A Study on Memory Sites Perception in Primary School for Promoting the Urban Sustainability Education: A Learning Module in Calabria (Southern Italy)

: This paper constitutes a study on representations of Risorgimento sites of memory in Calabria (southern Italy), analyzing the development of the perceptive skills of primary school children through a learning module. The initial hypothesis wants to demonstrate that some factors identiﬁed by the geographer Antoine Bailly inﬂuence the perception of children in relation to the single research topics that concern: The possibility to reach and to easily access memory sites and any barriers or di ﬃ culties encountered; the aesthetic and functional judgment and the most popular aspects of the sites of memory; the orientation skills during the journey from the school to the site of memory; the elaboration of a mental map. The learning module titled “The mental representation of the sites of memory of the Risorgimento” was carried out in the primary schools of three provincial capitals of Calabria (southern Italy): Catanzaro, Cosenza, and Crotone. Children in the direct and indirect observation of the geo-historic pathway of the Risorgimento sites of memory in Calabria show that they ﬁt well in the role of young geographers and investigators of the surrounding reality. Finally, this contribution aims to highlight the important relationship between the geography of perception and education for sustainability in schools starting from the sustainable development goals (SDGs).


Introduction
This contribution is the synthesis of research promoted within the Geography Laboratory of the Department of Culture, Education and Society of the University of Calabria, in collaboration with some Calabrian schools.
This work focuses on the study of sites of memory in Calabria and on the perception of them by a sample of schoolchildren. The historiographical concept of "site of memory," elaborated by Pierre Nora in the mid-eighties of the twentieth century indicates a physical and mental space that is characterized by being made up of material or purely symbolic elements, where a group, a community, or an entire society recognizes itself and its history through a strong link with the collective memory [1]. The research fits into the field of studies of didactics of geography, using the methodologies of geography of perception [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. Despite the theoretical arrest that the geography of perception seems to have undergone in recent years, the authors of this article believe that from a practical point of

Sites of Memory Subject to Geo-Historical Exploration in the Learning Module
The learning module entitled "The Mental Representation in Primary School Children in Calabria of Sites of Memory of the Risorgimento" (Appendix A, Table A1) was carried out in the context of the primary schools of three provincial capitals of Calabria: Catanzaro, Cosenza, and Crotone. This used the new assumptions of the geography of perception [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. The students, together with the group of teachers and researchers, travelled from the school of origin, visiting the sites of memory of the Risorgimento in the region. The direct observation on the perception of the "sites of memory" was carried out in the urban environments of Catanzaro, Cosenza, and Crotone. It was conducted by the researchers, by some post-grad dissertation writers in the degree course of Primary Education Sciences of University of Calabria and by a group of teachers, with the participation of the children.
Three schools were selected, one for each provincial capital. At Catanzaro, instead, from the "Galluppi" school, Villa Trieste and the monument to Francesco Stocco ( Figure 2) in Piazza Stocco (Stocco Square) were visited (Table 1). In Villa Trieste there are nine marble statues of illustrious nineteenth-century Catanzaro figures, philosophers, politicians, writers, mathematicians, who distinguished themselves for their lively cultural activity, especially in the second half of the century, all united by a common thread, their precious tribute to the formation of a United Italy, the Christian faith, and the desire for "an Italy united, without rhetoric" [44]. These are Francesco De Seta, Giuseppe Rossi, Bernardino Grimaldi, Antonio Greco, Eugenio De Riso, Diodato Borrelli, Andrea

Sites of Memory Subject to Geo-Historical Exploration in the Learning Module
The learning module entitled "The Mental Representation in Primary School Children in Calabria of Sites of Memory of the Risorgimento" (Appendix A, Table A1) was carried out in the context of the primary schools of three provincial capitals of Calabria: Catanzaro, Cosenza, and Crotone. This used the new assumptions of the geography of perception [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. The students, together with the group of teachers and researchers, travelled from the school of origin, visiting the sites of memory of the Risorgimento in the region. The direct observation on the perception of the "sites of memory" was carried out in the urban environments of Catanzaro, Cosenza, and Crotone. It was conducted by the researchers, by some post-grad dissertation writers in the degree course of Primary Education Sciences of University of Calabria and by a group of teachers, with the participation of the children.
Three schools were selected, one for each provincial capital. At Catanzaro, instead, from the "Galluppi" school, Villa Trieste and the monument to Francesco Stocco ( Figure 2) in Piazza Stocco (Stocco Square) were visited (Table 1). In Villa Trieste there are nine marble statues of illustrious nineteenth-century Catanzaro figures, philosophers, politicians, writers, mathematicians, who distinguished themselves for their lively cultural activity, especially in the second half of the century, all united by a common thread, their precious tribute to the formation of a United Italy, the Christian faith, and the desire for "an Italy united, without rhetoric" [44]. These are Francesco De Seta, Giuseppe Rossi, Bernardino Grimaldi, Antonio Greco, Eugenio De Riso, Diodato Borrelli, Andrea Cefaly, Luigi Grimaldi, and Francesco Fiorentino. The monument to Francesco Stocco, instead, is dedicated to an Italian patriot and general who played a decisive role in some battles of the Risorgimento in Calabria (e.g., the battle of Soveria Mannelli of 30 August 1860). The work sculpted in white Carrara marble uses a language strongly influenced by the Risorgimento rhetoric that marks the numerous commemorative monuments created in Calabria in the aftermath of the Unity, testifying to the non-secondary role played by the region in the process of the unification of Italy [45]. The monument is located in the square of the same name in the center of a road roundabout, therefore strongly subject to accessibility problems, as we will see in the next paragraphs, and also to the pollution of exhaust gases coming from road traffic.      (Table 1). The Statue of Liberty, located in Piazza XV Marzo is the work of sculptor Giuseppe Pacchioni from Bologna, captured and sentenced to life imprisonment after the failure of the Bandiera Brothers' expedition; subsequently the Bourbons, at the head of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, condoned the penalty. In 1878, Pacchioni sculpted the white marble statue depicting a free Italy [46].

