Massimiliano Massimo Institute

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The Massimiliano Massimo Institute is a Jesuit secondary school in Rome, Italy. It began in 1551 as a small school for grammar, humanities, and Christian doctrine in Via Nuova Capitolina, founded by Ignatius of Loyola. Pope Gregory XIII ordered a larger institution, and it opened on 28 October 1584 as the Roman College. The teaching method of the Jesuits, outlined in the Ratio Studiorum (written there), guided its work for centuries, until the Jesuits were expelled in 1773 and the order was restored in 1814.

In 1870 the Italian government confiscated the building for a different school. In 1873 Father Massimiliano Massimo inherited Palazzo Peretti, and in 1879 he made it available to the Jesuits to re-found a secondary school continuing the Roman College’s mission. Because of rising student numbers, the Institute moved in 1960 from the Termini area to EUR, where it still stands today. Its building is notable for the distinctive shape of its church and its position at the highest point of the EUR pentagon.

The institute began admitting girls in 1973, and by 1987 all classes were co-educational. It offers a wide range of sports and hosts the Student Missionary League, a Jesuit program for spiritual training and service. Each year, the Alumni Association awards a prize to distinguished former students or staff who maintain ties with the Institute and the Society of Jesus. The school has more than 10,000 alumni.