The article identifies the key stages that have characterized the education reforms in Italy, starting from the nineteenth century school programs up to the recent regulations on Civic Education and heritage education. In the last twenty years, various reforms (Moratti 2003, Gelmini 2008, Buona Scuola 2015) have caused significant changes to curricular programs still in place nowadays, like the abolition of the fifth year exam in primary school, the compulsory internships during secondary school, the compulsory and permanent teacher training programs aimed at teachers still in service; until the 2019 law on Civic Education as a separate subject and included in the programs of all levels, the introduction of which took place in the academic year 2020/2021. Taking into consideration the teaching practices conducted in recent decades, the conclusion of the essay will focus on teacher training and teacher professionalism: persistence, aspirations and new horizons.