The Phases of the Learning Module (LM)
The learning module (LM) was taught in two different phases: -In the first phase we administered an entry questionnaire in the classroom (Appendix A, Table  A2); at a later time, we submitted the children to an initial interview for the purpose of detecting Bailly's influential factors. - In the second phase, we analyzed the four research themes of the geography of perception, introduced in the LM, through direct observation and a final questionnaire (Appendix A, Tables  A1-A2).
The detection methods used are qualitative and "direct and aware" [55], that is, those detection systems and techniques specially designed to detect data on environmental perception; in this case, we have used single choice and open-question questionnaires, mental mapping, and verbal descriptions.
The subjects of the analysis are pupils of the fifth year of primary school (Cosenza and Crotone) The Palazzo del Governo was built between 1844 and 1847; on 15 March 1844, insurgents from Cosenza (Cosentinos) were killed in an attempt to knock down the gate, and in 1860, on August 31, General Giuseppe Garibaldi, a key figure of the Italian Risorgimento, stayed there after having spoken to the Cosentinos from the central balcony. At Palazzo Arnone, on the Triglio hill, the upper floor was the seat of the court and the lower one housed the district prison in which several Risorgimento patriots were held prisoners. The Bandiera Brothers' altar is the place where the Bandiera Brothers were shot, important figures of the Risorgimento because they organized an expedition against the Bourbon kingdom in Calabria, but were captured by the Bourbon police and sentenced to death. The "Broken Chain" monument, located on the hill overlooking the Vallone di Rovito shrine, was built in 1960 by the Hungarian artist Amerigo Tot; it represents a huge broken chain resting on a wide base and symbolizes the broken link between North and South of Italy and the end of the dream of the Unity of Italy, wrecked with the dramatic conclusion of the Bandiera Brothers' expedition in 1844 [46].
At Crotone, we went to visit the plaque for the Bandiera Brothers, the Palazzo Berlingieri, and the Palazzo Barracco, the Monument to the Bandiera Brothers ( Figure 4, Table 1).
The commemorative plaque to the Bandiera Brothers is located in Corso Vittorio Emanuele, above the former town hall, now the site of the historical archive. This plaque was strongly desired by the Nicola Sculco, from Crotone, so that a concrete recognition was conceived for the two martyrs who paid with their blood for that desire for freedom which then led to those celebrated pages of a united and independent Italy [47]. The Berlingieri palace is located in Piazza Santa Veneranda. The Berlingieri family was involved in the financing of the Garibaldi's enterprise; according to some scholars, the family donated 7000 ducats [47]. This palace also hosted, on 25 April 1806, King Giuseppe Bonaparte. Palazzo Barracco is located in Piazza Castello and passed into history for having hosted King Ferdinand II of Bourbon in 1833, who went to Crotone to visit the provinces of the kingdom. The palace is also remembered for the lively involvement of Baron Alfonso Barracco in the unitary cause; he donated, in fact, a sum of 10,000 ducats in favor of the Garibaldi's enterprise [47]. The monument to the Bandiera brothers is located in Bucchi (Crotone) near the mouth of the River Neto. The construction of the Sustainability 2019, 11, 6379 7 of 26 monument was entrusted to the architect Giorgio Volpato of Rome and the place where it is located is precisely the one in which Emilio and Attilio Bandiera landed on 16 June 1844 [41].

