This article was downloaded by: [University of Birmingham]On: 18 November 2014, At: 06:28Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T3JH, UK

British Journal of EducationalStudiesPublication details, including instructions forauthors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rbje20

Ferrante Aporti — apostle ofinfancyAvril Wilson aa Faculty of Education , Sunderland PolytechnicPublished online: 21 Jun 2010.

To cite this article: Avril Wilson (1979) Ferrante Aporti — apostle of infancy, BritishJournal of Educational Studies, 27:3, 221-231, DOI: 10.1080/00071005.1979.9973550

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00071005.1979.9973550

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of allthe information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on ourplatform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensorsmake no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy,completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinionsand views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views ofthe authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis.The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should beindependently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor andFrancis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings,demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoeveror howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, inrelation to or arising out of the use of the Content.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private studypurposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution,reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form

to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use canbe found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f B

irm

ingh

am]

at 0

6:28

18

Nov

embe

r 20

14

BRITISH JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL STUDIESVol. XXVII, No. 3 OCTOBER 1979

FERRANTE APORTI — APOSTLE OFINFANCY

by AVRIL WILSON, Faculty of Education, Sunderland Polytechnic

I taly must surely have been the first country to start infant education.In 1735, just over thirty years before Jean Frederic Oberlin foundedhis infant school at Waldbech, the Jewish University of Florence

established a brotherhood whose function it was to give the first rudimentsof social and religious training to boys who were too young to go to school.1

The man who gets the credit for starting Italian infant schools, however, isFerrante Aporti. Aporti undertook his educational work during one of themost unsettled periods in the history of the Italian people. In fact hebecame a priest in 1815, the year in which Austria acquired the controllingpower in Italy. Most of the central states were already governed bymembers of the Hapsburg family, King Ferdinand of Sicily had pledgedallegiance to Austria and Pope Pius VII was master of the Papal States,when, in 1815, at the Congress of Vienna, Lombardy and Venetia,together composing one of the largest states in Italy, came directly underAustrian rule. From then on, the power of the Austrians and the Churchin Italy was oppressive. Naturally enough, the people did not accept theirforeign masters easily and uprisings, under the leadership of men likeGiuseppe Garibaldi, took place from time to time. The forces of reactionwere powerfully entrenched, however, while the revolutionaries failed tounite their forces, so that these revolts met with little success and by 1834,Garibaldi, for one, was forced to flee the country.

It was against this background of political and social unrest that Aportifounded infant schools in Lombardy. He looked forward to the day whenItaly was united both socially and politically. This ideal was reflected inhis educational thought and practice and made him unpopular with boththe reactionary party and the dignitaries of the Church, among whom theJesuits became his fiercest adversaries.

Despite this, Aporti had a powerful following, numbering among hisfriends people like Giuseppe Sacchi in Milan, Matilde Calandrini in Pisa,Raffaelo Lambruschini, a member of the Philgeorgic Society, in Florence,and Camillo Cavour and Carlo Boncompagni in Turin. Although Sacchiremained aloof from the social and political struggles going on around him,the others realised the value of popular education in the fight for a united,prosperous Italy and, while Lambruschini laboured to promote infant

221

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f B

irm

ingh

am]

at 0

6:28

18

Nov

embe

r 20

14

FERRANTE APORTI APOSTLE OF INFANCY

schools in Tuscany, Cavour and Boncompagni worked to the same end inPiedmont.

Aporti opened his first infant school in Cremona in 1827, the year inwhich Pestalozzi died. The school was an experimental venture. InLombardy, coming as it did directly under foreign rule, Aporti had to getpermission from the Austrian authorities before he could open an officialschool. About a year later, he submitted a brief outline of his proposedscheme of work to the government, with a request for permission tostart an official school. The government approved his project and thedecree sanctioning it was passed on 24th January, 1829. With a priestcalled Alessandro Gallina in charge, the school was opened in March,1829, with only eight pupils. It was a fee-paying school for the children ofthe comfortably-off and the number of pupils soon increased although, bythe following year, it did not reach the hundred Aporti had anticipated.Aporti was pleased with the results. Physically, the children gained inhealth and strength. Children whose legs were too weak to support them,when first admitted, benefited so much from the gymnastic games includedin the curriculum that they were able to use their legs freely. They learnedto keep themselves and their clothes clean. They became more restrainedin their behaviour; they got on well with each other and began to take adelight in keeping order. Intellectually their prowess was well known.Although the school had been in existence only a matter of weeks, apublic examination was held on n t h May, 1829. An invitation to bepresent was extended to parents, friends and dignitaries, including theInspector for the Province, and all the children, from the six-year-oldsdown to the two-year-olds, were put through their paces.

