Scientific publication for children and young people during the 19th Century in Italy: from Antonio Stoppani to Luigi Bertelli/Vamba

This article proposes to examine the evolution of a long neglected literary genre for children and young people during the nineteenth century in Italy, which was not completely ignored by historiography: the one related to scientific works intended for children and young people. In this regard, after introducing some of the main writers who devoted themselves to this kind of texts (Antonio Stoppani, Pasquale Fornari, Maria VianiVisconti Cavanna and Luigi Bertelli/Vamba) and illustrating the characteristics and the editorial circulation of the main works attributable to this genre, the authors deal with the complex question of the misfortune and the gradual decline recorded since the early decades of the twentieth century in Italy for scientific works intended for children and young people, documenting the harsh criticisms for this significant literary genre, through the philosopher Benedetto Croce and scholars of aesthetics and neo-idealist literary critics who depended on him.