The primary school Aristide Gabelli was conceived by the engineer brothers Agostino and Guglielmo Zadra, in line with the pedagogical guidelines of the well-known educator from Belluno, Pierina Boranga.
Built between 1932 and 1934 on the site of the first train station in Belluno, the building was equipped with a large playground area and a garden of over seven thousand square meters, with part cultivated as a vegetable garden, more akin to a botanical garden, featuring various perennial tree species.
The school is recognized for its urban value, as it was the result of initiatives taken between the two world wars aimed at addressing the issue of educational institutions in the capital, which involved, through projects and specific regulatory plans, the so-called Favola area, located at the limits of the historic city center; the complex also holds considerable historical and architectural value, being a unique example in Italy at that time; its designers managed to overcome the resistance of the institutions and the residents of Belluno, who considered it stylistically insignificant.
Finally, it has significant pedagogical value: under the guidance of Professor Boranga, the school was a place of experimentation and educational innovation, in accordance with her philosophy: "I honor nature - my aim is truth - my method is the personal experience of the child."
Due to a prolonged closure caused by collapses and leaks that rendered the building unsafe, the school was in a state of severe disrepair; this prompted former students to promote a vote collection in the 2014 census, which led to direct intervention thanks to I Luoghi del Cuore.
