Maria Montessori

Erica Moretti (Fashion Institute of Technology, SUNY)

Ed. by Jo Ann Cavallo, Columbia University
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.6.1: Italian Writing and Culture, 453-present.
Vol. editors: Carla Bregman (Independent Scholar - North America), Jo Ann Cavallo (Columbia University)

Dates

Born 31 Aug 1870
Died 6 May 1952
Activity 1896-1952

Places

Born in Italy
Active in Italy; India; Netherlands; Pakistan; United Kingdom

Activities

Primary

Educationalist

Other

Lecturer
Physician/ Doctor
Teacher/ Professor

Resources

The educator Maria Montessori was born in Chiaravalle (Ancona, Italy) on August 31, 1870. Daughter of Alessandro Montessori (1832–1915), an official of the Ministry of Finance, and Renilde Stoppani (1840–1912), a well-educated young woman, the young Maria Montessori moved to Rome with her family in 1875. There, she pursued a scientific education. Despite her family’s opposition, at the age of twelve Montessori enrolled in the technical school Scuola Regia Tecnica Michelangelo Bonarroti and subsequently attended the scientific high school Regio Istituto Tecnico Leonardo Da Vinci, both in Rome. These were all unconventional choices for a young woman, and Montessori continued in this direction intending to pursue a career as an engineer.

A drastic change occurred, however, when Montessori decided which university to attend. She opted for medicine instead, another unconventional choice for a woman in...

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2771 words

Citation: Moretti, Erica. "Maria Montessori". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 09 September 2013 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=13214, accessed 09 June 2026.]