Having successfully put his theory into practice in his fee-paying school,Aporti turned his attention to promoting a school for the infant poor. Thegovernment passed a decree authorizing his free infant school on 31stAugust, 1830. The decree included an appeal to the charity of the people ofCremona, in response to which a public subscription was officially openedin the autumn of 1830.2 Even with government support, the money onlytrickled in, but eventually enough was collected to warrant opening acharity school for fifty children3 and Aporti's first free infant school wasopened on 18th February, 1831.4 To start with, he accepted only boys.The school won approval from some on account of the educational advan-tages it offered and from others, because it was a success financially, Aportibeing able to report it cost next to nothing to run.5

On 27th February, 1832, an Imperial Decree was passed permitting theestablishment of institutions for infants throughout Lombardy. Thegovernment, however, were suspicious of the name 'infant school' andprohibited its use.6 Aporti pressed ahead and, on 27th November, 1832,the government passed another decree authorizing him to extend his

222

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f B

irm

ingh

am]

at 0

6:28

18

Nov

embe

r 20

14

FERRANTE APORTI—APOSTLE OF INFANCY

charity school to admit girls. He furnished a second room and started aclass for poor girls on 15th January, 1833.

In 1833, Aporti also wrote his Manual for infant schools, in an attemptto further their development and to demonstrate their value. Six years oftireless activity for Aporti had elapsed since the inception of his experi-mental work in 1827, but he did not rest on his laurels. He had openedtwo schools in the town - one for well-to-do and the other for poorchildren - so he turned his attention to the country and the children of thepeasants and made up his mind to start a school in San Martino dell'Argine, where he had been born. He first wrote to his cousin, GiuseppeAporti, suggesting the idea in July, 1833. In his next letter, he was able toreport that the project had the support of the government and the schoolwas opened eleven months later, in June, 1834. Meanwhile a second freeinfant school for both boys and girls was opened in Cremona on 22ndMarch, 1834.7

Aporti did all he could to forge ties with the Austrian administration.He was determined to see his schools grow and get his books published.To be successful in either of these endeavours he needed governmentalsupport, and this support he was determined to have at any price. Thechildren in his schools said prayers daily for the Emperor's health and theycelebrated the Emperor's birthday every year with a special mass. Theywere taught to love their Emperor, as Aporti called him, and his family,and they learned the Austrian national hymn and sang it every week.Aporti sent copies of his books to the Governor General of Lombardy, theCount von Hartig, as principal patron of his schools. He dedicated one ofhis books to the Governor General and another to the Viceroy, the Arch-duke Ranieri.

The Governor General and the Viceroy were even constrained to visitthe schools in Cremona but these visits did not make for the cordialrelationships with the Austrian government that Aporti expected. In a letterfrom the General Inspectorate, dated 1 ith June, 1835, Aporti learned thatthe publication of his latest book was to be held up until he had made afull report on the Viceroy's visit, giving the text of the inscription made tocommemorate the visit. True to character, Aporti wrote back immediately,expressing his gratitude for the protection afforded his infant schools bythe Imperial government and the inscription included these words: TheAustrian Ranieri, our Viceroy and beloved Father, honoured this charityschool with his presence.8 Things took a turn for the better in 1837,however, when the Archduchess, Elizabeth of Savoy, assumed the title ofProtectress of charity schools. The following year, on 10th April, theEmperor, Ferdinand I, authorized a decree, giving his assent to the use ofthe name 'infant school' to describe the new institutions9 and legallyrecognizing infant schools as a worthwhile charitable cause. By 1837,

223

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f B

irm

ingh

am]

at 0

6:28

18

Nov

embe

r 20

14

FERRANTE APORTI APOSTLE OF INFANCY

Aporti's two charity schools had a total of 462 pupils and the followingyear he founded his third, and last, in Cremona. The new school wasopened on the 22nd September, 1838 and, on the following day, theEmperor and Empress, Ferdinand I and Queen Caroline visited it.

