Britain’s Princess of Wales will travel to Reggio Emilia in northern Italy on May 13-14 to see how local communities turned abandoned World War Two military equipment into the seed funding for some of Italy’s earliest nursery schools.
After retreating German forces left behind vehicles and other metal, residents — many of them women — sold the scrap to help finance post-war preschools. Those grassroots efforts evolved into the internationally respected Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education, which emphasizes children’s social and emotional wellbeing, creativity and active learning.
The visit aligns with Kate’s long-standing interest in early years development. She launched the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood in 2021 to bring together research and expertise on the foundations of children’s wellbeing. This trip will be her first official overseas visit since completing cancer treatment.
Local authorities say the Princess is particularly interested in the historical roots of the Reggio schools, their public character, the role of women in their creation, the link between nature and learning, and the way the wider community participates in children’s education. Reggio Emilia councillor for education Marwa Mahmoud said the visit followed earlier exchanges with British representatives and the Princess’s expressed desire to see the city’s services in person.
The Reggio Emilia approach views children as active learners who express themselves in many ways — often described by educators as the “hundred languages” of children. Classrooms and centres are organized around communal spaces or “piazzas,” with in-house kitchens and ateliers where youngsters experiment with materials, colours and sounds.
Today the city runs 89 infant-toddler centres and preschools, mostly municipal or state-operated, with fees scaled to family income. Preschool participation in Reggio Emilia is among the highest in Italy, and international attention grew after a Reggio preschool was cited by Newsweek in 1991 among the world’s top schools. Reggio Children, an international centre that promotes research, says British interest in the model has continued over the years, adapting even as policy and funding shifts changed the form of exchanges between the communities.
