by Marco Bardazzi / La Stampa

The life stories of great people who have changed America can often be traced back to a common starting point: a boat from Europe sailing into the New York harbor with a salute toward the Statue of Liberty and an obligatory passage with the immigration officials at Ellis Island.

But for an elegant Italian signora who arrived on the Cincinnati yacht exactly 100 years ago, the landing told a different story, with journalists and photographers awaiting her arrival on a Manhattan pier. In 1913, renowned Italian educator Maria Montessori received a queen's welcome, setting the groundwork for the future diffusion of her pedagogical method throughout the United States. In no other country have Montessori schools spread so widely or been so successful as they have in the USA.

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Source: http://www.worldcrunch.com/