Aporti was very proud of the fact that he had the support of theAustrian government and never missed an opportunity of letting peopleknow about it. In a letter dated 16th November, 1833, for example, to hisfriend Matilde Calandrini, Aporti informed her that the Governor himselfsafeguarded his charity schools and on 12th May, 1838, he wrote toLambruschini advising him that infant schools were spreading throughoutLombardy and attributing their growth to the generosity of the Viceroy,the Archduke Ranieri and to the foresight of the Emperor, Ferdinand I.10

In Lombardy, Aporti's Infant School had been supported from thefirst by both civil and religious authorities,. The Jesuits did not have thepower there that they had in other states and the Infant School spread,much to Aporti's satisfaction, as we know. His friend, Matilde Calandrini,however, thought that Aporti, in his enthusiasm for his schools, was over-optimistic about the situation. Without being aware of it, she felt he wassacrificing his independence for Austria's protection and, in her opinion,this was too high a price to pay.

From Cremona, the infant school spread first to Tuscany. MatildeCalandrini opened a school with six children in a private house at Pisa inJanuary, 1833. ^ w a s officially recognized by the government in July ofthe same year. Later in the year, the second infant school in Tuscany waspromoted in Livorno by Enrico Mayer and it was authorized on 23rdMay, 1833. No sooner did Lambruschini hear about these schools, thanhe began to fight tirelessly for the cause. Lambruschini had such a highregard for Aporti and his infant schools, that he called him the 'Apostle ofInfancy' and his schools the 'Salvation of the People'. He aroused so muchenthusiasm in Florence that a Society was formed to promote infantschools there and the first school in Florence itself was started on 15thMarch, 1834.11

Aporti's influence began to make itself felt in Piedmont only in 1837,when an infant school on the new lines was opened by a man calledMaurizio Farina. Educationally, Piedmont lagged behind Lombardy andTuscany. In a letter to Lambruschini dated 4th May, 1837, CarloBoncompagni deplored the lack of state education in Piedmont. Thefollowing year, however, a committee was formed with a view to startingan Infant School Society and Carlo Boncompagni and Camillo Cavourwere its most prominent members.

On 27th June, 1838, Boncompagni sent details of the proposed societyto Lambruschini, and informed him that he already had enough signaturesto warrant its formation.12 The Society presented an appeal to the

224

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f B

irm

ingh

am]

at 0

6:28

18

Nov

embe

r 20

14

FERRANTE APORTI APOSTLE OF INFANCY

government for legal recognition on 3rd August, 1838, and their petitionwas favourably received. The reactionary party, however, viewed thesenew proceedings with disfavour. They induced the government to issue anorder through the Secretary of State, stipulating that the heads of the newschools could be appointed only with government approval and that theinstruction of the children should be entrusted only to nuns. Despite thesedelaying tactics, the society opened the first infant school in Turin in1839."

By 1837, there were infant schools in almost every state in Italy. Naplesand Rome were exceptions and Aporti was anxious to bring them into thefold. There was a movement in Naples in favour of infant schools but thegovernment was opposed to it. Aporti, however, hoped for a change ofheart on the part of the Neapolitan government. The Queen of Naples,the second wife of Ferdinand II, was an Austrian with some experience ofinfant schools in Vienna, but she was unpopular with the Neapolitans andcould not influence the government in this matter. The first school wasnot founded in Naples until 1841 and by 1844, there were only three,"the third of these having been founded by Baron Rothschild. Two of themwere soon closed because of the antagonism shown by the Jesuits, and thethird remained open only in deference to the Baron.15