The Phases of the Learning Module (LM)
The learning module (LM) was taught in two different phases: - In the first phase we administered an entry questionnaire in the classroom (Appendix A, Table  A2); at a later time, we submitted the children to an initial interview for the purpose of detecting Bailly's influential factors. - In the second phase, we analyzed the four research themes of the geography of perception, introduced in the LM, through direct observation and a final questionnaire (Appendix A, Tables A1-A2).
The detection methods used are qualitative and "direct and aware" [55], that is, those detection systems and techniques specially designed to detect data on environmental perception; in this case, we have used single choice and open-question questionnaires, mental mapping, and verbal descriptions.
The subjects of the analysis are pupils of the fifth year of primary school (Cosenza and Crotone) and of the fourth year of primary school (Catanzaro).
The sample consisting of 83 subjects is "non-probabilistic," "reasoned-choice." In fact, it was necessary to have diversified sampling units: subjects of the fourth and fifth year of primary school (in terms of age), males and females (as regards sex), citizens of three different provincial capitals (as These memorial sites, monuments, tombstones, commemorative plaques, palaces, etc., have been selected as considered by the authors and by various scholars [44,[47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54] as among the most significant and representative of the heroic actions of characters and symbolic events that have characterized the process of national unification in Calabria.

The Phases of the Learning Module (LM)
The learning module (LM) was taught in two different phases:

-
In the first phase we administered an entry questionnaire in the classroom (Appendix A, Table A2); at a later time, we submitted the children to an initial interview for the purpose of detecting Bailly's influential factors. - In the second phase, we analyzed the four research themes of the geography of perception, introduced in the LM, through direct observation and a final questionnaire (Appendix A, Tables A1 and A2).
The detection methods used are qualitative and "direct and aware" [55], that is, those detection systems and techniques specially designed to detect data on environmental perception; in this case, we have used single choice and open-question questionnaires, mental mapping, and verbal descriptions.
The subjects of the analysis are pupils of the fifth year of primary school (Cosenza and Crotone) and of the fourth year of primary school (Catanzaro).
The sample consisting of 83 subjects is "non-probabilistic," "reasoned-choice." In fact, it was necessary to have diversified sampling units: subjects of the fourth and fifth year of primary school (in terms of age), males and females (as regards sex), citizens of three different provincial capitals (as regards the area of residence). There were 39 males in all and 44 females; the girls and the boys of the fourth-year primary (Catanzaro) were 9 years old at the time; the girls and the boys of the fifth-year (Crotone and Cosenza) were 10. For this learning module the children of the primary school, fourth and fifth classes were chosen, first of all to let them know this historical period and about the Unification of Italy (1861-2011) which was celebrating its 150th anniversary at about that time; the Risorgimento is studied starting from the lower secondary school in Italy and has been excluded from the primary school curriculum; another reason is related to our interest in studying the spatial perception of children of this age and their approach to the urban environment.
Examining the perception that some groups of primary school children have concerning monuments, sites, and symbolic places of the Risorgimento is the fundamental goal of the research. Therefore, the "micro perception" [55], i.e., the "elementary" reference of the environmental subjective elaboration, as a laboratory analysis, in this case in the classroom, on the knowledge that children construct, observing the routes on Google Maps ( Figure 1). The "macro perception" [55], however, concerns the impression that they have gained having experienced the real routes in the region, in the urban environment of three provincial capitals of Calabria: Cosenza, Catanzaro, and Crotone.
The didactic experimentation, at the initial stage, involves a questionnaire to be administered to primary school children in order to evaluate the pupils' knowledge of the historical process, places, and characters that affect the period of the Unification of Italy. Subsequently, the experimentation continues with some classroom lessons on the subject, including the use of didactic materials: a sheet summarizing the historical period of the Risorgimento and some geographic maps to help children understand the geographical division and politics of pre-unitary Italy, by identifying the different states within the Italian geographical region, through use of different colors (Appendix B, Figure A1). At this stage, direct and indirect sources are used: An interview with children, the aim of which is to detect the Bailly factors that render the perceived territory different from subject to subject; field research. The field research consists of documents such as maps drawn by the children, but also the compilation of single-choice and open response questionnaires [56,57]. The answers to the open questions were then elaborated, executing a thematic analysis [58] to get a complete picture of the perceptions and knowledge of the children, reporting, then, a summary of the various positions in the context of every research topic. A similar line of research was adopted by Silvia Lovigi, a primary school teacher, who conducted a study on 64 primary school children. This was designed to analyze the perception of their neighborhood and the city of Padua in light of some of the features hypothesized as influential [13,59].

