Nizza Monferrato (Italy). On 16 September 2025, the CIOFS-FP Professional Formation Center in Nizza Monferrato, Asti, opened its doors to raise awareness of its formation project and the new sensory analysis, cosmetic production, and artisan brewing laboratories within the complex “Our Lady of Grace” of the Piedmontese Province of Mary Help of Christians (IPI).
The initiative was born from the architectural and didactic recovery of a historic rustic house, with innovative environments that combine artisan tradition, immersive technologies, and inclusion. The CIOFS-FP of Nizza Monferrato, immersed in the UNESCO landscape of the Langhe-Roero-Monferrato, today offers 18 formation environments, including 11 workshops, to meet the needs of the world of work and enhance the excellence of the territory.
The day was marked by moments of historical reflection, testimonies, and experiential visits to the new environments. Welcoming the guests was the President of CIOFS-FP Piemonte, Sister Silvana Rasello, who underlined the characteristics of the new spaces. “We have created a model of laboratories different from the usual one. Not because we ‘chose’ them, but because we met them, we might say providentially. Each laboratory was born in synergy with a company that shares three fundamental elements with us: an ethical model, co-responsibility, and an innovative drive”.
Subsequently, the Animator of the House, Sister Piera Cavaglià, offered a journey into the educational history of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, underlining how, since 1878, this place has been a garrison of human and professional growth for generations of young people. “The charism is not a package to be passed down, but a living reality, which is inculturated and renewed.”
In his institutional greeting, Gianni Bocchieri, Director of the Management “Education, Formation, and Work” of the Piedmont Region, highlighted, “The Piedmont system of vocational education and formation is a healthy system, with workers at the forefront of their ability to innovate.”
At the end of the interventions, the guests participated in an experiential visit to the new laboratories. An engaging, multisensory journey, designed to activate skills, emotions, and relationships. The laboratories – olfactory, cosmetic, sensory, and the didactic brewery – reflect a formation model that integrates craftsmanship, immersive technologies, and inclusion, offering an educational experience oriented not only to “do”, but to think critically, to undertake, to know oneself.
The project was born from a virtuoso network with partner companies that contributed know-how, entrepreneurial vision, and ethical commitment:
- The greenhouse, set up and co-managed together with the Agricooltur company: a green laboratory where you can experiment with sustainable agricultural practices, cultivation, and care of the natural body of the area.
- The laboratory for creams, oils, and the shop, the result of the collaboration with Witt Italia, for the artisanal production of cosmetics and oils, and above all a shop designed as a franchise, a training company model that integrates production, market, and sales.
- The wine-tasting laboratory, with Sinergo Soc. Coop., which manages chemical analyses, consultancy, and tasting; not only technical training, but also sensorial and educational experience linked to taste, smell, and the territory.
- The kitchen, a space for meeting, sharing, and celebrating food, because every event, every community also grows around the table.
- The didactic brewery, a small-scale professional facility where students will be able to follow all phases of the brewing process, from the selection of raw materials to bottling, learning through practice, inspired by a Sicilian company (Birrificio Bruno Ribadi), which donated the recipe for “Birra Oltremare” in memory of the 150 years of the first FMA missionary expedition FMA.
- The Immersive Sensory Laboratory, a classroom completely transformed thanks to the use of LED walls and specialized didactic software, able to offer a formation experience with high cognitive impact. An environment designed to be inclusive, collaborative, and accessible to all students, even those with special educational needs.
- An outdoor space for reconciliation with olive trees, gazebos, and places to reflect, meet, and redefine objectives.
The visit continued in the upper hall, a space dedicated to events and conferences, where the contributions of the partners and institutions involved were explored in depth. The Mayor of Nizza Monferrato, Simone Nosenzo, in his words recognized the value of the intervention. “A redevelopment of great value, capable of respecting the landscape with sobriety and intelligence. A ‘minimal’ intervention, yes, but powerful, because it gives strength. And it gives the tools to be able to work.”
During the inauguration, the European project was also presented WINE – Wine Innovative Network and Tourism Experiences’ promotion, as part of the Erasmus+ program, which aims to train professionals in the wine sector through an innovative, digital, and sustainable approach, also promoting wine tourism in local areas.
Significant is the dedication of the new workshops to Mother Angela Vallese, missionary of the first expedition of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, who left for Uruguay in 1877 at just 23 years of age, who embodies the spirit of courage, innovation, and dedication that inspired this project.
Source: CIOFS-FP Piemonte
