Barbiana School was a unique experience of its kind, an avant-garde educational project, still studied today for its innovation and effectiveness.

Located in a small village perched on the mountains near Vicchio, the Barbiana school came to life in 1954 and has been a real laboratory of pedagogical innovation, which has profoundly influenced the Italian and international school.

On 27 May 2023 the centenary of the birth of Don Lorenzo Milani is celebrated in Barbiana in the presence of the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella.

​Sergio Mattarella, 12th President of the Italian Republic

Sergio Mattarella is the 12th President of the Italian Republic, in office since 2015.

The figure of the President of the Republic is of great importance within the Italian political system.

The President of the Republic is in fact the head of state and the guarantor of the Constitution.

As such, he has the task of representing Italy abroad, appointing members of the government, promulgating laws and calling elections.

Furthermore, the President of the Republic has a fundamental role in situations of crisis or institutional difficulty, such as, for example, in the case of a government crisis or an economic crisis.

The figure of the President of the Republic is of great importance for the stability and functioning of the Italian institutions.

​The centenary of the birth of Don Lorenzo Milani

Don Lorenzo Milani was an Italian priest and pedagogue, born in Florence in 1923 and died in Barbiana in 1967. On 27 May 2023 the centenary of the birth of Don Lorenzo Milani is celebrated in Barbiana in the presence of the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella.

The figure of Don Milani was very important in the Italian cultural and social panorama of the twentieth century, thanks to his activity as an educator.

He began his activity as an educator at the parish of San Donato in Calenzano, where he found a very poor and illiterate peasant community, opening a school for the children of the area.

Don Milani’s educational method envisaged the direct participation of students in the construction of their learning path.

He believed that school should be a place of liberation and emancipation, where children could express their ideas and needs.

In this way, the Barbiana school became a place of great pedagogical innovation, where new teaching and learning methods were experimented.

His activity as an educator and pedagogue has had a significant impact on the Italian school, opening up new paths and new horizons.

​The experience of the Barbiana school

The Barbiana school was one of the most important pedagogical experiences of the 20th century in Italy. A real laboratory of pedagogical innovation, which has profoundly influenced the Italian and international schools.

Located in a small hamlet near Florence, the Barbiana school came to life in 1954. Here Don Milani began working to offer the area’s children and teenagers a quality education.

Don Milani created a school in which children and teenagers were the protagonists of their learning.

There was no hierarchy between teachers and students, but a relationship of equality and reciprocity, which made it possible to develop a solid and cohesive educational community.

The Barbiana school has experimented with new teaching methods, based on the active participation of the students, on the use of concrete teaching materials and on the enhancement of individual and collective experiences.