San Remo Lectures: 1 The Creative Capacity of Early Childhood

The 8th International Montessori Congress took place from 22-29 August, 1949. The title of the Congress was La Formazione dell’Uomo nella Ricostruzione Mondiale (Man’s Formation in World Reconstruction). The four major lectures that Maria Montessori delivered then have been retranslated by Renilde Montessori from the original Italian and are being featured in this and forthcoming issues of Communications. In her introduction to the first lecture Renilde Montessori writes: ‘If one’s thoughts tend to seek symbolism in nature, the four San Remo lectures can be seen as verdant hillocks at the foot of the august mountain that is the work of Maria Montessori.

The title of the first lecture is “The Creative Capacity of Early Childhood”. In it, as in the other three, as in all her teaching, throughout her life, she enjoins humanity, not only parents, educators and other specialists in care of children, to study the child.