The “Resurgence” of mathematical education. Luigi Cremona and the new school in unified Italy (1860-1877)

Of the great mathematicians at the time of the Risorgimento, Luigi Cremona (Pavia 1830 – Roma 1903) was the one who most devoted himself to setting up the national education system. As a founder and creator of the Mathematics syllabuses for “ginnasio” and “liceo” (at that time: junior and senior high school) in 1860 and 1867, and for technical secondary schools in 1871 and 1877, an enthusiastic promoter of the new trends of modern mathematics to a vast audience of teachers, a reviewer, but above all, an author and translator of successful text books, Cremona left an indelible mark in the history of the teaching of mathematics in Italy. This paper will relate and analyse his commitment in the field of education and his institutional activity in favour of a unified Italy.