He took Italians by the hand, teaching them that ‘it is never too late’ to learn. Alberto Manzi, for everyone simply Maestro Manzi, appeared on television in 1960. In this photo, taken from the volume “Come eravamo. Nomentano 1865-1960” by Typimedia Editore, the teacher can be seen on the set of the television programme that made him famous. But the children of the Nomentano district had known him for at least six years.
In fact, teacher Manzi started working at the primary school in 1954 and his first assignment was in Piazza Ruggero di Sicilia, at the old Enrico Corradini school. The year he arrived there, however, the school was given its current name, Fratelli Bandiera. Immediately after the war, during the 1945-46 school year, the decision was made to delete the reference to a nationalist historian and to dedicate the school to Attilio and Emilio Bandiera, two young patriots, heroes of the Risorgimento.
Manzi’s teaching methods are the first example of diversified didactics and are not always understood: the Ministry of Education, in fact, will send him several warnings, reminding him to stick to the established school syllabus.
WATCH: How to buy the book “Come eravamo Nomentano”
WATCH: All the volumes in the series “Come eravamo”
