School in Montemaggiore A tiny primary school in Romagna

The mountain villages of Romagna host many small schools that used to be full of pupils and are now abandoned or transformed into houses or small clubs. These schools were very simple but efficient: there were one or two classrooms, 2 toilets (one for the teacher/s and one for the pupils) and a tiny flat for the teacher(s), usually upstairs.

This is the primary school of Montemaggiore, a village located in a quite isolated valley, 10.7 km from Predappio. Benito Mussolini ordered its construction in 1936, and it was named after his father Alessandro.

The building is very elegant and well designed compared to the average schools.There are three very fascinating inscriptions:

1. The school name: it is difficult to read because it is old and because there are two superimposed inscriptions. On the left side of the building, the older inscription is “SCUOLE ELEMEN”. A later inscription says “SCUOLE – …………”. On the right side of the building the older inscription is “COMUNALI” and the more recent one says “ALESSANDRO MUSSOLINI”.
2. The big plaque: like in ancient Roman buildings, there is an inscription in metal characters; even if it is difficult to read because the characters have been removed, it is still possible to understand almost everything because of the nails that fixed the characters on the wall. It says “IL POPOLO ITALIANO….. 1936..”.
3. The house numbers: maybe the house numbers have been changed, because there seem to be two tiles one on the other, but the inscription underneath can still be read “PREDAPPIO FORLI’ (M.MAGGIORE)”.

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