The infant school movement had little hope of support from Rome,under the administration at that time. Pope Gregory XVI was openlyhostile to Aporti's schools and to his books. He thought they were not onlydangerous but wicked, and towards the end of 1837, a confidentialcircular was sent to every Bishop in the Pontifical State, prohibiting anyattempt to introduce infant schools there.18 One exception was made in1861, when Princess Adele Borghese was given permission to open a schoolfor poor girls in Rome.17 With the advent of a new Pope, Pius IX, thingsbecame easier and a charitable society was formed, with the Pope'sapproval, to institute schools for boys.18

In Lombardy, then, coming as it did directly under foreign rule, Aportihad to get support from the Austrian administration for every move hemade but there were compensations in that the authorities refused totolerate interference from the Church. In Tuscany and in other parts ofItaly, like Naples and Rome, infant schools met opposition from bothgovernment and clergy and were closed down on the slightest provocation.In Piedmont, the only state free from Austrian domination, the infantschool movement went from strength to strength and, in 1844, it receivedofficial recognition from Charles Albert himself. The torch of freedomburned brightest in Piedmont and in 1847, Cavour and Boncompagnieven started a newspaper in Turin to further their cause. The journal wascalled 'Risorgimento'. Its aim was to advocate 'the independence of Italy;

225

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f B

irm

ingh

am]

at 0

6:28

18

Nov

embe

r 20

14

FERRANTE APORTI APOSTLE OF INFANCY

union between the princes and peoples; progress in the path of reform anda league between the Italian States'.19

In 1847, everything seemed set fair for Aporti's infant schools in Italy.They were being encouraged, or at least tolerated, in every part of thecountry. In that year, however, rioting broke out in Milan and the peopleof Venice revolted. The Austrian troops began to withdraw and in 1848,the Piedmontese army, led by Charles Albert, crossed the frontier to fightthe Austrians. The Italian troops suffered a disastrous defeat: Lombardyand Venetia became part of the Austrian empire once more. Aporti'sschools suffered as a result and Aporti, himself, was exiled from his nativeprovince and went to live in Turin. While Charles Albert was trying torepulse the enemy on his border, other revolutionaries were active to theSouth, among them Mazzini and Garibaldi, once more in Italy to join inthe struggle for freedom. Together they drove Pope Pius IX out and set upa republic in Rome. On 26th April, 1849, however, troops arrived and inJune the short-lived republic fell and with it, all immediate hopes forItalian unity.

Just when it looked as if the infant school might put down firm roots,political and clerical reaction, after the 1848 uprising, sought to stifle it.In some places it was suppressed altogether. In others, it was reduced tothe status of a creche. The children were looked after but no educationalprovision was made for them. In yet others, in keeping with Jesuiteducational thought, it became a school of the most academic type.It lost its humanitarian character. The children were subjected to learningeverything by rote, so that it was a question of instruction, not education.

Aporti protested against these abuses, complaining that his schools werebeing ruined through the passion for turning them into little universities.He was extremely satisfied, however, with the educational work beingdone in Piedmont and was very grateful that he could live in such a pro-gressive country.20 By that time, Piedmont was in the forefront of theeducational movement in Italy and although Aporti was far from home,he participated actively in educational work.21

The Piedmontese managed to keep their independence, their new king,Victor Emmanuel, having emptied his treasury rather than pledge himselfto Austria and under the leadership of men like Camillo Cavour andCarlo Boncompagni, the province made great progress both politically andeducationally. Boncompagni had by this time acquired the position ofMinister of Public Instruction22 and in 1848 he carried through a law,called after him, which among other things, eliminated the interference ofthe clergy in state schools.23 The educational system which resulted fromBoncompagni's law put Piedmont in the vanguard of educational progressin Italy and, despite some initial setbacks, the status of the infant schoolsand infant teachers improved considerably under his aegis. While Article 3

