Our History

An excellence for more than 60 years

Our history

A region that has marked European history: San Pellegrino Terme and the Brembana Valley

 San Pellegrino Terme, located 25 km from Bergamo, known throughout the world thanks to its mineral water, had its splendours during the Belle Époque, when the locality attracted rich and famous tourists welcomed in the luxurious Grand Hotel and the Casino, which was located just next to the spa centre.

These monuments represent masterpieces of the “art nouveau” architecture that still attracts art history enthusiasts.

San Pellegrino Terme became the centre of the Brembana Valley which, during the Middle Ages and under the Venetian domination, was an important and strategic place of communication through which people could cross the Alps to arrive in Switzerland, France and more generally in Northern Europe.

In the sixties the Valley rediscovered its tourist vocation and many tourist residences and ski stations were built; San Pellegrino Terme became not only a tourist resort but also the cultural centre of the Valley thanks to the festival of poetry, crime novel and the seasons of music and opera.

The important stages in the history of the school

• September 1962: first day of the course for a group of nineteen high school students, all from hoteliers, cooks and waiters’ families from all over the province of Bergamo. The course had a duration of 2 years and to be admitted it was necessary to have attended the College or to be 21 years old. At the time, most young people finished their studies at the end of middle school, and the transportation system to and from Brembana Valley did not provide many rides. The city hall was responsible for the school fees and a board of directors managed the school. The school did not have a seat yet and places were found everywhere in San Pellegrino Terme, especially since the boarding school could host increasingly high school students.
• In 1975 the building hosting the hotel and catering school was built; at the time, it was expected that the school would welcome 300 young people but over the years more than 1000 students a year have attended the school. For the male boarding house, to which the female boarding school was added at the end of the nineties, the situation remained always temporary: Villa Emilia, Hotel Roma, Hotel Commercio, Hotel Moderno, Hotel Italia.
• 1982: the post-qualification two-year course was added: first ten graduates from high school.
• 1984: establishment of the coordinated headquarters of Nembro, which will become independent in 2003.
• September 2010: the “Gelmini Reform” started and professional institutes had a length of five years; in particular, for our school the specializations and options activated are:
  • “Food and beverages” with the “Industrial and craft baking and confectionery” option
  • “Dining room and sales services”
  • “Tourism and hospitality”
• September 2010: activation of the IeFP regional three-year course (Education and Professional Training) for Food Service Operator – Preparation of meals
• September 2018: a new reform involves professional institutes: school timetables change, but the sectors and the option remain unchanged.
• September 2019: the educational offer of the Institute is extended with the activation of the “Tourism” sector of the Economic Technical Institute and the school takes the name of “Istituto Superiore “San Pellegrino”.

The school yesterday and today

In 60 years of schooling, contents, methods and teaching programmes have changed: in general, there has been an increase in general subjects at the expense of practical subjects, but compulsory periods of work experience have been introduced and the teaching has moved from content transmission to working on competences. There is close collaboration with companies to ensure a training that meets the requirements of entrepreneurs and market expectations. Indeed, students often participate in receptions and events during which they offer professional services of prominent level.

Many of our ex-students are now working in the kitchens and hotels of the most prestigious structures around the world.

The strengths of our institute

Professional orientation internships

The I.S. SAN PELLEGRINO, considering it a priority to offer its students experiences of significant and effective orientation and professional development, presents a plan of training and professional experiences with the aim of pursuing the following goals:

• connect classroom training with practical experience in real operating environments;
• foster the orientation of young people by enhancing their personal vocations;
• enrich the training of students with the acquisition of skills that can be used in the labour market;
• establish a connection between the educational institution, the world of work and society.

The objective of the Institute is to issue, at the end of the course of study, a certification, in line with the European framework, of the professional experiences gained by students in the training opportunities provided by the Institute in selected contexts with which specific agreements have been signed and training programs shared.

The Institute’s Training and Professional Experience Plan consists of the following activities:

Work experiences

• – Three weeks’ work experiences in companies in the chosen sector for each year of the three-year period and, starting from the school year 2019/20, also in the second class, for a total of 108 hours in the two-year period and 324 hours in the three-year period.
• Two weeks’ work experiences in companies in the tourism sector for each year of the three-year period for a total of 192 hours.
• A package of hours of pre-experience preparation and post-experience verification of the skills achieved during the course (minimum 20 hours per course year starting from the second class). The preparation takes place in the classroom and in the laboratories of the Institute, involving different subjects and focusing on the skills to be acquired during the work experience (e.g., HACCP training certification).
• 8 hours of training on safety in the workplace (to be carried out prior to the work experience).

