Mario Montesano Montessori (1921-1993)

Mario Montesano Montessori died in Amsterdam on 25 February 1993. He was born in Barcelona on 22 April 1921, the second son of four children of an Italian father and an American mother. As the grandson of Maria Montessori, who became internationally known for her work in education, it is not surprising that he should have taken up psychology and, in due course, psychoanalysis.

Montessori once described his upbringing as 'international', owing to his father having been the personal assistant and general manager to his mother. This work entailed extensive travelling, international training courses, congresses, etc. in many countries, and the children went to school wherever they happened to be. At first, the family resided in Barcelona, but had to leave at the outbreak of the Spanish civil war because of their Italian nationality. Their subsequent move to Italy was none too happy, as Maria Montessori's views on liberal education met with strong hostility from the fascist regime. Chance circumstances took the family to the Netherlands, where Montessori resided from 1936, obtaining Dutch nationality in 1950.

An early desire to emigrate to Indonesia prompted him to take a degree in agriculture, but the Second World War brought his dreams of outdoor life to an abrupt end. He then joined the resistance movement, securing work at the same time in a psychological setting.

Having taken his M.A. in psychology in 1949, he started his training in psychoanalysis in 1950, continuing to work as a school psychologist. This did not prevent him from acting as his grandmother's secretary, as well as helping her to complete some scientific work she had undertaken in India.

Soon after graduating as a member of the Dutch Psychoanalytic Society in 1956 he took up his first administrative post as its secretary (1957-62). On achieving training analyst status, he was elected a member of the Education Committee and, in due course, its Vice-Chairman and Chairman (1965-69).

The 24th IPA Cong