In Palermo, people have been waiting for a nursery for 49 years.

Half a century to open a nursery school, and still no end in sight. The nursery school on Via XXVII Maggio, in the Sperone district of Palermo , was originally built and delivered in 1977 , but has never actually opened , not even for a day.

Sperone is one of the places that symbolize the decay of Palermo. It is a popular and densely populated area , characterized by large residential complexes built primarily during the "sacking of the city" years, and has become notorious for the lack of family services, such as schools and daycare centers. The history of this devastation is significant in how, for 49 years, public funds can be squandered without doing anything constructive or beneficial for the citizens. In 1977, the IACP (Independent Institute for Public Housing) built the building on Via XXVII Maggio and handed it over to the Municipality, allocating it to families living in the Sperone public housing complex. Over the following years, the daycare center was rebuilt several times, but never opened : the facility was gradually left to decay and subjected to theft and vandalism of all kinds. Until 2012, when it was illegally occupied by several families from the neighborhood who considered it "their property." In 2014, a devastating fire struck (the causes, despite years of investigation, were never determined), and the Civil Protection Department deemed the nursery school on Via XXVII Maggio "beyond repair." After its demolition in 2019, a new construction site opened for the nursery's reconstruction, but work progressed erratically, amidst constant theft and vandalism. Finally, in 2024, taking advantage of PNRR funds, the construction site reopened on a permanent basis and the nursery was once again completed, ready for operation. During construction, thefts, damage, and threats to the contractor were reported , and only in the summer of 2026 could the nursery school, now completed, be handed over to the municipality. But it never reopened. Several tests and certifications were still missing, as well as the interior furnishings and various exterior improvements. Not to mention the staff, whom no one is willing to make any commitments about.

The only light in this dark story is the tireless work of Antonella Di Bartolo, head teacher of the Sperone-Pertini Institute, who moved to this neighborhood in 2013. She is fighting for the opening of the nursery school, even organizing protest marches and torchlight processions. Meanwhile, her work in the neighborhood has become particularly well-known and has borne significant fruit in combating school dropout, which at the Sperone-Pertini Institute, thanks to Di Bartolo's work, has dropped from 27,3 percent to 1 percent.

The images are taken from the Facebook profile of Antonella Di Bartolo, principal of the Sperone-Pertini comprehensive school.

Read also: 

• The Piacenza nursery school where children and seniors live together
• The "Loris Malaguzzi" nursery school in Rome, where children study according to their interests.
• Cat-Shaped Kindergarten: Sustainable Architecture for Children in Germany