Maristes Valldemia

The Maristes Valldemia school (aka: Col·legi Maristes Valldemia, Col·legi Valldemia or Valldemia), is in Mataró, Province of Barcelona - Catalonia (Spain). It is a Catholic school run by Marist Brothers. It is dedicated to Our Lady the Virgin of the Candle. Fundació Champagnat, Fundació Privada owns the school. The school was founded in 1855 by three Piarists related persons: the priest Ermengol Coll de Valldemia, Pelegrí Ferrer and Ramon Cuspinera. Its first name was «Colegio de Cataluña», and it was on the land of a traditional Catalan manor named Can Miralpeix. The school's aim was to provide a modern and Christian education. After 1858, the school was known as «Col·legi de Valldemia» (in Catalan) or «Colegio de Valldemia» (in Spanish). In 1888 the school was given to the Marist Brothers to run. From 2012 the official name is Maristes Valldemia. The main building was designed by the architect Jeroni Boada, and later improved in 1911 by Josep Goday i Casals (who used to be an student at the school, and founder member of the Alumni Association). The school received its first international recognition at the Paris Exposition of 1900, a Gold Medal in recognition of quality education. During the years of the Spanish Civil War, Valldemia was converted into a hospital and blood bank. Today, the school has 1200 students from ages 3 to 18, who are taught by a staff of 90 teachers. Alumni Josep Goday i Casals - Architect linked to Noucentisme Joan Pujol Garcia - WW2 British double agent aka “Garbo” References Other websites Official website (in Catalan)