226

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f B

irm

ingh

am]

at 0

6:28

18

Nov

embe

r 20

14

FERRANTE APORTI—APOSTLE OF INFANCY

of the Boncompagni law stipulated that the Minister of Public Instructionwas to be responsible for the administration of all elementary andsecondary schools, whether privately owned or not, the infant schools wereclassed as charitable institutions and became the responsibility of theHome Office, along with the prisons.24 Aporti had no direct part in thenew legislation, but he must have been bitterly disappointed and the longstruggle began to have the infant school officially recognized as 'the firstlink in the educational chain'.25

In 1850, a royal decree was passed stipulating that the Minister ofPublic Instruction was to be responsible for education in infant schools,while the responsibility for the administrative work of the infant schoolswas to remain with the Home Office. Although this state of affairs leftmuch to be desired, it was a step in the right direction but despite effortsto the contrary, the infant schools remained dependent on two Ministriesfor more than a century.26 While Boncompagni was working to further thecause of popular education in Italy, Cavour embarked on a politicalcareer, in the course of which he became Prime Minister. His goal, asalways, was nothing less than a free, united Italy and as a member of thefirst Piedmontese parliament and, later, as Prime Minister, he used all theguile of which he was capable to accomplish this aim. Eventually hesecured the friendship of Napoleon III of France, who pledged to supporthim in case of war with Austria and in 1859, Cavour goaded the Austriansinto declaring war on Piedmont. The Piedmontese army invaded Austrian-occupied territory for a second time. Supported by French troops, theydefeated the Austrians and won Lombardy for Italy after forty-four yearsof foreign domination. This was to be the first step towards the UnitedItaly that Aporti had longed for and was not destined to see, dying onlyone year before his native Lombardy was liberated.

Aporti's ultimate aim in education consisted of instilling into childrenthe moral code and the religious faith that would turn them into goodcitizens and loyal Christians. But, for Aporti, moral and religious educa-tion were intimately connected. Religious education was inseparable frommoral education. Like Lambruschini and the principal Catholic thinkersof the Risorgimento, he wanted religion to be more than the superficialobservation of rites. He wanted it to give a feeling of inner serenity. Thiskind of religion, in complete contrast to what usually passed for religion,was indistinguishable from morality. He equated religion and morality,believing you could not be truly Christian unless you were genuinelyvirtuous. Religion, for Aporti, was an integral part of moral education.It was possible, in his opinion, to live happily without knowing too much,but the same could not be said of living without religion. It gave peace ofmind; it consoled man in misfortune and it put a rein on passions whichstood in the way of happiness.

227

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f B

irm

ingh

am]

at 0

6:28

18

Nov

embe

r 20

14

FERRANTE APORTI APOSTLE OF INFANCY

Religion, Aporti believed, should be instilled into the child's mind as soonas possible. The earliest impressions, in his opinion, were indelible, so headvocated using this fact to root religious convictions in the child's mind,so that nothing could eradicate them. Parents, he said, should substituteBible stories for the idle tales they usually told of fairies, witches andghosts and try to make their children understand that true piety consistedin fulfilling God's precepts, as well as observing the rites of an external cult.Since 'Love Thy Neighbour' was the primary virtue, Aporti thoughtchildren should be rewarded whenever they practised it and punishedwhenever they did anything to the contrary. As they became older and,therefore, more able to reason, they were to learn the precept itself andtheir parents were to judge all their actions by it. By setting a goodexample and by judicious use of reward and punishment, Aporti wascertain they would bring up children who were humble, honest, hard-working, truthful, temperate, frugal and forgiving, with a sense of grati-tude, especially for the Christian education they had received.27

Aporti thought it was wrong to concentrate on moral education at theexpense of the intellect. Intellectual progress, in his opinion, increasedmoral awareness, bringing an understanding of ethical principles.28 Just aseducation and instruction, and morality and religion blended into eachother, so, for Aporti, moral and intellectual education were indivisible.Intellectual education had to go hand in hand with moral education, sothat man found truth, as well as virtue.

