Le mura raccontano… Storie, segreti e curiosità di Casa Madre

Why it's special

The big convent complex on the edge of Nizza is a place most locals walk past every day. Here its archivists take you inside, into rooms that aren't usually open: Mother Mazzarello's cameretta, the historic library and archive, the Sala della Memoria and the meteorological observatory.

Programme · 2026

Organised by the Archivio Storico FMA-IPI with the Biblioteca 'Nostra Signora delle Grazie', under the patronage of the Città di Nizza Monferrato. Istituto Nostra Signora delle Grazie, Viale Don Bosco 40. Free entry.

• Entry is free.
• Each meeting covers a different part of Casa Madre, so check the date for the one you want (the Sunday-afternoon and Saturday-morning ones are easiest to fit into a weekend visit).
• Information from the archive: 0141 1806000, archiviostorico.nizza@fmapiemonte.it.

"Le mura raccontano", the walls tell their story, is a winter series of six talks and guided visits at the Istituto Nostra Signora delle Grazie, the large complex on Viale Don Bosco that people in Nizza Monferrato simply call "la Madonna". It is the Casa Madre, the mother house, of the Salesian Sisters (Figlie di Maria Ausiliatrice), founded with Don Bosco and Mother Maria Domenica Mazzarello, and still a school.

Each meeting looks at one part of the house: how it all began with Don Bosco, the courtyard and the Sacro Cuore church, the small room where Mother Mazzarello lived, the sanctuary that was once a wine cellar, the archive and library with their letters and photographs, and finally the Sala della Memoria and the house's own weather observatory. The archivists of the Archivio Storico FMA-IPI lead the series, and every date is free.

The dates and times for the current season are in the table above.