Waldensian and Methodist churches have always paid particular attention to the fields of education and teaching. Thus, beside the churches and chapels which sprung up in Italy one after the other, schools of different kinds were organized:
primary, nursery, technical schools, workshops, orphanages. Many of these institutions have been closed since the State undertook public education and welfare as a primary duty; a few remain: the College of Torre Pellice, founded in 1832, is today an important High School of European orientation; the Scholastic and Community Centre of Palermo seeks to answer the special needs of the La Noce area of that city.