Francesco Mandolini examines the feminist history of Maria Montessori's birthplace, Chiaravalle, Italy, and how it shaped her as an educator. In 1870, when Maria Montessori was born, Chiaravalle was a small town of fewer than 5,000 inhabitants. Founded by the Cistercian monks, in the 11th century, it had an abbey. Chiaravalle look like a lot of other towns in the Marche region, a quiet portion of central Italy, nestled between gentle green hills to the west and the Adriatic Sea to the east, with a population made up mostly of farmers and fishermen. However, the difference between Chiaravalle and those other Marche towns was the cultivation of tobacco, which led to the creation of the local tobacco manufactory, where women were employed as cigar-makers. Knowing the backstory of Chiaravalle gives an understanding why and how the environment in which Maria Montessori was born could be called prefeminist, and how much it would affect her views. Chiaravalle was a town where women thrived and not only had equal rights but, more often than not, earned more money than their male counterparts. This gave them leverage both inside the family and within the community, all thanks to the jobs offered by the tobacco manufactory the monks created.