Protagonists Of Education
#protagonistsofEducation of November
In recent months, we have often spoken about the open-air mobile school “Gioconda” in Este. Today, we introduce its founder: Headmaster Mario Cacciavillani (Chiampo, 1873 – Padua, 1970). Cacciavillani arrived in Este in 1903, and in 1922 he realized his vision of establishing a “mobile” open-air school. He personally designed backpack desksnand he oversaw their production, entrusting it to a local carpenter.
Cacciavillani’s innovative ideas gained recognition throughout Veneto, and the “Gioconda” was awarded the gold medal at the 1926 Venice Regional Educational Exhibition for its unique and outstanding educational experience. Consequently, a “propaganda and educational tour” was organized in May 1928 across the provinces of Padua, Vicenza, and Treviso to showcase this pioneering “mobile” initiative.
#protagonistsofEducation of October
👨🎓| Achille De Giovanni (Sabbioneta, 1838 – Padua, 1916) arrived at the University of Padua in 1878, where he became a Professor, later Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, and even served as Rector from 1896 to 1900. Appointed Senator of the Kingdom in 1902, he demonstrated a lifelong commitment to civil and social causes, for instance, by founding the Italian National League against Tuberculosis in 1898. He believed that there was a physical predisposition to this disease linked to specific bodily constitutions.
🦠| Viewing tuberculosis as both a factual and social issue, De Giovanni advocated for hygienic and social reforms aimed at educating the public to adopt proper hygienic practices.
🔬| According to him, the advancement of science was the key factor that could harness the “healing power of nature” for the benefit of the individual and, by extension, society as a whole. His positivistic belief in scientific and social progress was reflected in the two paths he proposed for combating the disease: the first focused on prevention, hygienic education, and the well-being of urban life; the second was related to academic study, aimed at guiding practice and achieving a deeper understanding of the human body, thus directing medicine toward improving human conditions.
#protagonistsofEducation of September
🩺| Alessandro Randi (Pordenone, 1858 – Gorgo di Cartura PD, 1944), served for forty years as the Chief Medical Officer at the Office of Hygiene in the Municipality of Padua. He is remembered as a man of great culture, deeply committed to social and civil causes, with a pedagogical-educational vision that materialized in actions aimed at the prevention of tuberculosis.
🌞| In 1905, he contributed to the establishment of the ‘Raggio di Sole’ open-air recreation center on the city walls (Bastion of the Scalzi), which in 1907 was expanded to include the first open-air school in Italy. Randi strongly believed that fresh air, sunlight, proper nutrition, and education in hygiene and body care were essential for the development and well-being of children. He considered the schools of his time generally unhealthy places. Thus, he emphasized the importance of the environment, not only from a hygienic and sanitary perspective, but also from an educational and formative standpoint.
🏅| In recognition of his dedication to social, educational, and preventive work, Alessandro Randi was awarded the ‘Gold Medal of the Benefactors of Public Education’ in 1912 and the ‘Silver Medal for Merit in Public Health’ in 1923.
❓| Did you know that at Via Raggio di Sole, you can still see the pavilion built for lessons and ‘air cures’?
In the photo: the canopy and school pavilion of ‘Raggio di Sole.’
👩🏫|Arpalice Cuman Pertile (Marostica) is an important figure in the debate surrounding popular education in Italy at the turn of the two centuries.
After completing her studies, she became a teacher and entered the cultural environment of Vicenza, where prominent figures such as Fedele Lampertico, Antonio Fogazzaro, Paolo Lioy, and Giacomo Zanella shared the urgency of spreading education to the poorest masses.
📖| Cuman Pertile made the diffusion of culture her mission. She worked tirelessly for the education of young children, promoting a kindergarten that could welcome the children of female factory workers in the region. Her social commitment was complemented by a prolific production of school books and enjoyable reading material for children.
🧚♀️| Did you know that to honor the figure and work of Cuman, the city of Marostica has established the biennial National Prize for Children’s Literature, ‘Marostica City of Fairy Tales – Arpalice Cuman Pertile,’ since 1988? This competition, which invites unpublished texts on any theme in Italian for children aged 3 to 11, is open to all!
👨⚖️| Aristide Gabelli was a representative of “militant” Positivism, a jjurist, and above all, a man deeply committed to education as a school inspector. He wrote the Elementary School Programs in 1888. Gabelli’s goal was to form “men with clear heads” capable of thinking critically.
“The teacher must keep in mind that the school has to serve three purposes: to give vigor to the body, penetration to the intellect, and rectitude to the soul.” Teachers were expected to encourage children to “do,” to touch, handle materials, discover their characteristics, and learn what they did not know.
📚| This is where the school wall paintings come in! The museum houses many of them: animals, plants, flowers, and much more. There are also educational boxes containing materials, produced both by specialized companies and by teachers themselves.
Gabelli believed in the practical abilities of teachers, who were expected to compensate for the neglect of the unitary State, which was focused on building infrastructure such as roads, railways, and industries to pull Italy out of its backwardness. To accomplish this, Gabelli relied on a powerful tool: the education of the Italian people!
👉| Giovanni Marchesini, a brilliant and devoted student of Roberto Ardigò, taught Philosophy and Pedagogy at our University for thirty years. As the director of the Journal of Philosophy, Pedagogy, and Related Sciences, he also founded the Dictionary of Pedagogical Sciences.
👨⚖️| An enlightened and multifaceted individual, Marchesini was a respected scholar who always showed great respect for theories of other cultural origins. However, he was subject to fierce criticism from Giovanni Gentile.
Marchesini sought to understand the functioning of the mind, following the example of early psychologists at the University of Padua, such as Vittorio Benussi, and anthropologists like Giovanni Canestrini, a prominent popularizer of Darwinian theories in Italy.
📚| For Marchesini, education derived its value from science, always grounded in experience. This idea, which struggled to take root in Italian schools, is reflected in many of the teaching tools preserved in our Museum.
