Learning in ginnasio and liceo in Habsburg Milan (1814-1859)

This article presents the results of research carried out using archival sources and the class registers of the high schools of Milan during the Restoration period. The sources used allow a quantitative analysis that produces a detailed picture of pupils’ social family backgrounds and their school performances. Milan, the capital of the Kingdom of Lombardy and Venetia, had two Imperial ginnasi and licei, plus a municipal ginnasio and a private College. The research proves that many of the ginnasi’s pupils came from the middle but also lower classes, whereas upper class pupils prevailed in the licei. The discipline in these schools was rigid, the teaching mainly by rote, with a strict and obsessive system of exams. Pupils’ morality and behaviour were also controlled by the school as far as possible. The high levels of attendance were a constant worry for Vienna, which tried repeatedly to make high school more selective, fearing social mobility. However, Milan was a rich city, with many artisans and shopkeepers who desired a better education for their sons. The lack of Realschulen was one of the causes of the overcrowding of Gymnasien.