Conference Program

This paper aims to reflect, primarily from a historical perspective, on the path that led to the creation of the Rinnovata school by its founder, Giuseppina Pizzigoni (1870-1947). In this regard, analyzing the process that led to the creation of a method and the construction of a new school building—a space for the concrete implementation of Pizzigoni's pedagogical thinking—we intend to focus on two key aspects (Rossi Cassottana, 1988, 2004).. The first is the establishment of a scientific committee to support the project, composed of key figures in Milanese society at the time. Until now, little has been explored regarding the scientific committee that Giuseppina Pizzigoni established and that supported her in her project to create and experiment with a different teaching approach. The group that supported her included scientists, engineers, writers, and entrepreneurs. Among these, we can at least mention: astronomer Giovanni Celoria, Professor Eugenio Medea, psychologist Zaccaria Treves, poet Giovanni Bertacchi, and industrialists Paravia, Marelli, and Bisleri (Pizzigoni, 2022). This group can be seen as a project team from which a new educational model emerged, embracing its potential for social transformation. Therefore, this group can also be considered, in a certain sense, a social hub that has focused on the importance of school as a place for building knowledge, a driving force for social cohesion, and for developing the abilities of each individual and the community.

The second fundamental aspect is the attention paid to the design of the school building. This project embodies Giuseppina Pizzigoni's pedagogical philosophy, with many of the essential recommendations communicated to Amerigo Belloni, the engineer who built the school following her suggestions (Pizzigoni, 1914). Here too, the school is conceived as a center of great social value, a space in constant communication with the outside world, a permeable place that works to enhance even that which lies outside the school. Inside and outside continually collaborate, thus embodying one of Pizzigoni's fundamental ideas, which in her writings led her to state that "School is the world."

Even today, nearly a century after the construction of the Rinnovata, the idea of ​​a continuous exchange between inside and outside, the vision of a school as a driving force within the neighborhood, a point of reference for the creation of an energetic community, or a place for social exchange, remains a defining characteristic of this school. This paper will offer some concrete examples of contemporary trends (Zuccoli, 2017).