In the name of innovation: the school at the Turin General Exhibition of 1884

Abstract

In 1884 the Turin Exhibition afforded great importance to education and schools, both of which were present in a transversal way in various pavilions. In keeping with the positivist culture that centred around Turin in those years, there was a strong interest in pedagogy and the dissemination of scientific ideas to promote ethical and social progress in Italy. It is not surprising therefore that attention was devoted, for the first time in Italy, to school buildings and classroom furniture, with specific reference to health and hygiene criteria that were capable of guaranteeing a condition of well-being for teachers and of healthy growth for students. In this perspective, the report of the teacher Vincenzo Bugnone on his visit to the Exhibition is interesting, as it underlines the innovative aspects in the organization of the spaces dedicated to teaching and the educational aids aimed at supporting the objective method, that will be inspired Gabelli programs in 1888.