Ada Sacchi Spertini

Pioneering Italian educator who reformed women's vocational training

Ada Sacchi Spertini (1874–1965) revolutionized vocational education for Italian women through her leadership at Milan's Scuola Professionale Femminile. She challenged gender norms by:

• Introducing technical courses in chemistry/physics
• Creating Italy's first female bookbinding program (1903)
• Establishing vocational guidance services

Her multidisciplinary approach combined humanities with technical training, documented in her 1912 manifesto 'L'educazione della donna'. The school became a model institution visited by Maria Montessori and other reformers.

Key achievements:

• Trained 15,000+ women (1901-1934)
• Pioneered workplace safety protocols
• Introduced psychological assessment in education
• Created Italy's first school cafeteria (1910)