L’Istruzione rurale come risorsa nella scuola italiana del Novecento: le maestre Emma D’Ambra e Maria Maltoni

Rural education has always been a fundamental pillar for the development of farming communities, contributing to literacy and combating school drop-out. My research study aims to investigate the importance that teaching in rural areas has had in the history of the Italian school, focusing on two schoolteachers: Maria Maltoni (1890-1964), who lived in the early 20th century, and Emma D'Ambra (1935-), who lived in the second half of the 20th century and who is still alive. In particular, interest is focused on the educational practices that the former undertook in the Tuscan hills of San Gersolè, the latter in the inland villages of Caltanissetta. Although the times and geographical and socio-cultural contexts were different, there are striking similarities between the two experiences. Through a comparative analysis, it emerged how both teachers had played a crucial role in literacy processes and in combating school drop-out in their respective communities, exploiting local resources and cultural traditions to enhance and enrich their children's educational experience. In fact, if Emma D'Ambra, a teacher who taught in the Sicilian hinterland, found herself operating in a community characterised by a strong rural identity and a deep-rooted agricultural history, Maria Maltoni too, despite having found herself operating in a different geographic and socio-cultural context, among the picturesque Tuscan hills, had to face similar challenges; both were therefore able to adapt their pedagogical strategies to the reality of the communities. Rural schools, similar to those attended by Emma and Maria, often operated with limited resources and relied on multi-talented teachers dedicated to their mission. Although the lack of modern infrastructure and the distance from urban centres could make access to education more difficult, especially for families with limited resources, these teachers were able to compensate for the shortcomings with creativity and dedication, actively involving the local communities and exploiting available resources to ensure quality education.