Istituto Elvetico of Lugano – “Don Bosco” Salesian School

The Istituto Elvetico was founded in the Canton of Ticino 90 years ago. It is run by the Salesians of Don Bosco, in collaboration with the Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco. The current site was built only recently, with wide and functional spaces. Originally, the Istituto was named after Camillo Landriani, of an ancient Milanese family, linked to the Italian Carbonari, an informal network of secret revolutionary societies. Camillo Landriani took refuge in Lugano to avoid arrest by the Austrian police of Lombardy-Veneto, and in that city he opened a business and language school, the first to be founded in Switzerland. On his death in 1871, he left the school to Giuseppe Orcesi and Giuseppe Grassi, who continued teaching until 1917, a year of crisis for all of Europe due to the closure of the borders for the war. In that same year, the “Landriani Orcesi Grassi” school was taken over by the Salesians of Don Bosco, thus avoiding its closure. The change of ownership also coincided with the change of name: from Landriani to Istituto Elvetico. The school developed gradually but continuously, leading to the establishment of new courses. At the end of the 1990s, the school was demolished and completely rebuilt with the exception of the eighteenth-century villa that, as a historical asset, was ‘set’ within the new modern structure by the architect Ingrami. The Istituto Elvetico currently consists of a large school complex that is home to various activities: Primary School with education recognized by the Canton, Lower Secondary School, also recognized by the Canton, and Nuovo Liceo Italiano, with three areas of study – sciences (specializing in applied sciences), foreign languages and humanities (specializing in socioeconomics); religious service in the small internal church; a Missionary Procurator for charity work and fundraising for Third World countries; local and national alumni office; Centro Cooperatori/Gruppo Mamma Margherita for volunteer work.
The Institute facilities, such as gyms, sports fields, halls and recreational areas, where possible, are available for use by organized groups.