Cianfrusaglie [knick-knacks]. The educational method of Rosa and Carolina Agazzi
All origins of the project
Three years after the publication of the monograph “Cianfrusaglie. L’Asilo San Martino di Trento e il metodo delle sorelle Agazzi,” the San Martino Institute of Trento is proposing an itinerant exhibition project dedicated to the documents and original objects that make up the ‘Museum of Odds and Ends,’ a valuable collection of original educational materials related to the Agazzi method preserved in Trento.
The most important part of the collection was exhibited for the first time in October 2025 at the exhibition halls of the Caritro Foundation in Trento.
Now, not all 2,700 objects and documents in the collection will be displayed in an itinerant exhibition, but the fact remains that this will be a remarkable opportunity to learn in detail about the main instrument of the pedagogical method developed by Rosa and Carolina Agazzi starting from 1895.
The Cianfrusaglie [knick-knacks] Collection
The Cianfrusaglie Museum, the subject of the traveling exhibition, is a collection of educational materials used during the 20th century at the San Martino Nursery School in Trento. The items have been carefully preserved in original boxes by the San Martino Organization: small objects, toys, threads, strings, buttons, laces, scraps, drawn cardboard, and more. A precious historical testimony of an educational journey that helped shape generations of children in the city of Trento, the San Martino Nursery School’s Museum of Knick-knacks was fortunate to be saved from neglect thanks to the dedication of teacher Morena Quardi, following the adoption of more up-to-date didactic-pedagogical methods. Now, the fifty-four original boxes—and other containers that have been added over time—host thousands of objects. Along the exhibition route prepared by the curators, brief labels guide the audience through the complex structure of the Museum, explaining its educational function and allowing visitors to appreciate the rich semantic landscape within which the teachers of San Martino, using the Agazzian method, skillfully guided their young students along the path.
The sisters Rosa and Carolina Agazzi
Rosa Agazzi (Volongo, March 26, 1866 – Volongo, January 9, 1951) and Carolina Agazzi (Volongo, January 8, 1870 – Rome, November 24, 1945) were two pioneering educators and experimental teachers known as the ‘Agazzi sisters.’ Rosa Agazzi’s first experience as an educator took place in Nave, in the province of Brescia, at an elementary girls’ school: this was in 1889. In November 1896, responding to a proposal by Pietro Pasquali, a pedagogist and general director of schools in Brescia, she moved to Mompiano, where she, along with her sister Carolina, took charge of caring for about a hundred children at a kindergarten.
In 1898, their experience was already well established, and in September of that year, Rosa was invited to present the results of the first six years of activity at the National Pedagogical Congress in Turin, gaining recognition from some of the scholars present. From that moment on, she would engage in intense dissemination activities, including the publication of essays, which would lead other nursery schools to adopt the model developed in Mompiano. The demands for renewal, developed through their research and testing in real life, were ultimately acknowledged in a 1914 ministerial circular that redefined the educational programs and methods for early childhood education.
The intense seasons that followed, from 1920 to 1929, saw her engaged in advanced training and updating courses in Trento, Rovereto, Bressanone, Malé, Bolzano, Gorizia, and Trieste. From 1930 onward, Rosa was alone in directing the courses, which she continued even after 1946, the year of Carolina’s passing. The last course, dedicated to teaching language in Nursery Schools, was held in Trento in September 1950, just a few months before her death.
Ente San Martino Mission
Our San Martino has a long history in the field of education and training: in 1899, it founded and inaugurated the San Martino Kindergarten in Trento, initially promoting the principles of Friedrich Fröbel, Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, and Ferrante Aporti, and starting from the post-World War I period, incorporating the insights of Rosa and Carolina Agazzi.
In 2020, it published and distributed in the region’s kindergartens the monograph “Cianfrusaglie. L’Asilo San Martino di Trento e il metodo delle sorelle Agazzi” [The San Martino Kindergarten in Trento and the Sister Agazzi Method], a valuable historical testimony of an educational approach that, in the city of Trento, was taking its first steps in the immediate post-World War II period. The innovative aspects of the educational processes highlighted in the volume span various disciplinary fields: from perceptual and intuitive to psychological, from logical-linguistic to ideational and creative, up to the ethical and formative domain, which encompasses self-care and caring for others through mutual help.
Since 2020, Ente San Martino has aimed to disseminate the results of this research, which lasted over two years, thereby laying the groundwork for cultural and educational initiatives that came to fruition in 2025.
Sponsorship, care, and collaborations
The CIANFRUSAGLIE project promoted by Ente San Martino is sponsored by the Autonomous Province of Trento and the Trentino-Alto Adige Region. It was conceived by Stefano Giovanazzi, managed by Numero Civico Rovereto, and carried out in collaboration with the Federazione provinciale Scuole Materne di Trento [Provincial Federation of Kindergarten Schools of Trento]—for educational purposes—the University of Trento, Department of Humanities and Philosophy—for historical-artistic aspects—the Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences—for scientific, psychological, and pedagogical aspects—and supported by Fondazione Caritro.
Exhibitions
The main exhibition dedicated to the Museum of Odds and Ends features an installation of contemporary artworks created for the occasion by the artist Stefano Arienti. The original materials are displayed on cardboard boxes, while a selection of children’s illustrated books and artist books accompany and complement the main exhibition. Finally, a selection of the objects created by the children during the five workshops scheduled for October 2025 will become an integral part of the traveling exhibition.
Go to the Exhibitions
Collateral events in the form of meetings
The collateral events in the form of meetings scheduled for Cianfrusaglie were conceived and organized in collaboration with AAC Archivio Arte Contemporanea Rovereto, Associazione Creatori di Suoni Roma, AR/GE Kunst Bolzano, Cooperativa La Coccinella Cles, Foto Forum Bolzano, Officina Espositiva Trento.
Go to the meetings
Collateral vents in the form of workshops
The collateral events in the form of workshops include five sessions dedicated to ceramics, theatrical animation, illustration, comics or graphic novels, and sound creation for film. The project aims to enhance children’s intuition and creativity, promoting interactions with contemporary creative disciplines in a positive and stimulating educational environment. When children see that their efforts are appreciated, they feel motivated to further explore their creativity, fostering a virtuous cycle of learning and personal growth. Showcasing, or rather illuminating, their creations not only helps us understand their individual abilities but also encourages the development of specific social, communicative, and reflective skills, which are essential for strengthening awareness of complexity.
go to the workshops
Cianfrusaglie is a project conceived and coordinated by
329 4828149, 0464 439936
Exhibition art directors
Francesca Cristellotti
Stefano Giovanazzi
Morena Quardi
