Official website: https://www.iisvalle.edu.it/
The origins of the Giovanni Valle Institute can be traced back to the 1969-70 school year when the E. Usuelli Ruzza Female Professional Institute in Padua established a new course of study for Advertising Graphic Designer. This innovative project, coupled with a group of highly skilled and artistic teachers, contributed to its immediate success. From the mid-1970s onwards, the institute attracted renowned Paduan artists like Alberto Biasi and Manfredo Massironi, who were associated with the OPTICAL ART movement and were among the founders of the Gruppo Enne, which set itself upon a search for a new definition of art that would integrate painting, sculpture, architecture, and industrial production. The faculty also included esteemed professionals in photography and graphics, such as Lorenzo Trento and Peter Eberle.
In 1991, the Giovanni Valle State Professional Institute was established as an autonomous entity, named after Giovanni Valle, a cartographer known for creating the most beautiful and famous map of the city, published in 1784, commonly referred to as the “Pianta del Valle.”
The institute’s identity continued to evolve through various phases. It began with the experimentation of the “Progetto ’92” in the graphics course and subsequently implemented the Ministerial Reform for Professional Institutes across all disciplines. Embracing new communication systems and expanding laboratory spaces, the institute focused on revitalizing its teaching methods.
With the Reform of the Higher Secondary School in the 2010-11 academic year, the Giovanni Valle school was recognized as an Institute of Higher Education (I.I.S.), encompassing diverse disciplines within the realms of artistic and tourist communication. These pivotal changes propelled the institute to the forefront of education, incorporating cutting-edge teaching methodologies and embracing multimedia technological innovations.
The Institute of Higher Education (I.I.S.) Giovanni Valle offers the following training courses:
Liceo Artistico – Graphics and Audiovisual – Multimedia disciplines.
Technical Institute, Technological Sector: Specialization in Graphics and Communication.
Technical Institute, Economic Sector: Emphasis on Tourism.
Vocational Institute.
By offering a comprehensive range of educational paths, the institute caters to the diverse interests and career aspirations of its students.
MVPA Visits I.I.S. Giovanni Valle
As written by Mr Gabriel Schembri, teacher of Media at the MVPA and member of the Erasmus+ Team
Our visit to Istituto Della Valle was inspiring, insightful and fruitful. The ability to merge the academics with the arts, communications and media in particular, seems to be functioning well at this school.
It was interesting to see how the administration values the different art forms so much so that a vast subject such as communication was dissected into subjects specifically to give weight to each topic.
One of the most insightful things that emerged from this visit was how the school involves and is an active element in the community of Padova. That one particular stop-motion video made up of garbage collected in the neighbourhood, is testament to this. That on its own has been particularly influencing to us as teachers. We are so immersed in our rigid structures that sometimes we forget the essential role of a school to its physical surrounding community. This, the team agreed, is something we should all strive towards.
The collaboration with local NGOs, artistic entities and other institutions was also an inspiring factor. The project with the Padova Chamber of Commerce which was exhibited by the students during the visit, is a good example of such.
Above all, a visit to a school outside of our small island gives room for a better perception. Similarly to when you have to take a couple of steps back to better observe a painting to looks oddly abstract, and yet given some distance, it all starts to make sense.
The students and teachers were courteous, well-prepared and clearly have a great know-how on each of their respective subjects. We will be travelling back to Malta gilded in more knowledge on how the symbiosis between academia and the arts can be achieved.
Despite all this, we are aware of the two different realities; of this school in Padova and our school in Ħamrun. The geography, politics, investment from the authorities and even simply the age difference of the two student groups, need to be taken into consideration. Inspiration knows no limits, but the same cannot be said about funds and the willpower to invest.
