Physical activities in extra-scholastic institutions (1923-1937)

As for the specific problem of physical education in Italian schools, a first solution was suggested in the second half of the Nineteenth Century. In fact, educational gymnastics had become a mandatory course in Italian male and female schools, and in 1909, with Daneo’s Law, a serious attempt at modernizing its programmes and opening it up to sports and games was carried out. (Chapter 3.2)

Yet, the approach of the First World War and the hostility of the more conservative physical education teachers did not favour the implementation of that law. On the contrary, the war accentuated the pre-existent, endemic deficiency of teachers and gymnasia, because many of the former were lost on the warfront and some scholastic buildings were damaged. Moreover, in the immediate postwar period, an economic, political and social crisis of vast proportions entirely mobilized the powers in force at the time.

The problems that scholastic physical education had had for years were once again set aside. The debate among the experts in this field progressed, as they divided into many currents of thought offering different solutions to revitalize Italian physical education.

Giuseppe Monti, follower of Baumann and notable director of Turin’s Institute of Magistery for the training of female physical education teachers, stated that discipline had to remain at the heart of the school system, as an integral part of the educative progress.

Others, such as General Luigi Gasparotto, wanted it to be committed to the victorious army, while a third line of thought, headed by Romano Guerra, at the time director of Rome’s Institute of Magistery, claimed that physical education should be separated from the conservatism of the Italian school system. For Guerra this new physical education, inspired by the Swedish scientific method and by the English sport policy had to be modern in organization and self-governed; in other words, it had to remain outside the scope of schools.

In those years, male physical education teachers were trained in Rome’s Institute of Magistery, while female teachers trained in Turin and Naples, overcoming the prejudices of those who still believed that motor activities and sports were exclusively male. In fact, in 1921, among the students of the Institute of Magistery, about 42% were women, against a paltry 6% in 1911.⁴⁹

In obvious contrast to Gentile’s pedagogic doctrine, which believed in the educational process and in physical education as part of spiritual education, his 1923 law fully backed Guerra’s proposal. Consequently, physical education left scholastic institutions, teachers were disbanded and the Institutes of Magistery in Rome, Turin, and Naples were closed down.

As for the students, Gentile’s Law literally stated that: "Pupils of all public and officially recognized middle schools affiliated with the Ministry of Education, should perform their physical education courses, in case of need, at the gymnastics and sport clubs designated by the National Body."⁵⁰ Gentile’s Reform freed municipalities and districts of the burden of providing gymnasiums and sports grounds, a task that was passed on to the Ente Nazionale per l'Educazione Fisica [National Physical Education Body]- ENEF. Actually this body, which should have improved physical

and sports education, was a failure mostly due to lack of economic and organizational support, and of methodological and operative clarity.

Teachers were now paid from taxes imposed on the students and, after the suppression of the Institutes of Magistery, no new physical educators could be trained.

Nor could ENEF resolve, within itself, the unbiased difficulty of controlling the activities of sport clubs scattered throughout the national territory that should have assisted ENEF in organizing sport activities for youngsters in secondary schools.

After four years of vain attempts entrusted to three different managements, the Council of Ministers decreed, on 12 October 1927, that the competencies of ENEF be passed to the extra-scholastic institution of the National Balilla Body- ONB.

ENEF was suppressed by Royal Decree No. 2341 of 20 November 1927 and, with the same decree, ONB was given the task of dealing with "the physical education of students in public elementary schools" that Gentile’s Law had neglected.

However, the area of primary school could never be suitably developed owing to lack of funds; on 9 August 1929 by Royal Decree Law No. 1594, ONB was awarded sole guidance and surveillance of physical education in primary schools, which remained entrusted to the goodwill and availability of teachers.

The issue of controlling existing sport clubs was quickly solved. Starting on 2 March 1927, those that had not spontaneously broken up were required to merge into 32 national federations,⁵¹ that in turn depended on CONI. This greatly 'fascistized' body, largely strengthened in its institutional tasks, was completely in the hands of the National Fascist Party- PNF.

Thanks to attempts to successfully carry out the Concordat between Church and State (Chapter 1.2), Catholic sport associations could still survive for a few more years; in September 1931, all the gymnastics and sports activities organized outside ONB were strictly prohibited.⁵² From then on ONB became the only, absolute source of youngsters’ sports activities.

Through ONB, Fascism not only tried to remedy ENEF failure in physical and sports education and in the military formation of school-age youths, but it also aimed for an important goal that Gentile’s Law had missed: moulding Italian students, from primary school onward, to the principles of aesthetics and to the fascist style. (Chapters 2.3 and 5.7.)

Besides this, ONB also devoted itself to spreading those principles among school-age youngsters that were not enrolled in school, and to continuing the social assistance that the National Maternity and Infancy Body- ONMI was conducting, favouring the health of younger mothers and children.

(Chapter 5.5.)

Established with Law No. 2247 of 3 April 1926, ONB was set the task of

"assistance and physical and moral education of the young" (Art. 1), to which "minors under 18 years of both sexes" had a right (Art. 2). The following Article 3 specified that "especially training and preparation of youngsters for military life" would be pursued.⁵³

Among the most urgent focuses of ONB was that of creating new schools for the training of physical education teachers, since the 1923 Law had suppressed the former Institutes of Magistery; the project was 'fast-tracked' for male teachers who, starting in 1928, could enjoy their Accademia Nazionale di Educazione Fisica [National Academy for Physical Education] of Farnesina in Rome, while female teachers had to wait until 1932. (Chapter 5.3)

The idea of a totalitarian institution such as ONB, that involved youngsters of all social classes - from students to workers - was from Mussolini himself, who had then entrusted its implementation to Renato Ricci.

Ricci was inspired by pre-existing fascist youth structures, such as the Inspectorate of Balilla organized by the PNF management, and the Juvenile Fascist Vanguard directed by the General Headquarters of the Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale [Voluntary Militia for National Security]- MVSN.

Moreover, Ricci was inspired by other youth associations operating in Europe and America, by the Scouting associations operating in Italy in the first decade of the century, and by the Federazione delle Associazioni Sportive Cattoliche Italiane [Federation of Italian Catholic Sport Associations]- FASCI, founded in far-off 1906.⁵⁴

We will discover shortly how ONB female activities were organized.

5.2.3 Female children’s education from the Feminine Fasci to the ONB