Aporti put forward four arguments in support of his infant school.Firstly he believed that the traditional elementary schools by themselveswere insufficient, the child, in his opinion, needing help much earlier thansix years of age. Secondly, the infant school would offer safety to childrenwhose parents were so poor that they had to work all the time.29 Thirdly,Aporti abhorred the iniquitous system of Dames' Schools, to whichchildren were consigned, although barely able to walk.30 Fourthly, familyeducation, among the wealthier classes, was not all it might have been.Aporti's infant school, then, was intended for all classes, rich and poorindiscriminately, but for poor children especially. And the fact that hisfirst official infant school was for the children of the comfortably offdemonstrates how novel his infant school was. It was not the usual charit-able institution. It undertook to provide an education in the most profoundsense of the word.31 Aporti tried to relate his teaching to children's naturalinclinations. When young children came into contact with something forthe first time, they wanted to know what it was called; they wanted toknow its name and he believed they could profit from this innate curiosity.Children loved all kinds of stories. Relying on this, he substituted Biblestories for fairy tales. Children loved to sing and Aporti was a greatbeliever in the efficacy of song. Lastly he was in no doubt that children, of

228

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f B

irm

ingh

am]

at 0

6:28

18

Nov

embe

r 20

14

FERRANTE APORTI APOSTLE OF INFANCY

their own accord, showed a desire to read, write and count. His curricu-lum, based on the child's curiosity, his love of story and song and on histendency to read, write and count, had three sections, intellectual, moraland physical.

Included in the intellectual section was language teaching. Aportistressed it because so many infants came to school scarcely able to speaktheir own local dialect, far less Italian.32 The language of Aporti schoolswas Italian. Even the prayers were recited in Italian. He banished Latinfrom his schools because the children did not understand it and it did notdo anything to further their education,33 and he thought it was a waste oftime teaching children to speak provincial dialects. It was his intention toteach the children to speak pure Italian. Many ridiculed Aporti and hissystem because of this but he persevered in his undertaking to raise Italianchildren speaking their national language, because he knew it was essentialto their struggle for national identity.

The part Aporti played in the propagation of liberal and nationalisticideas in Italy makes him an interesting figure in his own right. What makeshim even more interesting for British educators is that his idea for pro-moting infant schools originated with Samuel Wilderspin - the drivingforce behind the rise and spread of infant schools in England. Aportiacknowledges his debt in a letter, dated 29th January, 1830, to JosephWertheimer, the Jewish banker and philanthropist, in Vienna.34 Aportihad become friendly with Wertheimer during a three year period of studyin Vienna after his ordination in 1815 and when Wertheimer's Germantranslation of Wilderspin's book on Infant Education was published in1826, he sent Aporti a copy as a gift. Aporti was grateful to Wertheimerfor providing him with the source of his inspiration for his work withchildren, but he had to hide the fact that the origin of his infant schoolscould be traced to England.36 While the reactionaries were afraid that itmight give impetus to the struggle for liberty and national unity andencourage attempts to implement Mazzini's claims for social justice, otherscriticized it on the grounds that charity schools were of foreign origin.They accused their countrymen who practised charity of slavishly copyingforeign institutions without considering whether they suited the needs oftheir community. They argued that in England the provision of charityschools had only encouraged more parents to abandon their children, sothat the English infant school had aggravated the very evil it was intendedto eradicate.37 They contended that, although the people in Italy did notlive in comfort, they did not experience the misery of the poor in England,who had to work sixteen hours a day, just to earn a living. The Italianpoor, they said, were the least miserable in all Europe. In, London, alone,they pointed out, there was enough poverty to warrant an annual purge inwhich the young, forced into a life of crime, were deported to the colonies

229

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f B

irm

ingh

am]

at 0

6:28

18

Nov

embe

r 20

14

FERRANTE APORTI APOSTLE OF INFANCY

but since the poor in Italy, in their view, were not experiencing the samedegree of distress, they saw no reason to adopt the extreme measures takenby the English.38 If Aporti's opponents had had conclusive proof that hisinfant school was English in origin, it would have added fuel to the fire.

