PalaMassimo inaugurated: educating to the good life of the Gospel through sport

Sunday 20th October saw the inauguration of the PalaMassimo, the new sports hall of the Istituto Massimiliano Massimo in Rome.

For years, the Institute had felt the need to provide a suitable infrastructure for sports activities for its students. In fact, sporting activity is of fundamental importance for Ignatian pedagogy: an educational as well as social experience, sport is able to create cohesion, promoting values such as respect and inclusion, while fostering cognitive development and memory faculties.

Father Nicola Bordogna S.J., Director General of the Massimo Institute, spoke to us about the project to build the PalaMassimo, which was inaugurated yesterday in the presence of students, the educating community and institutions.

Director Bordogna, how did the need to build a sports hall at the Massimo Institute arise?
The project for a sports hall dates back to the time when the Institute moved from its historical premises in the Palazzo Massimo on the Esquiline Hill to the new building in EUR in 1960. Due to the hilly terrain and the presence of sandstone, it was not possible to build a common gymnasium at the time and the matter was left unresolved for years.

It was Father Giovanni La Manna, the previous Director of the School, who proposed the idea of building a sports hall again. Thus, in July 2022, work began on the gymnasium.

What kind of facility is the PalaMassimo?
It is designed for the Institute’s internal motor and sports activities and the afternoon activities run by the ASD Massimo, of which Prof. Pelosi is in charge. During the year, artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, ballet and contemporary dance, mini-basketball, five-a-side football, hockey and athletics courses are organised, all activities that were previously held in facilities outside the Massimo complex.

In order to comply with earthquake regulations, the complex was built in reinforced concrete. In addition, a system of photovoltaic panels has been installed on a large part of the school buildings, to make the structure sustainable and autonomous in terms of energy. In terms of costs, the construction was financed entirely by the Massimo.

What does the PalaMassimo represent?
Already in the 1500s Saint Ignatius spoke of a ‘collegium’, a space in which to grow a community capable of educating and training people, in which to weave relationships within shared spaces, what today is called a ‘campus school’, but which has much deeper roots.

The PalaMassimo space will be used as a recreational environment for students and young people from outside, to make up for the area’s lack of meeting and socialisation points. It is therefore the first step in exploiting school areas to meet the needs of the community. The new infrastructure is in fact open to the local area and can be used separately from school activities, such as for the late-afternoon training sessions of the major volleyball and basketball teams, currently entrusted to ASD Duemila12 and SMIT Roma, sports associations that operate in the Roma Sud area.

Starting out from sport promotes the development of the individual and his or her education: the outdoor space of the Massimo Institute has already been used in recent years for summer sports centres, which have been very successful among families.

Who attended the inauguration?
The inauguration was preceded by the ‘sports week’ during which all the Institute’s students, from kindergarten to high school, were able to participate in sports activities at the Pala MASSIMO. The prize-giving ceremony held on Friday morning was the prelude to yesterday’s big party. Special thanks to those who joined the Massimo community yesterday for the celebration: H.E.R. Msgr Francesco Beneduce SJ, Fr Giovanni La Manna SJ, Fr Lino Dan SJ, Fr Camillo Ripamonti SJ, Fr Alessandro Manaresi SJ, Fr Massimo Annicchiarico SJ, Fr Claudio Zonta SJ and Fr Mariano Iacobellis SJ.

Special thanks to the representation of both the Works Management (arch. Francesco Scardaccione, Eng. Gianfranco Bidello and Eng. Rocco Gravinese) and to the contractor MARANO Srl.

The celebration was enriched by the participation of the Institute’s students, the Institute’s MEG Community, families and the many friends with whom we had the opportunity to chat.