Lina Schwarz | |
|---|---|
 Schwarz, 1920s | |
| Born | 20 March 1876 |
| Died | 24 November 1947 (aged 71) Arcisate, Italy |
| Occupation(s) | Writer, educator |
Lina Schwarz (20 March 1876 – 24 November 1947) was an Italian writer, educator, and pacifist. Born into a Jewish family living in Verona, she spent most of her life in Milan. As a result of participating in the women's rights movement in Italy, she became involved in helping disadvantaged children through civic works projects. Teaching children to read led to her becoming a well-known children's book author and a contributor to children's newspapers. She collaborated with musicians to set poems to music, recognizing the potential to increase learning through song. Many of the nursery rhymes known and recited by Italians were written by Schwarz. Although her poem "Stella, stellina, la notte si avvicina" ("Star, Little Star, The Night Approaches") is widely known in Italy, her authorship of it was lost after World War II ended.
Schwarz was a committed pacifist and participated in the 1921 Women's International League for Peace and Freedom Congress of Vienna. She was also one of the developers of anthroposophy in Italy, was one of the first Italian translators of Rudolf Steiner's work, and founded the first Steiner school in Italy. Through her work with women's groups, she introduced anthroposophy to girls' lyceums. Because of anti-Semitic policies adopted by the fascist government of Italy, her ability to publish and disseminate information about anthroposophy declined from 1933. In 1941, she moved from Milan to a farm in Arcisate which used the biodynamic agricultural methods advocated by Steiner. From 1943 to 1945, she fled to Switzerland. Returning to the farm, now operated by the Anthroposophical Society, she died in 1947. In 1963, the school in Arcisate was named in her honor. Her books have been republished in numerous editions and many of her poems are still performed by musicians.