Ricerca e valorizzazione del patrimonio storico-educativo: il caso del carteggio inedito Montessori-Borromeo presso l’Asilo di Oreno

The paper presents the experience of finding and exploiting unpublished sources and Montessori materials within the Oreno Kindergarten, one of the first institutions in the Brianza area to adopt the Montessori method. The critical analysis and reflection on the works of the pedagogist, flanked and fueled by unpublished written documents run parallel to the reconstruction of the history of this institution through the recovery of school materials. The objectives of this project are to implement Historical educational research based on the active involvement of actors in the local community, to foster scientific dissemination about childhood education and the Montessori method, to promote initiatives to enhance the historical-educational heritage. The project is founded on the engagement of both actors working in the school field (teachers, councillor, coordinators) and a non-specialist public (Countess Borromeo, parents, citizens) for the purposes of historical reconstruction and for the enhancement of the community’s heritage.