The Room of Wonders, the new textbook to bring art to the center of the school

It is entitled The Room of Wonders and aspires to transform the hour of art history and image into a journey of discovery capable of combining disciplinary rigor, emotional participation and practical experimentation. The new course for secondary school published by Edizioni Scolastiche Bruno Mondadori - part of the Sanoma group - is authored by Pier Luigi Mulas, Stefano Maggi, Chiara Copes and Elena Bandini and aims to bring the work of art back to the center of the teaching experience.

The idea that runs through the entire manual is clear from the title: every work of art is a Wunderkammer, a room of wonders to be explored with attention and curiosity. Within the pages of the volume students are invited to immerse themselves in art through engaging narrative, full-page images, timely insights and continuous references to art-historical heritage and cultural history. The authors, armed with a solid academic background and consolidated teaching and publishing experience, build a path that combines expertise and passion, with the goal of igniting in children a spontaneous and enduring curiosity for art. The manual does not merely present content, but aims to provide a method.

Each Art History unit opens with a key work that introduces the relevant art-historical period. The full-page reproduction invites direct and in-depth observation, while the analysis explains the reasons for the choice and highlights three characteristic elements of the work itself. In this way, the masterpiece becomes a gateway to an entire cultural context.

The course insists on a fundamental question: how does one observe a work of art? It is not enough to just look. One must learn to dwell on details, to question formal elements, materials, composition, and symbolic meaning. Above all, it is necessary to broaden one’s gaze to the context in which the work originated, understanding the historical, social and cultural dynamics that determined its form and content.

The columns Seen Closely, Let’s Broaden Our Gaze and By Comparison accompany this process, offering different perspectives that allow us to get to the heart of the masterpieces. Every detail is treated as a clue, every detail as a fragment of a story. The work is not an image to be memorized, but a world to be explored.

The stated goal of the course is to inspire a love of art in the first place. According to the book’s authors, only after igniting interest and wonder is it possible to take a second, equally important step: questioning the protection and enhancement of heritage. At the end of each unit, the Know, Recover and Preserve tabs guide the discovery of sites of art-historical interest, tell stories of rescued masterpieces and describe great national and international museums. There is no lack of specific attention to the professionals involved in the conservation and protection of heritage, thus offering a concrete view of the skills and professions related to the art world.

The manual is also enriched by the videos Inside the Wonder made in collaboration with Roberto Celestri, an influencer followed by more than 600,000 people on Instagram. The videos accompany students to extraordinary places of Italian heritage: the decision to place digital content alongside paper reflects the desire to dialogue with contemporary communication codes without sacrificing depth of content.

Alongside heritage study and awareness, the course offers a third step: experiencing art firsthand. The workshop offerings are structured to be accessible to all and sundry, with readily available materials. The activities, guided step by step, allow for the development of visual language and technical skills, turning theory into practice. Of note is the space dedicated to the In Connection with Me workshops, which invite the expression of emotions and experiences through artistic language. The aesthetic experience is intertwined with the emotional dimension, offering students the opportunity to find in visual expression an authentic channel of communication.

The intent of the book is clear: to accompany girls and boys on a path that will make them conscious observers, heritage-conscious citizens and creative people capable of expressing themselves. In this sense, the metaphor of the room of wonders is not meant to be just a narrative device, but a statement of intent. Each masterpiece holds stories, techniques, symbols and questions. To enter it is to accept the challenge of complexity and be surprised.

The Room of Wonders, the new textbook to bring art to the center of the school

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.