The Research Questions and the Hypothesis
The following research questions in the context of the geography of perception were analyzed: (1) The possibility to reach and easily access memory sites and any barriers-difficulties encountered; this research question refers to the possibility of subjects being able to freely use the sites of memory and any barriers found that may preclude this or make access to them more difficult. (2) The aesthetic and functional judgment and the most popular aspects of the sites of memory; this research question refers to the aesthetic and functional judgment that each child has built in his or her own mind using the sites of memory. In addition to influencing the behavior of the child, it could be particularly useful in the area of participatory planning of the territory in order to plan a more sustainable urban environment for its inhabitants. (3) The orientation skills during the journey from the school to the site of memory [39][40][41][42], defined by Giovanna Axia as "a cognitive process in which the mind constructs and uses more or less complex reference systems to link the points in space" [60]; this research question, therefore, refers to the ability to orientate oneself in the environmental space, a skill strictly dependent on the detected mental image. Furthermore, in the context of this research question the emotional-affective link with the places travelled across during the journey was also investigated (Appendix A, Table A2). (4) The elaboration of a mental map [61] of the pathway from school to site of memory. This research question coincides with the technique that allows us to derive the way in which children codify and organize visual-spatial environmental information; it eliminates the problem of the linguistic ability of the subjects, but introduces the one constituted by their graphic capacity. The final products, in fact, are the synthesis between the ability to master the representative medium more or less well and the actual visual-spatial knowledge of the considered environment.
The first two research topics were investigated through a questionnaire with some open-ended questions administered immediately after the school outing. For the third research topic the way finding technique was used through the drawing of mental maps; this technique is particularly used in the analysis of the orientation behavior and varies according to age and conditions (familiarity with the environment, modality of experiencing it, etc.,) of the subjects analyzed. The emotional-affective For the last research topic, as we have just written, the mental maps technique was used, drawing the route from the school to the sites of memory visited during the school outing (Appendix A, Table A1).
The hypothesis that led the analysis of the results obtained in the various research themes was the influence of the factors identified by the French geographer Antoine Bailly [4], which make the perceived territory different from subject to subject. These factors are sensory factors, biological factors, environmental factors, cultural factors, psychological factors, and socio-economic factors [41,42].

The Mental Representation of the Sites of Memory of Catanzaro, Cosenza and Crotone (Southern Italy): Direct and Indirect Observation and Qualitative Research on the First Three Research Topics
By analyzing from the outset the various phases of the LM, starting from the administration of the starting questionnaire, most children showed little knowledge of the concept of "site of memory," while they seemed to know something more about the Risorgimento period. However, this is a somewhat superficial knowledge.
During the trip, the pupils were repeatedly requested to pay attention to the path taken in order to memorize it and to set in their minds some landmarks, for the subsequent drawing of mental maps. Before leaving for these sites, the pupils looked at some maps of the route on Google Maps. During the outing, pupils were involved in tracking the coordinates of each visited site via a GPS device (Appendix B, Figure A2). After returning to the classroom, the open answer questionnaire was administered to the pupils with some specific questions about the places visited to review the abovementioned research topics. Each of these themes was influenced by the Bailly factors. Each pupil then located the places visited on the map of the route, writing the names and coordinates detected using the GPS device.
As for the first question about the possibility of freely investigating the sites or if there are any "barriers," for the students of Cosenza the answer was unanimous. The opinion was unambiguous in stating that the places visited are easily accessible both on foot and by a means of transport and that there are no "barriers" that prevent them from visiting these sites freely.
The children of the "Galluppi" school of Catanzaro, however, found a significant difference in accessibility between the first route, from school to the monument to Francesco Stocco and the second, from school to Villa Trieste. The pupils were agreed in stating that walking up to Piazza Stocco is not easy because of the lack of pedestrian areas. In fact, many children claimed that there are cars that hinder the walk. On the other hand, even by car it is difficult to admire the monument to Stocco as it is situated at the center of a road roundabout, where traffic jams are always created [42] (Figure 2).
At Crotone, everyone agreed that these sites of memory are easily accessible, as there are no "barriers-difficulties," also showing the desire to specify that some are more easily accessible on foot (given the narrow lanes) and others need, instead, a means of transport (e.g., the Monument to the Bandiera Brothers). Therefore, environmental factors have influenced the perception of the children in relation to the first research topic ( Table 2). As for the second question concerning the aesthetic and functional judgment of the visited sites, an analysis of the results of the Cosenza school revealed a positive opinion of the "sites of memory," emphasizing that despite the passing of time, they are still well preserved. In particular, the Vallone di Rovito (Valley of Rovito) (Figure 3) is described as a pleasant place because of the presence of a playground for children. In this regard, a child was questioning why, in a place where the Bandiera Brothers had been shot, and therefore connected to a sad memory, there was a playground, which is a place synonymous with cheerfulness and carefree times. The influence of psychological factors is evident; in fact, visiting the cells of the old prison in Palazzo Arnone, pupils refer to childhood memories, experiences with parents, grandparents, as well as references to films seen on television. And then, there is a curious reference to a cartoon, "Beauty and the Beast" (Walt Disney, 1991), associated with the landscape of the Vallone di Rovito. The students from Cosenza were impressed by the "cleanliness" of the monuments and in particular the white marble with which the Statue of Liberty is built at Piazza XV Marzo. Therefore, psychological factors have influenced the perception of children in relation to the second research topic (Table 2).
From the analysis of the results from Catanzaro, there is an expression of satisfaction in most of the responses regarding Villa Trieste, while the excursion to the monument to Francesco Stocco ( Figure 2) was not considered very pleasant. In fact, the Villa is described as wonderful for the presence of the busts of the illustrious people of the city of Catanzaro, but also for the presence of a playground for children and a pond with ducks, goslings, and small birds. On the contrary, Piazza Stocco is judged as "not very nice" by the children because of the lack of opportunity to roam around the place freely because of the lack of pedestrian areas. In Catanzaro, when they entered Villa Trieste, the children began to say that they had already visited the Villa with their families. Indeed, Gianluca writes: "When I went to the Villa, I remembered when I went with my cousin and played with remote controlled cars" [42]. The psychological and environmental factors, therefore, have influenced the perception of the children of Catanzaro in relation to the second research topic (Table 2).
At Crotone, almost everyone also agreed to give a positive aesthetic judgment to the various places visited, which, despite the wear and tear, the children said are still in good condition and are "well cared for." As far as the aspects that they enjoyed the most, in particular, it is worth noting the response of a child who said: "I liked the whole route to reach these places, characterized by narrow alleys and curves with the stone pavements." Since most children had never visited these places or simply had passed by them while "going to the sea" or "going to the church," there is little influence on the psychological factors, unlike their Cosenza and Catanzaro peers who had already visited the sites of memory of their own city, with the presence of at least one adult. For this reason, environmental factors, in this case the place of residence have influenced the mental representation of the Crotone children (Table 2).
Considering the usability and ease of orientation, during the trip the children of Cosenza and Catanzaro used places near and dear to them as reference points, such as the office where their parents work. So, these are their psychological landmarks that refer to direct experience and personal interests because of the cognitive egocentrism that leads them to the inability to use different perspectives from their own [13,62]. On the other hand, some environmental factors are considered influential in the orientation (Table 2), such as the way the route is used (controlled use, whether used with adults, and free), assuming a continuum that ranges from a minimum to a maximum of freedom, and the type of environment in which it is located, that is, the residential area, finding a different spatial perception among those who lived in the center and who lived in the neighborhoods outside the city center [13]. During the outings on the territory, both in Cosenza and in Catanzaro, it was clear that those who lived in the city center already knew the way to the "sites of memory." Therefore, an appreciable way finding [63] was revealed. In other words, this means to have in mind the representation, the image of space, or even more simply the "ability to find the right path to reach a goal" [64]. In addition, from the answers to the questionnaires, it is clear that the use of such sites was undertaken in a controlled way, that is, with the presence of an adult, who in most cases was a family member.
At Crotone, during the course of the journey, we notice, especially in the drawing of mental maps that children have taken as reference points landmarks which are familiar to them, such as the church, supermarket, tobacconist, petrol station; these are the psychological landmarks [63], which refer to the direct experience and personal interests of the subjects, because of cognitive self-centeredness [62]. In addition, from the answers to the questionnaires, it is clear that the use of such places, for a few children, was undertaken in a controlled way, that is, with the presence of an adult, who in most cases was a family member given the distance from the home or the school to the location of sites of memory in the city. Most of the children had never visited these sites of memory before going to school, living in neighboring places, and not in the city like, instead, the children of Cosenza and Catanzaro. This has certainly influenced the children's way finding (Table 2). Therefore, even for this research topic, environmental factors are considered to be influential, along with psychological ones ( Table 2). Age is also thought to be influential because of it is closely related to an orientation capacity that should lead the subject to the transition from an egocentric reference to an allocentric one [60].