Internships

• Internships for the enhancement of the excellence destined to deserving learners selected on the basis of didactic-disciplinary requisites deliberated by the Academic Board.
• The internships are carried out at important and qualified facilities of the sector of address in Italy and abroad.
• Training and Orientation Internships for BES Students customized for learners with special educational needs.
• Short-term Internships to be carried out on a voluntary basis during the periods in which lessons are suspended (Christmas and Easter holidays).
• Summer Training Curricular Internships dedicated to students from the third and fourth year and to be carried out during the summer holidays.
• Curricular Summer Orientation Internships dedicated to students from the first year who have obtained promotion to the second class and to be carried out during the summer holidays.
• Non-curricular Internships for newly graduated students in order to facilitate their integration into the world of work.

Other professional training experiences

• External voluntary Training and Orientation Experiences: participation in events organized by companies with which the Institute collaborates.
• Internal voluntary Training and Orientation Experiences: participation in events inside the Institute as a training experience in work situations.

Our workshops

The building that houses the I.S. San Pellegrino, inaugurated in 1974, is conceived according to the rationale of a hotel; indeed, in addition to the four kitchen laboratories and the pastry laboratory, it is equipped with a reception, a bar, which is open to visitors, and a restaurant room. Besides the specific laboratories for the vocational subjects, there are also multimedia and computer labs and a language laboratory; the classrooms are equipped with Multimedia Interactive white  and touch Boards.

Attention to foreign languages

The languages studied at our school are ENGLISH, FRENCH, GERMAN, SPANISH. The languages ​​are particularly important for our students and, indeed, in addition to the remedial activities and the enhancement of excellence conducted by teacher assistants, there are packages of hours conducted by mother-tongue teachers and preparation classes for language certifications. It is quite common to improve the knowledge of foreign languages ​​during the course of studies thanks to the professional experiences abroad that are available to students.

European projects

Thanks to the funding deriving from the European calls for proposals (Erasmus+ and PON), educational and professional mobility programmes and projects related to orientation and prevention of early school leaving are carried out annually, in collaboration with other institutions of the Province, too.

Job placement

The research carried out by specialised centres on post-graduation shows that our students benefit from a privileged position regarding their professional integration and the consistency between training and workstation typology.

At the school, we have set up a specific service aimed at professional placement which involves activities in collaboration with the companies and with former high school students gathered in an Association that collaborates with the school Management.

Partnerships
Among the partners of our school are: Federazione Italiana Cuochi, AMIRA (Associazione Maître Italiani Ristoranti e Alberghi), AIS (Associazione Italiana Sommelier), the Percassi Group, Esselunga, the Restaurant Association “Le Soste”, the Universities of Bergamo and Milan, Training Centres providing higher education ITS e IFTS; Lyons, Rotary Club and ARMR (Association for Research on Rare Diseases), the S. Pellegrino Group.

The school has also joined RE.Na.I.A. (a National Network of Hotel and Catering schools) and AEHT (European Association for Hospitality and Tourism). We also established a twinning with the Lycée Martin Bret of Manosque in France and the Relais & Châteaux Hotel Dollenberg in Germany.

Our courses

Services for hotel hospitality, food and beverages

The graduate of vocational education in the sector “Hotel hospitality, food and beverages” has specific practical, organizational and managerial technical skills in the entire production cycle for the supply and marketing of food and beverages and hotel hospitality. Within the specific sectors of reference for tourism-catering companies, the graduate works by taking care of customer relations, intervening in the production, promotion and sale of products and services, enhancing food and wine resources according to cultural, artistic and Made-in-Italy traditions in relation to the territory.

Specialization “Food and Beverages”

Skills of the Food and Beverages specialization

• Work by fulfilling the quality requirements of the relevant supply chain.
• Use process techniques and management tools in developing food and beverage, restaurant and tourist/hotel services and products.
• Integrate customer-oriented professional skills with language skills by using communication and relational methods to maximise service quality and coordination with the rest of the workforce.
• Enhance and promote local, national and international traditions by singling out new trend in the supply chain.
• Apply national and international regulations in force on product safety, transparency and traceability.
• Implement planning, adjustment and monitoring strategies in order to maximise the production of goods and services in the light of the specific contexts.
• Control and use food and beverages according to organoleptic properties, category, chemical-physical properties, nutrition and gastronomic criteria.
• Plan menus consistent with the context and customer requests, also in relation with specific dietary requirements.
• Adapt and organise production and sales based on market demand while promoting typical products.

