Gonzagarredi can define itself as The History of Montessori Materials without fear of contradiction, and not just because it started, grew and established itself in Maria Montessori’s home town, but because it was in collaboration with Gonzagarredi (then known as “Ernesto Bassoli e Figli”, and afterwards “Società Anonima per il Materiale Montessori”) that Maria Montessori produced the first materials. It is no coincidence that Gonzagarredi is today one of only three companies worldwide whose Montessori materials are approved by the AMI (Association Montessori Internationale).
Today, our showroom still keeps the originals of the first materials produced, as well as many other examples of the collaboration between Maria Montessori and Gonzagarredi. The first traces of this collaboration go back to the early twentieth century and to her friendship with the Marchioness Maria Maraini Guerrieri.
Gonzaga, who was among the first to endorse and support Maria Montessori’s findings, and invited her to stay on several occasions at Gonzaga. The first fruits of their sincere friendship and close cooperation was the “Carlo Guerrieri Gonzaga Children’s House” which opened in 1908. It was during one of her frequent visits to Gonzaga that Maria Montessori commissioned the creation of the first Montessori products from Ernesto Bassoli, who later founded the “Società Anonima per Materiale Montessori (Montessori Materials Limited)”, a company that would later become Gonzagarredi.
The fact that the first real name of our company included “Montessori” in its title not only fills us with pride, but bears witness to the unique and indissoluble Montessori roots of our company. All our products have been built on the principles of Maria Montessori and the company continues to develop those ideas. This is illustrated by the fact that even after the death of Maria Montessori, the Gonzagarredi Company shared its designs with the leading experts and most important Montessori associations throughout the world. Like Giuliana Sorge, one of Maria Montessori’s disciples, Maria Antonietta Paolini, another assistant and collaborator of Maria Montessori for many years at the International Montessori Centre in Perugia, Camillo Grazzini and Baiba Krumins, Directors of the AMI courses held by the International Montessori Study Centre
Foundation in Bergamo, the Association Montessori Internationale, the Opera Nazionale Montessori, and the Fondazione Chiaravalle Montessori.
It’s been over a hundred years since the first Montessori materials were created, but the same principles still govern and drive Gonzagarredi in the development of new products. The object is to offer children the highest quality products consistent with the rules laid down by Maria Montessori, which will enable them to grow in complete freedom and autonomy. Each new material is created from the ideas of a team of Montessori professionals who combine the needs of children and Montessori teachers on the one hand and Montessori principles on the other.
All the new materials for children aged 0-3 years listed in our catalogue are examples of this. Products that can stimulate the interest of the child by isolating a specific quality in order to focus the child’s attention on the development of a particular skill, allowing children to recognize their mistakes and correct themselves autonomously and of course providing the teacher with suitable tools to stimulate children’s learning.
All the products are designed according to specific designed standards to ensure the object is practical for the child. Nothing is left to chance, and even the details are handled with care and attention, all to ensure a distinctive and unparalleled level of quality. History and quality combine to create a catalogue synonymous with reliability and excellence.
We work every day to ensure that in a hundred years Gonzagarredi can still proudly claim to be the history of Montessori Materials.
Gonzagarredi has organized an internal control system consisting of severe control procedures which ensure high quality levels at design, production, delivery and after-sales stages, as well as the monitoring of the relevant important environmental aspects. A team of skilled technician’s answers for the quality of production, controlling the purchase of raw materials, the working process and the testing procedures of final products, applying the standards provided by law. The company has obtained and maintains the Quality management system ISO 9001:2008, certified in July 2002 and the Environmental management system ISO 14001:2004 certified in July 2005.
Certification of the product
Gonzagarredi products are subjected to safety, strength and atoxicity tests at authorised laboratories to obtain quality certifications.
Association Montessori Internationale
The products in our catalogue that show the AMI logo next to the product code have been designed and made in accordance with the specifications provided by the Material Committee of the
Association Montessori Internationale, Amsterdam, The Netherlands – www.montessori-ami.org
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