Suor Carmelina Ippolito was for more than 60 years the driving force behind the Conservatorio di Santa Elisabetta here in Barga Vecchia.
The convent was founded by Michele Turignoli of Barga in the 15th Century for young women who wished to enter the Third Order of St Francis. In 1787, it was transformed into a school for young girls (conservatorio) by the Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo who ordered it to be amalgamated with the Dominican convent in Barga situated near the church of the Santissima Annunziata on the street now known as Via di Mezzo.
The school, which was run by nuns of the Order of St. Joseph, provided an education for girls from less fortunate families, who could study there right up to the level of a teaching certificate.
Giovanni Pascoli defined the school as a: “…fucina di maestrine di montagna…” (a forge for hilltown teachers).
Suor Carmelina died last year in Rome in her retirement home at the Casa Madre delle Suore Giuseppine di Chambéry where she had been resting since 2008.
This weekend,the Conservatorio di Santa Elisabetta paid a homage to the memory of Suor Carmelina and her life’s work with the official opening of a room dedicated to her.
The Sala Suor Carmelina which can now be used for conferences, meetings and with a new lighting system, will be an important addition to the exhibition spaces available here in Barga Vecchia.
As the Coro delle Alpi Apuane ably demonstrated at the opening ceremony, the acoustics inside the room also make it a perfect place for small concerts.
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Ricorreva il 17 novembre scorso santa Elisabetta, figura a cui è intitolato il bel conservatorio e nel centro storico di Barga. La fondazione che presiede questa struttura ha colto così l’occasione per solennizzare la ricorrenza, organizzando una cerimonia per presentare al pubblico il recupero del vecchio refettorio, divenuto ora un’ampia e luminosa sala. Uno spazio doverosamente intitolato a suor Carmelina Ippolito, dal 1946 al 2011 custode della struttura ed educatrice di tre generazioni di ragazze barghigiane, che al santa Elisabetta hanno studiato e sono cresciute.
Nel pomeriggio di sabato 17 molti fedeli, altrettante ex-educande e molti amministratori del comune hanno preso parte all’inaugurazione, presieduta dal presidente della Fondazione Conservatorio santa Elisabetta Alberto Giovannetti e da don Stefano Serafini, che hanno ricordato la figura di suor Carmelina e di altre storiche consorelle e presentato gli interventi eseguiti dall’architetto Cosimini per il recupero della sala.
La vecchia sala da pranzo, negli anni, era stata infatti attrezzata con una cucina ed un retrocucina, che sono stati smantellati restituendo alla lunga sala la dimensione originaria, ed il nuovo ruolo di sala per riunioni e per esposizioni.
Conservatorio di Santa Elisabetta
This convent was founded by Michele Turignoli of Barga in the 15th Century for young women who wished to enter the Third Order of St Francis (papal bull of Pope Callisto IV in 1456). In 1787, it was transformed into a school for young girls (conservatorio) by the Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo who ordered it to be amalgamated with the Dominican convent in Barga situated near the church of the Santissima Annunziata on the street now known as Via di Mezzo. The school, which was run by nuns of the Order of St. Joseph, provided an education for girls from less fortunate families, who could study there right up to the level of a teaching certificate. Giovanni Pascoli defined the school as a: “…fucina di maestrine di montagna…” (a forge for hilltown teachers).
Inside the grounds of the Conservatorio is a magnificent garden with tennis and basketball courts. The cloister, which is in the classical style, encloses an area partly paved in stone and part garden where you will find a huge stone urn containing flowers and evergreen plants, and an Artesian well which used to provide the water for the domestic use of the convent.
The cloister of the Conservatorio di Santa Elisabetta
In the beautiful little church attached to the Conservatorio there are a number of important works of art. These include paintings, a fine choir stall fashioned in wood, and a lovely altar piece dedicated to the Madonna della Cintola. This latter is in Della Robbian style but, according to an attribution by Gentilini, it is actually from the workshop of Benedetto Buglioni. There is also a ‘tondo’ in glazed terracotta of the Madonna and Child attributed to Giovanni Della Robbia. Also inside the church is a magnificent wooden crucifix from the French School of the 13th Century.Further works of art can be found in the corridors and richly furnished rooms of the Conservatorio itself, for example, in the so-called ‘Red Room’.
From the barganews archives -- a video of Suor Carmelina in Barga Vecchia during September 2005
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