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House of Life plaque at St. Joseph's School Silvia Costantini

St Joseph School – De Merode Institute

The Collegio San Giuseppe – Istituto De Merode, located near Piazza di Spagna in Rome, was founded in 1850 by the Brothers of the Christian Schools to serve the children of French officers stationed in Rome. The initiative was supported by the French Second Republic and its ambassador, the Duke of Gramont. Initially established near Piazza dei Crociferi, the school rapidly grew, expanding to meet the needs of French and Italian students. In 1885, the school moved to its current location in a new building designed to accommodate its growing population. The institution is named after Frédéric François Xavier de Mérode, a Belgian nobleman and priest, who played a key role in supporting education and Catholic values in Rome. During World War II, the college provided refuge to persecuted individuals, especially Jews, earning it recognition as a “Casa di Vita” by the Raoul Wallenberg Foundation in 2017. Today, the school continues its educational mission, serving around 850 students across primary, middle, and high school levels.

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