Range of occupations accessible to the certificate holder

Certificate holders can work as mid-level employees in private or public companies in the Ho.Re.Ca. sector, fast-foods, diners, delicatessens, artisan or industrial companies producing bread, pastry products for small-scale or large-scale distribution, delicatessen catering and facilities for catering and banqueting services, in the following positions:

• cooks in hotels, restaurants and other hospitality establishments
• cooks in railway, air, sea and motorway catering
• pizza-makers
• executive chefs, chefs de cuisine
• sous chefs, chefs de partie
• commis chefs
• pastry and chocolate makers
• prepared or ready meals preparation, cooking and sale operators
• meal preparation operators
• counter service assistants
• counter assistants
• kitchen assistants
• operators preparing meals for specific dietary and food intolerance requirements

Furthermore, they can work as freelancers, in compliance with the applicable law, as

• pastry, chocolate or ice cream shop managers
• café or food and wine product shop managers

Specialization “Art of Baking and Pastry”

Skills of the Art of Baking and Pastry specialization

• Work fulfilling the quality requirements of the relevant supply chain.
• Use process techniques and management tools in developing food and beverage, restaurant and tourist/hotel services and products.
• Integrate customer-oriented professional skills with language skills by using communication and relational methods to maximise service quality and coordination with the rest of the workforce.
• Enhance and promote local, national and international traditions by singling out latest trends in the supply chain.
• Apply national and international regulations in force on product safety, transparency and traceability.
• Implement planning, adjustment and monitoring strategies in order to maximise the production of goods and services in the light of the specific contexts.
• Control and use food and beverages according to organoleptic properties, category, chemical-physical properties, nutrition and gastronomic criteria.
• Plan menus that are consistent with the context and customer requests, also in relation with specific dietary requirements.
• Adapt and organise production and sales based on market demand while promoting typical products.

Range of occupations accessible to certificate holders

Certificate holders can work as mid-level employees in private or public companies in the Ho.Re.Ca. sector, craft or industrial companies producing bread, pastry products, ice cream for small-scale or large-scale distribution, delicatessen, as well as catering and banqueting service providers, in the following positions:

• craft and industrial pastry and biscuits bakers
• craft and industrial leavened dough production operators
• industrial pastry filling production operators
• bakery product kneader operators
• cake designers
• confectionery makers
• cones and waffles production operators
• craft or industrial ice cream cake and single-serving dessert production operators
• industrial ice cream makers
• candy kneaders
• expert chocolate makers (chocolate sculpture designer)
• confectioners
• dessert makers for specific dietary and food intolerance requirements. Furthermore, they can work as freelancers, in compliance with the applicable law, as:
• pastry, chocolate or ice cream shop owners/managers
• café or food and wine product shop owners/managers 

Specialization “Dining Room-Bar and Sales Services”

Skills of the Dining Room-Bar and Sales specialization

• Adapt and organise production and sales based on market demand while promoting typical products.
• Use process techniques and management tools in developing food and beverage, restaurant and hotel services and products.
• Plan menus that are consistent with the context and customer requests, also in relation with specific dietary requirements.
• Work fulfilling the quality requirements of the relevant supply chain.
• Control and use food and beverages according to organoleptic properties, category, chemical-physical properties, nutrition and gastronomic criteria.
• Apply national and international regulations in force on product safety, transparency and traceability.
• Enhance and promote local, national and international traditions by singling out latest trends in the supply chain.
• Integrate customer-oriented professional skills with language skills by using communication and relational methods to maximise service quality and coordination with the rest of the workforce.
• Implement planning, adjustment and monitoring strategies in order to maximise the production of goods and services in the light of the specific contexts.

Range of occupations accessible to certificate holders

Certificate holders can work as mid-level employees in either private or public companies providing services to people, such as: companies in the Ho.Re.Ca. sector, cafés, pastry shops, ice cream shops, wine cellars, ready-to-serve delicatessens, facilities for catering and banqueting services in the following positions:

• food & beverage operators in the hotel and reception industry
• restaurant, hotel and café waiters
• sommeliers
• bartenders and barman assistants
• counter service assistants
• waiters on trains or ships
• fast-food employees
• maîtres d’hôtel
• wine and spirit promoters and salespeople

Furthermore, they can work as freelancers, in compliance with the applicable law, as:

• salespeople in the food and wine segment
• bar, café, pastry or ice cream shop managers
• beverage and food product shop managers

