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Celebrating 150 Years of Maria Montessori

Maria Montessori’s 150th Birthday is August 31, 2020.

AMS is excited to celebrate the 150th birthday of Dr. Maria Montessori on August 31, 2020.

Here’s how we are celebrating:

  • The summer 2020 issue of our magazine, Montessori Life, was dedicated to Maria Montessori’s 150th birthday. Read online here with your member login. Not a member? Check out this special downloadable article–an exclusive interview with 2 educators who were taught by Maria in Perugia, Italy.
  • We are so grateful for the members of this community who contributed to our Maria Montessori 150 Fund. Portions of these donations will fuel the advocacy work of AMS and help restore Dr. Montessori’s initial observation classroom in Perugia.
  • Working in conjunction with local groups and governments in Italy, we are memorializing Dr. Montessori to ensure that future generations know about her work. See the photo gallery below for more details about a special sculpture project in Perugia.
  • We hope you were able to snatch up some of our limited-edition commemorative merchandise. Please note: the AMS store is currently closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
  • You’re invite to celebrate with us! Use #WeHeartMontessori all year long to show us how you are celebrating and honoring the life and legacy of Montessori.

A Monument for Children

In honor of Maria Montessori’s 150th birthday, an Italian architect and artist named Matteo Ferroni is crafting a sculpture of her as a monument for children. The sculpture will live in a public square in Perugia, Italy—known as a "Montessori City" because of the training center that Maria founded there in 1950, and because today, 1 out of every 20 residents there is Montessori educated!

Matteo was first introduced to form and space as a Montessori child and in 2018, he returned to his former Children’s House in Perugia to restore the Montessori Observation classroom.

This monument is made possible with support from AMS and the Fondazione eLand, in Switzerland.

Follow along as we add to this photo gallery and let’s watch as the Maria statue is brought to life.

A Monument for Children

Model of the Statue

This is a simple model of what the commemorative statue of Maria Montessori will look like.

The Artist

Matteo Ferroni is the artist, architect, and Montessori alum who is designing and building the statue.

3D Rendering

Matteo makes a draft of the statue and has a high-definition 3D scan created.

Raw Marble

This marble for the statue comes from a mountain cave in the city of Carrara in the northernmost tip of Tuscany, Italy.

Matteo with Robot

The Corsanini Company, a leading manufacturer in Italy, carves the marble block with a robot (pictured). Once complete, Matteo will refine the statue by hand. This is the modern method of sculpting.

More Maria 150 Highlights

Celebrate Maria
150 For 150

As part of our yearlong celebration of Maria Montessori’s 150th birthday, we are raising funds to help restore her initial observation classroom in Perugia, Italy; construct a statue in her honor in the town center; and fuel the enduring advocacy work of AMS and our mission

Download Resources
Maria 150 Resources

We’ve compiled a number of resources to get you involved in our yearlong celebration of Maria Montessori’s 150th Birthday Anniversary.