bosshard-Pfluger (ed.), Genova - crocevia tra Svizzera e Italia. Il Consolato Generale di Svizzera a Genova 1799-1999 , Frauenfeld / Stuttgart / Vienna 2000 (Huber), p. 95
  10. ↑ Gaspare Tognola, Genova e la Svizzera , Genua 1924, p. 47
  11. ↑ Ibid., P. 48
  12. ^ Catherine Bosshard-Pfluger (ed.), Genova - crocevia tra Svizzera e Italia. Il Consolato Generale di Svizzera a Genova 1799-1999 , Frauenfeld / Stuttgart / Vienna 2000 (Huber), p. 120
  13. ↑ Fritz Kübler, Schools of the Swiss Abroad under the Lupe , Zurich 1983 (special edition Tages-Anzeiger), p. 19
  14. ^ Catherine Bosshard-Pfluger (ed.), Genova - crocevia tra Svizzera e Italia. Il Consolato Generale di Svizzera a Genova 1799-1999 , Frauenfeld / Stuttgart / Vienna 2000 (Huber), p. 145
  15. ↑ It is the sad end of a school that has no future prospects because of the ongoing decline in the Swiss colony and the declining importance of Genoa as a trading city. In: Fritz Kübler, Schools of the Swiss Abroad under the magnifying glass , Zurich 1983 (special edition Tages-Anzeiger), p. 19