The Istituto Rocco ed Ettore Chiapponi was built in the 1930s in the hills near Bettola, in the province of Piacenza, Italy. The complex was designed as a preventorium for children suffering from tuberculosis and other respiratory diseases. At a time when effective antibiotics were not yet available, fresh mountain air and a healthy environment were considered an important part of treatment and recovery.

Officially opened in 1938, the institution featured large dormitories, medical facilities, a chapel, and spacious terraces where young patients could spend time outdoors. During World War II, the building took on a new role as a hospital for wounded partisans fighting against the German occupation and the Fascist regime.

After the war, the facility returned to its original medical purpose. However, advances in medicine and the decline of tuberculosis gradually made the institution obsolete. The preventorium eventually closed during the 1960s and 1970s.