Making Italians Starting from the Body. From Educational Gymnastics to Physical Education. The Contribution of Pietro Gallo (1840-1916)

Abstract

Making Italians Starting from the Body. From Educational Gymnastics to Physical Education. The Contribution of Pietro Gallo (1841-1916)
The educational policy of post-unification Italy during the Risorgimento was realized on the one hand, in education, through the institution of the popular school and the fight against illiteracy; on the other hand, in education starting from the body. The latter was the result of a change that modified the military approach and purposes of physical exercise for a physiological-hygienist-pedagogical perspective of physical activity. Among the pioneers of this paradigm shift, a prominent place must be attributed to the gymnastics arch Pietro Gallo, who dominated the scene of gymnastics and sports in Venice and was a protagonist at a national level. Thanks to the cultural partnership with Reyer and Baumann, Gallo contributed to the transformation of educational gymnastics into rational gymnastics and, finally, into physical education.