Jewish institutions for children in Florence during the 19th and 20th centuries

This essay aims to introduce the reader to a first reflection on the non-formal educational reality existing in the Jewish community of Florence from the 19th until the beginning of the 20th century. The archival research has been integrated with readings about the history of the educational institutions in Tuscany and ompared with the evolution of pedagogical criteria at that time. Some of the different kinds of educational forms that resulted from the need to give an appropriate response to the new cultural needs of the Jewish population during the time of emancipation in Italy will be examined. It will thus be possible to observe how the Jewish community in Florence – although consisting of a small number of people – could nonetheless promote philanthropic and educational initiatives that were consistent with the zeitgeist of the times and able to give a first institutional response to the needs of children and their families.