Care,Cure and Training of the Body According to Italian Medicine of the Nineteenth Century

Sometime in the latter half of the nineteenth century, the idea that progress in science and technology would lead to solutions for, or at least control over, human ills had reached Italy as a result of positivism. The Parliament of the new Kingdom of Italy, formed in 1861, worked, among other things, towards increasing the processes of modernisation and industrialisation that were already ongoing in northern and central Italy. This was done to combat the backwardness of the poorer regions in the south and towards augmenting the size and quality of the newly created Italian army so that it could compete on an equal footing with the powerful nations of Europe. In the same period, the government was legislating in favour of public education to fight the great problem of illiteracy, upgrade the teaching classes, improve existing schools and procure the funds needed for social hygiene and care of the body as factors in the physical and moral regeneration of the race. A campaign to increase physical education for both sexes in schools was successfully begun by the then Education Minister, Francesco De Sanctis, who made this subject obligatory by law throughout the nation in 1878. Much has already been said of the Italian doctors of the time who were strongly in favour of gymnastics, traditional games and/or modern sports, as well as other hygienic and recreational physical activities for people of all ages; suffice to mention the ‘apostle of Italian sport', Dr. Angelo Mosso (1846–1910), and the ‘father of Italian gymnastics', Dr. Emilio Baumann (1843–1917). However, not enough has been said about the support for these same activities offered by another famous doctor from the same period, Paolo Mantegazza (1830–1910), on whom the first part of the essay will focus. The latter part will propose a comparative consideration of the works of Mantegazza, Baumann and Mosso, showing similarities but also notable differences in their personality and philosophical approach.