Towards a new equilibrium: State and School in the Kingdom of Naples During the French Decade.

In the Kingdom of Naples, the French Decade represents a turning point also for what concerns educational policy. The responsibility on public school, which once was confusingly shared among varied institutional subjects, was entrusted into the exclusive charge of the Home Ministry. Primary education was transferred from monastery to municipalities, becoming mandatory and free. Secondary schools took new teaching subjects, which often contained technical profiles. Higher education was completely reorganized: if compared with the public schools created after the Jesuits' expulsion, the new institutions, that is Collegi and Licei, were better widespread on territory, more independent on financial side and provided of very articulated curricula. Lastly, University instituted new courses, accordingly both to the requests of professional milieu and the modern knowledge specializations. Nevertheless, the recent historiography suggests that this regulation was not completely fulfilled. Financial problems, in fact, worsened by the war, compromised the running of the new institutions, impeding, sometimes, their launch. Despite the difficulties, these reforms changed the relationship between citizens and school. The State expanded its commitment in public education, aware of its power in teaching rules of order, legality and civic participation. At the same time, local communities began to perceive public schools as a crucial patrimony, and exerted their efforts to enlarge it. In this way, public education's supply and demand reached a different point of equilibrium from the one of the Old Regime. My paper is divided in four parts. The first one summarizes the legislation issued during the first two years of French Decade. Then, I discuss the role that intellectuals, in particular Vincenzo Cuoco, appointed to the public education. In the third part I introduce the most important act in public education matter: the Decreto Organico per la Pubblica Istruzione (1811). To conclude, I propose an evaluation of the results, taking into consideration both the opinions of Matteo Galdi, responsible of public education sector, and the latest documentary discovery.