The Mental Maps and Reference Systems
Finally, we wanted to analyze the development of spatial perception considering the mental maps drawn by the children. There are several classes of mental maps identified on the basis of different levels of cognitive mapping [59,60,65]. Thus, five classes have been identified, each different from the others in terms of elements shown (layout, number, and type), because of the vastness of the represented environment and the perspective used. The "first class" maps ( Figure 5) are characterized by a low level of spatial environmental knowledge (first stage of the cognitive mapping process). The lack of a reference system and a mastery of only the topological space, or rather of the geometric relationships within the same configuration or element, makes them poor in content. The few elements present are scattered according to personal logic and along the "whichever way serpentines", a weak signal of progression toward the second stage. The most widely used perspective is the "frontal" one. The most depicted urban object is their own school, the first point of reference in the representation of the path [13,59]. The maps of the second class ( Figure 6) are representative of the egocentric reference system used, based on the position of one's body and on the memory of actions performed in the environment [60]. These drawings thus demonstrate a knowledge of the path linked to the possibility of being able to move in it; the inserted elements are aligned along correct paths from the point of view of the projective space (according to a specific point of view), but inaccurate from the Euclidean point of view. In these maps there are numerous turning points, or so-called functional landmarks (bridges, roundabouts, etc.), salient from a motor point of view because they are mandatory for stopping or changes in speed and direction. Moreover, numerous psychological landmarks remain because of cognitive self-centeredness that leads to the inability to know how to consider different perspectives from one's own. For this class too the most used perspective is the "frontal" one [13,59]. The third class (Figure 7) is indicative of a mixed reference system, because of the passage from the egocentric system to the allocentric one, based on the relations of the Euclidean space, i.e., on the actual reciprocal position of the objects. The transition from frontal to vertical perspective and, therefore, the need to coordinate the different points of view together leads the child to the use of curious compromises of perspective. The fourth class (Figure 8) is characterized by the consolidation of the allocentric reference system limited to the most known areas. The landmarks, functional but also perceptive, that is sensorially salient so that they can be easily memorized, are thus grouped in areas connected by paths, the last legacies of the egocentric system. These well-known and element-rich "islands" stand out in an unknown environment, so quantitatively empty [66]. The perspective from the above stabilizes and the size of the representation is medium-large. The fifth class ( Figure 9) groups objectively correct maps from the Euclidean point of view, product of a fifth stage cognitive mapping ability that makes the same graphic traits more geometric. The consolidation of the allocentric reference system is visible in the inserted perceptive landmarks, objectively useful for guidance purposes. The children thus manage to decentralize themselves, showing not only what they consider important, but also what they believe may be of interest to their interlocutor [13]. 10). Third-class maps were mostly designed by pupils from Crotone (Figure 7), while those of Cosenza and Catanzaro were more or less equivalent (8% and 9% respectively) ( Figure 10).
Age, despite the fact that there was only one year of difference with those of Catanzaro, certainly influenced the development of the mental map. This adheres to the Siegel and White model [11], which shows how the development of environmental knowledge follows a progressive evolution over the years.      elements: medium to high. Range of representation: medium-wide. Perspective: From the top-"Island map" with vides. The map shows the path from the school to the street "Vittorio Emanuele", where the Plaque for the Bandiera Brothers is located. Among the places encountered, the pupils have detected a church, a tobacconist, a supermarket (CRAI), the cemetery, the Neto river, the Rocca Di Neto Municipality, various commercial activities (MD, Auchan, Expert), the station and a crossroad. Source: Authors.  The most advanced maps were drawn by the children of Cosenza and Crotone. In fact, the maps designed by the children of Cosenza and Crotone range from the first to the fifth class (Figures 5 and 7-9), while those developed by the children of Catanzaro go from the first to the third ( Figure 6).
The collected data confirm the inability of pupils from Catanzaro to draw maps of the fourth and fifth class, while a high percentage drew first and second-class maps (65% and 26% respectively) ( Figures 5 and 10). Few, however, have drawn maps of the third class (9%). Pupils from Crotone were the ones who drew the largest number of maps of the fifth class (27%) (Figures 9 and 10), while the pupils from Cosenza drew more fourth-class maps than their Crotone peers. Nonetheless, both in Cosenza and Crotone, a good percentage of students also drew maps of the first and second classes ( Figure 5) (Cosenza, respectively, 50% and 19%, while Crotone 33% and 20% respectively) ( Figure 10). Third-class maps were mostly designed by pupils from Crotone (Figure 7), while those of Cosenza and Catanzaro were more or less equivalent (8% and 9% respectively) ( Figure 10).
Age, despite the fact that there was only one year of difference with those of Catanzaro, certainly influenced the development of the mental map. This adheres to the Siegel and White model [11], which shows how the development of environmental knowledge follows a progressive evolution over the years.

