Istituto Antoniano was created in

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

in 1953 by the

Franciscans , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

, (the ''Lesser Friars''). The Convent of the Franciscans who govern the establishment is built next to the Church of St. Antonio, hence the name of the Institute. The Institute was established as a community services initiative with the goal of helping the less fortunate, a life rule of the Franciscans. In 1953 poverty was quite widely spread throughout Italy and the Antoniano set up a soup kitchen that still exists today. Over the years however the Antoniano has expanded and widened its range of initiatives particularly so as to service the needs of children, and since 1961 the Institute has been the prime organiser of the

Zecchino d'Oro Zecchino d'Oro (; meaning "Golden Sequin") is an annual international children's song competition established in 1959 by Niny Comolli. It is broadcast by Rai 1. The first two contests were held in Milan. In 1961, the contest was taken up by th ...

festival of song for children. The Instituto Antoniano has three choirs, ballet school, drama school etc. There is also a special after-school for children with

Down syndrome Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual dis ...

External links

Official Homepage - ''English Version''

External links

See also