Catherine has been campaigning to raise awareness about the importance of early years education and Reggio Emilia was chosen as the destination for this trip because of the city’s support for children’s first years.
This could be the first in a series of international visits to places which have developed their own approaches to helping children in their early years.
“She wants to look at other models around the world and really create a global conversation,” said the aide to the princess.
At the Loris Malaguzzi International Centre, the princess met educators who told her more about the Reggio Emilia approach, with its emphasis on children’s relationships and learning through play.
“I have learnt so much. It has been really inspiring,” the princess said to staff. She also tried out her Italian language skills on some of the children, having learned some Italian during a gap year in Florence after leaving school.
Catherine was also shown another of Reggio Emilia’s claims to fame – as the birthplace of Italy’s red, white and green flag, when she visited the Sala del Tricolore in the town hall.
It echoed the French revolutionary tricolour – and the city’s education project has its roots in a traditionally left-wing part of Italy.
The square where she carried out her walkabout, the Piazza Camillo Prampolini, was named after a Socialist mayor and newspaper editor who had been persecuted by Fascists.
The thousands of well-wishers in the piazza were the first overseas crowds she will have seen since visiting Boston with her husband Prince William in December 2022.
Since then she faced a cancer diagnosis and has talked about the good days and bad days of her treatment. She revealed that she was in remission in January 2025.
