Project Description
The “Giuliano and Lavinia Galante” kindergarten, in the Danisinni district of Palermo, has a long history. Born at the end of the sixties with the name of “The home of the mother and child Luigi Biondo”, to meet the needs of children and women in one of the most difficult areas of the city, the kindergarten was in activity, with ups and downs, until 2008, welcoming both children between 0 and 3 years from the neighborhood and their families, and in particular mothers, in the annexed family clinic.
Over the years it was subjected to several closures for various reasons, including structural interventions to make it compliant to safety regulations. The last time it closed in 2007 due to water leakings and never reopened. In 2016 the local administration planned to demolish the whole facility. Meanwhile, the unattended kindergarten has been completely devastated.
The eventuality of demolition spurred widespread protests in the neighborhood, whose citizens and grassroots organizations established the “Committee for the promotion of the Danisinni district and the reopening of the Galante Nursery and Family Counseling Center“. After several meetings with the municipality, the committee agreed pay for the design for refurbishing, while the municipality would have provided for the refurbishment itself. The Committee, together with the Parish of Sant’Agnese and the association “Inventare insieme Onlus”, set up a formal association called “Pa’ Maternità Danisinni “, with the aim to raise funds for the project.
The Pianoterra Foundation supported part of these expenses, sharing with the Danisinni community the importance of the reopening of the building as a driving force for the educational, cultural, social and urban rebirth of the neighborhood.