Specialization “Tourism and hospitality”

Skills of the Tourism and Hospitality specialization

• Work fulfilling the quality requirements of the relevant supply chain.
• Use process techniques and management tools in developing food and beverage, restaurant and hotel services and products.
• Integrate customer-oriented professional skills with language skills while using communication and relational methods to optimise service quality and coordination with the rest of the workforce.
• Promote local, national and international traditions by singling out latest trends taking place along the supply chain.
• Apply the national and international regulations in force on product safety, transparency and traceability.
• Apply planning, adjustment and monitoring strategies in order to optimise the production of goods and services in the light of the specific context.
• Use promotion, sale, marketing, support, information and intermediation methods applied to the tourist/hotel business.
• Adapt the production and sale of reception and hospitality services based on market and client demand.
• Promote and manage tourist/hotel services also by developing tourist services that focus on promoting local natural, art and history, cultural and food & wine resources.
• Supervise the organisation of reception and hospitality services, applying financial management methods to hotels and tourism enterprises.

The “Tourism and hospitality” specialization is intended to provide learners with the necessary knowledge and skills to operate in the reception business by managing and organising services based on seasonal demand and to promote and manage tourist/hotel services also by proposing tourist products based upon local existing resources.

Range of occupations accessible to certificate-holders

Certificate holders can work as mid-level employees in either private or public companies providing services to people, such as: companies in the tourism/hospitality industry (hotels, camping sites, tourist resorts), cruise companies, tourist information and promotion desks, event organisation and management agencies, in the following positions:

• reception operators, front desk receptionists
• concierges
• cashiers
• tourist entertainment operators
• trade fair and convention centre operators
• cruise ship operators
• tourist bus escorts
• travel agency booking office operators
• air and airport attendants (upon specific training course)

Furthermore, they can work as freelancers, in compliance with the applicable law, as:

• local product promoters in supermarkets, wine cellars and wine shops
• managers of reception establishments.

Duration of the course

The course of study is divided into a two-year and a three-year period and lasts a total of 5 years.

Economic technical institute “tourism”

The tourist expert works in the sectors of production, intermediation, marketing and performance of tourist services on the national and foreign territory, both in private companies and in public organizations. The skills acquired allow them to work in companies of various kinds (in particular related to import-export), where they will be placed at an intermediate level to carry out tasks related to the company in relation with the national and international environment in which it is inserted.

Skills of the Tourism specialization

• Recognise and interpret: – local, national and global market trends, also to understand their impact on the tourism market; – global socio-economic macro-phenomena, both general ones and those related to tourism; – changes in economic systems in the diachronic dimension, by comparing different time periods and in the synchronic dimension, by comparing different geographical areas and cultures.
• Identify and refer to the public, civil and tax law, namely with respect to the tourism industry.
• Interpret business models, management processes and information flows.
• Recognise the organisational features of tourism businesses and help find solutions functional to each different type.
• Manage company data collection and processing using integrated accounting systems specifically developed for the tourism industry.
• Analyse the image of the territory to understand and appreciate its cultural heritage and identify development strategies for an integrated and sustainable tourism.
• Help create marketing plans with reference to specific types of tourism businesses and products.
• Develop, document and present tourism services and products.
• Identify the features of the labour market and contribute to tourism business HR management.
• Use the communication and relational system of tourism businesses.

Range of occupations accessible to certificate holders

Certificate holders can work as mid-level employees for administrations and public and private bodies in the tourism industry (ports, airports, airlines and cruise lines), private companies (travel agencies, tour operators, tour organisers, accommodation facilities), companies and agencies providing services related to advertising, sales promotion, organisation of trade shows, sports and cultural events, in the following positions:

• operators at accommodation facilities (front and back office)
• flight attendants, tour and cruise assistants
• conference and exhibition assistants
• tour leaders
• information and customer care operators
• technicians responsible for accommodation services and the like
• technicians responsible for the organisation of trade fairs and exhibitions, cultural events, conferences and banquets
• tourist entertainers and the like
• travel agents
• tour guides, eco-tour guides and sports tour guides
• people responsible for the planning, organisation and production of package tours.
• travel agency front office operators
• port and airport customer service agents
• administrative assistants in small and medium-sized enterprises working on national and international markets

Furthermore, they can work as freelancers, in compliance with the applicable law, as:

• consultants for the above-mentioned activities, MICE planners.
• accommodation facility owners/managers

Duration of the course

The course of study is divided into a two-year and a three-year period and lasts a total of 5 years.

Notizie