Maria Montessori was an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 physician and educator, a noted humanitarian and devout Catholic

Catholicism

Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....

 best known for the philosophy of education which bears her name

Montessori method

Montessori education is an educational approach developed by Italian physician and educator Maria Montessori. Montessori education is practiced in an estimated 20,000 schools worldwide, serving children from birth to eighteen years old.-Overview:...

. Her educational method is in use today in public as well as private schools throughout the world.
Maria Montessori was born in 1870 in Chiaravalle, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, to Alessandro Montessori and Renilde Stoppani (niece of Antonio Stoppani

Antonio Stoppani

Antonio Stoppani was an Italian geologist and palaeontologist. He died in 1891 aged 67Born in Lecco, he became professor of geology in the Royal Technical Institute of Milan, and was distinguished for his researches on the Triassic and Liassic formations of northern Italy.Among his works...

). At the age of thirteen she attended an all-boy technical school in preparation for her dream of becoming an engineer.