Results Analysis
By analyzing the results, starting from the entry questionnaire, the little knowledge of the concept of "site of memory" and the superficial knowledge of Risorgimento period is due to the fact that this historical period is not part of the ministerial programme for primary school. Furthermore, families and parents did not pass on to children, at least in the case studies analyzed in this paper, specific knowledge on the subject and, therefore, the children's knowledge is the result of a personal cultural baggage transmitted by classroom teachers only at the occasion of the centenary of the Unification of Italy. Therefore, we realized, together with the research team and the teachers, that these concepts had to be reasserted and understood, and above all, to make children aware of the importance of the artistic and monumental heritage of Calabria and the true meaning of "site of memory" in the Risorgimento context.
Through the viewing of slides, the concepts were made more "accessible," offering a detailed summary of the Risorgimento period and the importance of the role played by Calabria and the Calabrian patriots in the process of Italian unification. Straightaway, there was positive feedback from the pupils who showed themselves to be enthusiastic in tackling this issue, ready to work and excited at the idea of going to look directly at the sites of memory that had been spoken of during the lesson.
The school outing came about in a spontaneous manner, we had only to remind the pupils the importance of memorizing reference points for the processing of mental maps. The feedback was very positive: The children were enthusiastic about observing all those places and at the same time amazed to think that the same places had been, some years ago, a theatre of important historical events. They were passionately involved in their "work;" marking the coordinates (Appendix B, Figure B2), observing the sites, memorizing the details, taking on the role of accurate observers.
The enthusiasm as a result of the outing was effectively seen in the responses to the starting questionnaire which was administered once again, showing that the previous gaps had been filled, as well as in the final questionnaire, characterized by open response questions that allowed the children to express themselves with greater freedom and to give their personal opinions.
Analyzing the mental maps ( Figures 5-9) it can be seen that the children have drawn some simple and rough maps and other more complete and correct maps. In working on these maps, we were amazed at the meticulousness and precision the pupils used to make the drawing as close to reality as possible.
It is therefore confirmed that the age variable influences the mental representation of children and that cognitive mapping is a staged process that evolves over the years, following the Siegel and White model [11].

