This paper offers an analysis of one of the three educational methods currently recognized by the Italian school system. These three methods were developed by four educationalists: Maria Montessori (1870-1952), Giuseppina Pizzigoni (1870-1947) and the sisters Rosa (1866-1951) and Carolina (1870-1945) Agazzi. While Maria Montessori is known the world over and her method has been adopted in many countries, in Europe and beyond, the other educationalists are mainly known and emulated at the local level. More specifically, several innovative aspects of the Agazzi sisters' method have been implemented in Italian nursery schools, informing the national curricular guidelines and becoming part of kindergarten teachers’ shared heritage. In the case of Giuseppina Pizzigoni, however, while her method initially flourished – inspiring the opening of many schools in Italy beginning in 1927 – it later lost traction and today is only applied in a small group of schools in Milan, comprising the Rinnovata Pizzigoni School and the Dante Alighieri School. In recent years, schools in Lombardy and other Italian regions have requested training in the inspiring principles of the method with a view to experimenting with it. Italian and international students have also asked to visit the school or do teaching practice there. Given the renewed interest in this method, the aim of this paper is to present the training and action research trajectories being implemented in the Pizzigoni schools based on the cornerstones of the method, using an approach that is faithful to the ideas of Giuseppina Pizzigoni while also adapting them to contemporary needs. We first present Giuseppina Pizzigoni herself, outlining the distinctive features of her method, and then home in on the professional development and action research initiatives. We stress the crucial significance of the Rinnovata Pizzigoni school building, designed by architect Belloni in partnership with Giuseppina Pizzigoni. This was the first time in Italy that a school was constructed ad hoc to reflect the educational approach of an educationalist and school leader, making it into a genuinely educational space. An emphasis on greenery and nature, outdoor teaching, knowledge construction based on real-world problems, the importance of experience as well as individual and group work, an interdisciplinary approach to teaching, agricultural education leveraging the presence of animals and a farm, and continuous interaction between the indoor and outdoor school environment, are just some of the aspects that continue to define this method today.

Keywords: Pizzigoni, method, education.