To allay suspicions, Aporti did all he could to make it appear as if hisschools were Italian to the backbone. In the preface to his Manual, forexample, he wrote a vague account of their origin,39 describing Dateo'shospices of 787, Miani's orphanages of 1527 and Calasanzio's piousschools of 1592 - all Italian institutions - as the forerunners of his infantschools,40 and when Lambruschini published a series of articles on thehistory of infant schools Aporti wrote begging him not to divulge theirtrue source, but to stick closely to the history he, himself, had written forthem in his Manual — dishonest, I suppose, but he was determined thatnothing would compromise his schools. Other characteristics he mayhave displayed - vanity, in the reports he wrote about the satisfactorywork being accomplished in his schools,41 persistence in keeping the subjectof his schools before the authorities, servility - in attributing his success tothe encouragement he received from the Austrians, unscrupulousness - inteaching the children to love the Austrian Emperor - all suggest that headopted any role that would further his aim, which was to see his infantschools and the children in them thrive. In other words, as far as hisschools were concerned, the means justified the end.

REFERENCES

1. A. Gambaro: Ferrante Aporti e gli Asili nel Risorgimento (Torina, 1937), p. 118.2. Ibid., pp. 4, 5, 11, 15, 24, 47.3. F. Giuffrida: Ferrante Aporti e l'Educazione Infantile in Italia (Roma, 1928),

p. 13.4. Gambaro: op. cit., p. 21.5. Giuffrida: op. cit., p. 13.6. G. Vidotto: Sulla Istituzione degli Asili e delle Scuole Injantili in Italia (Dante

Alighieri, Roma, 1896), p. 24.7. Giuffrida: op. cit., pp. 13-15.8. Gambaro: op. cit., pp. 60, 62, 67, 68, 70, 78, 94, 99.9. Giuffrida: op. cit., pp. 18, 19.

10. Gambaro: op. cit., pp. 82, 90-92, 101, 198, 202, 203, 236.11. Giuffrida: op. cit, pp. 9, 17, 18, 20, 22, 28.12. Gambaro: op. cit., pp. 197, 198 (footnotes), 217, 218.13. Giuffrida: op. cit., p. 23.14. Gambaro: op. cit., pp. 240, 241 (Note 3), 248.15. Giuffrida: op. cit., pp. 26, 27.16. Gambaro: op. cit., pp. 243, 245, 473.17. Giuffrida: op. cit., p. 25.

230

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f B

irm

ingh

am]

at 0

6:28

18

Nov

embe

r 20

14

FERRANTE APORTI—APOSTLE OF INFANCY

18. Vidotto: op. cit., p. 19.19. T. O'Clery: The Making of Italy (Kegan Paul, 1892), p. 2.20. Vidotto: op. cit., p. 26.21. Giuffrida: op. cit., p. 46.22. L. Minio-Paluello: Education in Fascist Italy (O.U.P., 1946), p. 5.23. A. Scarangello: Progress and Trends in Italian Education (U.S. Dept. of Health,

Education and Welfare), p. 3.24. R. Moro: Gli Istituti Infantili nel diritto positivo dal 1859 ad oggi (Centro

Didattico Nazionale per la Scuola Materna, 1952), p. 11.25. L. Ceccanti: Note sulla Storia degli Asili d'Infansia (Roma, 1928), p. 53.26. Moro: op. cit., pp. 11, 12.27. F. Aporti: Manuale di Educazione ed Ammaestramento per le Scuole Infantili

(Manini, Cremona, 1833), pp. 43-9.28. Ibid., p. 52.29. Aporti: op. cit., pp. 12-15.30. Gambaro: op. cit., p. 124.31. Giuffrida: op. cit., p. 8.32. Aporti: op. cit., p. 56.33. Giuffrida: op. cit., p. 39.34. Gambaro: op. cit., pp. 3-5.35. Giuffrida: op. cit., pp. 7-8.36. Gambara: op. cit., p. 230.37. Gambaro: op. cit., pp. 152, 153.38. Ibid., pp. 156, 157.39. Ibid., p . 197.40. Aporti: op. cit., pp. 6-11.41. Gambaro: op. cit., p. 21.

231

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f B

irm

ingh

am]

at 0

6:28

18

Nov

embe

r 20

14