Childcare in Reggio Emilia: Origins and Changes between the 19th and 20th Centuries

The aim of this article is to reconstruct the evolution in the type of interventions and childcare models adopted by the institutions charged with caring for orphans in 18th- and 19th-century Reggio Emilia, Italy. Through analysis of the documents – some previously unseen – preserved at the archives of ASP Reggio Emilia Città delle Persone and Polo Archivistico Comunale, it is possible to understand how the city of Reggio Emilia adapted itself to the developing needs of its wards, and social, legislative and especially educational changes, seeking to go beyond the isolatory and custodial spirit that characterised life within orphanages until the end of the 19th century. The history of the local institutions intertwines with that of the national processes and changes which revolutionised the traditional concept of «institute». The monolithic, centuries-old and obsolete «orphanage» gave way to care within the community (1962), founded on the principles of protection, promotion and education of individuals. The stories of these individuals that emerge from the personal records and material analysed enable us to broaden our gaze on the reconstruction of institutional history, starting from a more internal perspective and focusing on the «subjectivity» of those in need of basic care. Such personal histories enable us to not only to understand the peculiarities of the various «cases», but also their living conditions, and the ways in which care, and at the same time education, was provided.