Results Analysis
By analyzing the results, starting from the entry questionnaire, the little knowledge of the concept of "site of memory" and the superficial knowledge of Risorgimento period is due to the fact that this historical period is not part of the ministerial programme for primary school. Furthermore, families and parents did not pass on to children, at least in the case studies analyzed in this paper, specific knowledge on the subject and, therefore, the children's knowledge is the result of a personal cultural baggage transmitted by classroom teachers only at the occasion of the centenary of the Unification of Italy. Therefore, we realized, together with the research team and the teachers, that these concepts had to be reasserted and understood, and above all, to make children aware of the importance of the artistic and monumental heritage of Calabria and the true meaning of "site of memory" in the Risorgimento context.
Through the viewing of slides, the concepts were made more "accessible," offering a detailed summary of the Risorgimento period and the importance of the role played by Calabria and the Calabrian patriots in the process of Italian unification. Straightaway, there was positive feedback from the pupils who showed themselves to be enthusiastic in tackling this issue, ready to work and excited at the idea of going to look directly at the sites of memory that had been spoken of during the lesson.
The school outing came about in a spontaneous manner, we had only to remind the pupils the importance of memorizing reference points for the processing of mental maps. The feedback was very positive: The children were enthusiastic about observing all those places and at the same time amazed to think that the same places had been, some years ago, a theatre of important historical events. They were passionately involved in their "work;" marking the coordinates (Appendix B, Figure A2), observing the sites, memorizing the details, taking on the role of accurate observers.
The enthusiasm as a result of the outing was effectively seen in the responses to the starting questionnaire which was administered once again, showing that the previous gaps had been filled, as well as in the final questionnaire, characterized by open response questions that allowed the children to express themselves with greater freedom and to give their personal opinions.
Analyzing the mental maps ( Figures 5-9) it can be seen that the children have drawn some simple and rough maps and other more complete and correct maps. In working on these maps, we were amazed at the meticulousness and precision the pupils used to make the drawing as close to reality as possible.
It is therefore confirmed that the age variable influences the mental representation of children and that cognitive mapping is a staged process that evolves over the years, following the Siegel and White model [11].
Analyzing the results of all the research topics, the initial hypothesis inherent to the influence of Bailly factors has been demonstrated exhaustively. In fact, the factors and variables that influenced the process of mental representation of the children were the following: Psychological factors (the emotional-affective connection with sites, especially in the cases of Cosenza and Catanzaro), biological factors (the age, relevant mainly in the analysis of mental maps), cultural factors (the level of education, especially for the poor knowledge of the Risorgimento period), environmental factors (the type of use and place of residence).
The problems the children of Catanzaro encountered of accessibility to the monument to Stocco demonstrates that the dimensions, the shapes, the distribution of the objects in space must be considered and rethought in relation to the possibility that the boys and girls have to live it and to experience it.
Summarizing, it can be stated that the learning objectives initially set have been fully achieved. The experience has been effective and constructive and has confirmed that children, taken outside the school walls, learn more easily and with interest, showing that they are observant observers and fit well in the role of young investigators of the surrounding reality.
Children in this study were curious and full of questions, despite their age, they showed a profound reflection ability that was well suited to the realization of this project; reviving the Risorgimento period and the actions of the Calabrian patriots.
Therefore, this research is inserted in the long tradition dedicated, as we have seen, to the teaching of geography and to the studies of geography of perception and environmental psychology that deal in particular with the perception of space by children. Children are "creators of places," understood as the result of those emotional and symbolic relationships that they experience within the spaces they inhabit daily or that they know. This also shows the importance of the everyday geography as an object of study, of what Philo defined as "the quite marginal, peripheral, meaningful bits and pieces of human life" [67].
Including new subjects such as children and dealing with the mechanisms by which these subjects build their own personal geographies [67] is a fundamental research field in contemporary cultural geography [68].

