A stone on the wall. Collective and public memory of an eclectic primary school teacher

Within the recent research field represented by the perspective of school memories in its various declinations, the present contribution intends to focus on the theme of public buildings named after figures in the educational and scholarly field as a space and instrument of public and collective memory, in order to identify, on the one hand, what reasons and representations guided the ruling class in choosing them, on the other what identity of teaching profession is transmitted through such commemorative plaques. Particularly, it will be considered a case study consisting of the naming of a municipal library in Bologna after Cesare Malservisi (1935-2005), a figure of primary school teacher between the 60’s and the 80’s, well-known in the city for his multifaceted activities. Indeed, Malservisi was also a librarian, a scholar of folk traditions and folk culture and a singer-songwriter.