Montessori’s Italy

Montessori Tours and Travel (MT&T) is offering you the opportunity to join the ‘Montessori’s Italy’ Tour to observe, explore and experience significant sites in Dr Montessori’s life as we follow her footsteps across Italy.

Saturday 29 October - Saturday 05 November 2022

See, explore, discover 

Our first stop after departing Perugia is Chiaravalle. Day 1 & 2 see us exploring Montessori’s birth house, birth town, and the surrounding district that was part of her early years. Our local guide will answer questions and share stories. Tantalize your tactile sense at the Museo Omero, a museum designed for blind people. Tempt your taste buds with locally produced wine and delicious dishes – a perfect way to end a wonderful day. 

Day 3 is spent in Gonzaga and the fabulous museum at the Gonzagarredi / GAM office. See for yourself the history of Montessori materials. Delight in a guided walk with a local guide through the streets of Gonzaga.Visit the famous Villa Alessia, inhabited by the wealthy Maraini family and where Montessori often stayed so she could observe the poor children from the area at the Foebelian Kindergarten.

Historic Mantova and surrounding areas have much to offer and Day 4 sees us enjoying the culture of the area as did noblewoman Maria Guerrieri Gonzaga (Maraini), a very dear and lifelong friend of Montessori's whom she met at the same time as Alice Franchetti at the 1908 Feminist Congress.

Our trip to Rome on Day 5 would not be complete without a visit to the Villa Montesca, home of Leopoldo and Alice Franchetti, where Dr Montessori delivered her first teacher training course in 1909. We also will visit the textile factory,’Tela Umbra’, and its educational museum in Città di Castello. An exquisite ‘Welcome to Rome’ dinner awaits us this evening.

Day 6 and 7 include morning coffee with first generation Montessorinis (the Italian nickname for the ladies who attended the Assistente all’Infanzia Montessori School with Adele Costa Gnocchi); a cultural hands-on experience at an art school Maria herself attended in 1906; learning from the team at Opera Nazionale Montessori; a full day’s guided walking tour of Montessori’s Rome and the sites that are significant to her history, especially the trainings in Rome; and much, much more….

There will be local wines, local foods, local guides, local cultural experiences, local larrikins.  There will be surprises and activities, time to chat, time to play, time to learn, time to wonder. 

This small group tour is designed specifically with you, someone interested in the life and legacy of Dr Maria Montessori, in mind.

Don’t miss this opportunity to see and experience, ‘Montessori’s Italy’, led by Karin Slabaurgh and Roelie Hartwig.

Strictly limited places.

To express your interest in this tour, or to secure a place, please email Roelie Hartwig asap at: montessoritoursandtravel@gmail.com