Italy · 150th anniversary of the birth of Maria Montessori

Issue date9 Jun 2020

Total mintage3,000,000

EU maximum3,000,000

Editions3

Edge lettering2 ★ × 6, alternately upright/inverted

InscriptionRI / R / LDS / 1870 / 2020 / MARIA MONTESSORI

DesignerLuciana de Simoni

mintInstituto Poligrafico e Zecca Dello Stato, Roma

Issue occasion

The coin commemorates the 150th birthday of the Italian educator Maria Montessori. The design features her portrait in a geometric arrangement with teaching materials from her educational approach, surrounded by the inscription “MARIA MONTESSORI” and the years “1870” and “2020”.

The design

The coin design features a geometrically arranged portrait of Maria Montessori and some teaching materials from her educational method. “RI,” the abbreviation for the Italian Republic, appears on the right edge. The letter “R,” indicating the Rome Mint, is shown at the bottom left, while the initials “LDS” of the coin designer Luciana De Simoni are engraved at the bottom right. The years “1870” and “2020” appear at the top and bottom, respectively, representing the birth year of the Italian educator and the year of issue of the coin. The inscription “MARIA MONTESSORI” is arranged around the portrait.

The outer ring of the coin depicts the twelve stars of the European flag.

Background on the topic

Maria Montessori was born in Chiaravalle in the Marche and studied medicine at the University of Rome. She completed her studies in 1896, making her one of the first women in Italy to hold a university degree in medicine. She subsequently worked, among other places, at the university’s psychiatric clinic. While caring for children with intellectual and physical disabilities, she became intensely involved with their learning conditions. In doing so, she also drew on approaches developed by the French physicians Jean Itard and Édouard Séguin.

In 1907, Montessori opened the first “Casa dei Bambini”, or children’s house, in the Roman working-class district of San Lorenzo. There, she developed and tested her educational ideas for preschool children. The central assumption was that children acquire many abilities through independent, concentrated activity. The learning environment was therefore to be clearly structured and equipped with materials that enabled specific activities and made errors partly recognisable on their own.

Within this concept, the children largely choose their activities themselves within a prescribed framework. The teacher observes, introduces the materials and provides support without constantly specifying every step of the work. Other features include mixed-age groups, practical exercises of everyday life and the training of sensory perception. The guiding principle attributed to Montessori, “Help me to do it myself”, summarises this basic attitude in abbreviated form.

Her method spread beyond Italy even before the First World War. Montessori held international training courses and published writings on her work. Following conflicts with the fascist regime, she lived for periods in Spain, the Netherlands and India. Her stay in India in particular influenced her ideas on peace education and Cosmic Education.

Italy’s tribute therefore relates not only to an individual biography. Montessori represents an educational reform movement developed in Italy that continues worldwide in children’s houses and schools. The learning materials depicted therefore refer directly to her practical work and not merely to her profession.