From Frascati, with love
Casa di Pia 2.0
A community space inspired by Pia · Frascati, Italy
What it is
The Casa di Pia 2.0 project was born from the wish of the Associazione Casa di Pia to recover and return to the people of Frascati the beautiful building that once housed the town's children's library — a library the Association itself had helped to imagine and build in 2008, and which, after various difficulties, closed its doors in 2022.
After a long restoration, the doors opened again on 20 April 2024. The new space is dedicated to the promotion of reading, of scientific curiosity, of beauty, and of community — a place where young people can come together to grow.
The connection to Pia
The project draws its inspiration from the desire to keep alive the spirit of Maria Pia Gratton — a young researcher and devoted mother whose life was cut short in 1995 by an act of brutal violence.
Pia's love of learning, her warmth for the young, her insistence on beauty as a quiet form of resistance — these are the qualities the Casa carries forward. Every book opened there, every child who finds a quiet corner to read or to discover a new idea, is a small continuation of who she was.
What happens there
An inclusive place
A welcoming alternative to the street, where young people can meet, read, study, and play together — finding one another through shared interests, freely or through guided workshops.
A workshop of participation
A space for co-design, built together with partner organizations — paths of growth, capacity-building, awareness, and active citizenship for the next generation.
A new cineforum
The lights go down and the magic of cinema begins. A film club has taken its place inside the Casa, a quiet ritual of watching and talking together.
A library, alive again
Reading, scientific culture, and shared beauty — the original heart of the place, restored and opened wide for new readers, young and old.
"Tutti gli usi della parola a tutti — every use of words for everyone — seems a good motto, with a beautifully democratic sound."
— a guiding line of the Casa, after Gianni Rodari
Visit, learn more, support
Casa di Pia 2.0 runs on the work of volunteers and the generosity of those who believe in the project. If you would like to read about their programs, attend an event in Frascati, donate, or designate the Italian 5×1000 tax allocation to their work, their full site is the best place to start.
The Casa di Pia 2.0 website is in Italian. This page is a translated summary, prepared with affection by the Gratton family.