The Princess of Wales received a rock star welcome to Reggio Emilia, Italy, on Wednesday, marking her first overseas visit since completing cancer treatment.
Catherine arrived in the Northern Italian city as hundreds of citizens flocked to the piazza outside the town hall for the chance to see the future queen. Catherine’s visit is on behalf of the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood for a “fact-finding mission to explore leading international approaches to supporting young children those who care for them,” according to Kensington Palace officials.
Catherine delighted the crowd as she spoke Italian to them, and could be overheard introducing herself to children, asking them, “Come ti chiami? Io sono Caterina.”
At the Town Hall building, Catherine met with Mayor Marco Massari, Prefect Salvatore Angieri, and three women who helped develop the world-famous Reggio Emilia approach.
The Reggio Emilia approach places “relationships, environment and community at the centre of a child’s development,” according to Kensington Palace, and creates “nurturing, creative and responsive learning environments.”
Catherine participated in a discussion on how the city’s officials created the Reggio Emilia approach, discussing how the history, culture and education of the area led to its development.
At the end of her visit, she received the Primo Tricolore in recognition of her work surrounding the early years. She told Mayor Massari, “Wow, what an honour. I’m very grateful, it’s very gratefully accepted.”
The future queen visited the Centro Internazionale Loris Malaguzzi to learn from educators about the Reggio Emilia approach. Catherine learned more about its core concepts and participated in a clay-sculpting session as part of a practical demonstration on the work of ateliers and atelieristas, fine-arts educators who teach children to express themselves and learn about the world through art and creative play.
On their Facebook page, the Centro shared how Catherine’s visit as “a day that will stand [as] one of the most remarkable in [our] history.
“It was a genuine honour to welcome Her Royal Highness in such a warm and welcoming atmosphere.”
Catherine’s final engagement of the day was a visit to the Scuola Comunale d’Infanzia Anna Frank pre-school to see children being taught with the Reggio Emilia approach. Kensington Palace shared that the Scuola focuses on creativity, relationships and the learning environment.
The royal joined in classroom sessions, talking to the children about her late dog Lupo, and sharing that she taught Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis sensory and creative activities during the COVID-19 lockdowns to engage them.
According to The Telegraph, while participating in an arts activity, Catherine said, “The world children are growing up in is so fast-paced and actually encouraging them to slow down and really engage in these creative activities.
“It’s so important to explore language in the way that you’re doing, creatively, in a really expressive way through storytelling. It really connects to them.”
Catherine also met with parents and educators to discuss the Reggio Emilia approach and toured the school to meet with its staff before departing. Her visit continues on Thursday.
At the end of the day, Kensington Palace shared photos of the future queen’s first day, captioning them in English and Italian: “Championing the importance of presence and connection in early years in Reggio Emilia.”
