Creator and promoter of the rural Bibliotechine, she played a decisive role in setting up the “Corriere dei Piccoli” and remained an unforgettable figure for entire generations of young students. 150 years after her birth, the figure of Aunt Mariù, born Paola Lombroso Carrara, a brilliant pedagogist, writer and journalist, strongly re-emerges. The daughter of Cesare Lombroso and Nina De Benedetti is at the center of a national conference promoted by the Tancredi Foundation of Barolo and a room of the MUSLI, School and Children’s Book Museum will be named after her.
An important woman from a historical, artistic and literary point of view, as well as for her assistance, education and active promotion of reading among children. “Bibliotechine rural”, with the aim of providing pleasant reading books to the most disadvantaged schools throughout Italy. Starting from Turin and Piedmont, in 1908 he started the first initiatives denouncing the inattention of the institutions and the economic hardship of the schools, and directly involving children, he also supported the fundamental role of teachers: a more current example than ever of active promotion of reading. . The project will continue for the whole life of the writer, gradually joining other charitable and charitable initiatives, always aimed at children.
The “Bibliotechine” of Aunt Mariù
The Bibliotechine project is reconstructed in the documents of Paola Lombroso Carrara herself. “In 1909 – she says – I was commissioned to correspond with the young readers of Corriere dei Piccoli with whom a friendship was born immediately”; and it was following a letter from a teacher sent to the editorial office that he began to think about a collection of books to help the less fortunate classes. Thus, thanks to the moving participation of young readers, in a few months he collected the conspicuous sum of “112 lire and a certain number of volumes”. After various attempts to finance her project through postage stamps, the idea of resorting to the sale of propaganda postcards, with the aim of directly involving the children, according to a philosophy that opposed a purely charitable logic to that of self help. The postcards, printed and appropriately marked, were sent in packages to the children (and their families), who undertook to color and sell them. With the proceeds, Aunt Mariù proceeded to purchase and send to the schools identified a library of ten books (including Pinocchio and Cuore should never be missing) according to the principle that it was better to send a few selected books to many needy schools than many books to a few schools. privileged… The ultimate goal of his activities was always the same: to educate children to read with public initiatives for the dissemination of the book.
The national conference will be organized on 7 December at the hall of honor of Palazzo Barolo, will be attended by among others, Pompeo Vagliani – FTB President; Mario Carrara, grandson of Paola Lombroso Carrara and donor of the fund; Luca Scarlini – Curator of the exhibition on Edina Altara at the MAN Museum of Art in the Province of Nuoro.
