Maria Montessori: a complex and multifaceted historiographical subject

The main goal of this essay is to outline the historiographical profile of Maria Montessori (1870 –1952), which has been subject to substantial investigation in recent years (Babini & Lama, 2000; De Giorgi, 2013; Foschi, 2012; Giovetti, 2009; Marazzi, 2000). These latest analyses have highlighted a previously unacknowledged complexity. The historiographical literature on Maria Montessori, her pedagogical method, and her experiences in different parts of the world is composed of numerous contributions characterized by different focuses and purposes. At first, hagiographic and celebratory versions of the biography of the doctor were published (Maccheroni, 1947; Shepard, 1996; Standing, 1957). These hagiographies tended to decontextualize her genius by presenting an image of it that was unrelated to the framework of her time. After Kramer’s (1976) work (the most complete biography in English to date), the level of the historiographical research on Montessori has become more nuanced.