The Importance of the Relationship between Geography of Perception and Sustainability Education: Some Research Implications and Reflections
Analyzing the behavior of the individual in the light of the image he has of the environment, it is inevitable that some implications connected to the theme of urban sustainability are identified. In fact, for example, the analysis of the aesthetic and functional judgment could be particularly useful in the context of participatory planning of the territory with the involvement of children in order to plan a more sustainable urban environment for those who live there. The aesthetic beauty and care of places, their accessibility, orientation in urban space by children are important indicators of the state of health of the urban ecosystem. Through a bottom-up approach [69][70][71], rather than top-down, that is, listening to the opinions that residents have of the territory in which they live, urban planners and local policy-makers could plan the territory taking into account, above all, the direct experience of the environment by the citizens. On this basis, in recent years the participatory planning approach has developed. The key recommendations of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) [72] place great emphasis on promoting bottom-up initiatives to address the challenges of sustainable development [73]. They are based on the conviction that citizens and, therefore, also children must be the first to be involved in the planning of a city, as direct users of that environment. This, in particular, concerns some current cities which, as Lamedica [74] points out, lack the characteristic of sustainability. Contemporary cities are sick, alienating and their spaces are always less healthy, less beautiful, less secure. Excessive traffic, excessive pollution, dirt, unpleasantness, discomfort, and social danger are factors that ruin them, increasing the anxiety and stress of their inhabitants [75]. A more evident unsustainability can be seen if we examine the situation of the weakest and most vulnerable citizens, such as, in fact, the disabled, the elderly and the children. Above all, children seem increasingly deprived of those precious experiences of free use of the road, which have always been informally moments of education and recognized as a right by the most important International Charters [76][77][78][79][80][81]. The urban environment should also be able to positively stimulate our ability to perceive space; it should be interesting and full of external sensory stimuli. Often, instead, it happens that the urban environment presents itself as amorphous, or even negative, strongly influencing our way of being, our behavior. A sustainable city, therefore, not only must be more liveable for its inhabitants, but also more pleasant, interesting, harmonious, and must instill well-being and positivity [59]. It is necessary to recover the ability to see and educate people about the street and to public space, rediscovering the pleasantness of the path and the city, favoring the richness of the external sensorial stimuli, the creative and multiple use of urban places and guaranteeing the safety of citizens [74]. In short, according to participatory planning with children, only environmental policies that intend to improve the lives of children in the city will be able to guarantee benefits also for adults. This explains the importance of the geography of perception, which can offer interesting contributions to improve the urban sustainability.
Geography of perception proposes the educational challenge that of entering the educational path of individuals in a new epistemological perspective that sees the subject who observes, lives, and acts on reality as the protagonist of knowledge [82]. Education is explicitly formulated as a stand-alone goal-Sustainable Development Goal 4-according to which obtaining a quality education is the foundation to creating sustainable development [72]. But educating for sustainability also means educating to orientation. Educating to orientation implies the development of a particular type of intelligence; what Gardner calls spatial intelligence [83], such as perception, production and design, applying its potential in everyday life, interpreting reality, designing actions and transformations of places. Furthermore, since childhood, our actions are placed in space, in a continuous relationship of recursivity and mutual influence. A development of children's spatial intelligence allows them to be able to observe their surroundings, obtain information and meanings, move and calibrate their choices in a logic of strengthening, sustainability and safeguarding the territory [82]. Geographical education in schools must start from these assumptions. Moving in complexity, accepting reality and knowing how to act intentionally in it requires a high capacity to perceive, analyze and re-elaborate the information the external world provides us with.

Conclusions
Analyzing the results, we were able to see how the psychological and environmental factors were the Bailly variables that most influenced the perception of children in relation to the research topics considered in the geography of perception.
In reading the mental maps we have found that there are more approximate and more complete and correct maps, drawn by the children, subdivided, then, following the model of Siegel and White, into classes of mental maps [11]. The incompleteness of some maps is strictly connected to the role and meaning that the subject attributes to the information perceived. Indeed, information may appear in the mental map not only because it is decisive for the spatial behavior of the individual, but also because it is considered important from a subjective and psychological point of view. In light of this, other information objectively useful for guidance purposes may be omitted if it is not considered relevant to the subject. This meaning attributed to information is also the cause of the distortion of different mental maps. In fact, they mainly concern the concepts of "distance" and "direction" and depend very much on the degree of emotional involvement of the individual; the more familiar the object in question is, the more it distorts the distortion due to psychological effects and cognitive egocentrism. This explains the presence of the numerous psychological landmarks in different mental maps drawn by the students, especially from Catanzaro and Cosenza. Instead, the children from the school in the province of Crotone, who were those who had never visited the sites of memory with their relatives before leaving school, designed the largest number of fifth-class maps, the most advanced with presence of perceptual landmarks. Therefore, environmental factors, together with psychological factors, have influenced the mental representation of children. In addition, biological factors, especially age, have also influenced the level of mental map and mental mapping. The children of Crotone and Cosenza (aged 10) drew more advanced maps than the students of Catanzaro (aged 9), whose highest level was the third class of mental map.
Cultural factors have also influenced the perception of children who do not know the Risorgimento due to the absence in the programmes of the primary school of history of the study of this historical period [84].
Finally, we have seen through the completion of this learning module how the study of the geography of perception and lived space is a research area that is also one of the fundamental steps of geographical education. In this context, education to build the capacities of children has become a key instrument for attaining the SDGs [72]. Looking at the route on maps taken from Google Maps (Figure 1) in advance and then experiencing soon afterward the spatial experience made up of concrete places, limits, and rules allowed the children to develop their ability to see, select, establish an order of importance, to make a synthesis in the complexity of the space lived in the places and finally to express themselves graphically, to communicate and produce geospatial knowledge.
Children bring the richness of a more divergent line of thought than the adult one. Their more direct, spontaneous, and unconventional use of the environment means that every place they propose has the characteristics of flexibility, uselessness, and of non-preordering. Creating a "city for children" means responding to the moral duty of making it more accessible, more viable, more sustainable, more useful for all citizens [74].
It is therefore necessary to have an inclusive approach that involves the teaching of geography and humanistic geography to offer new insights and reflections, for example, on the emerging global issues of citizenship, see, e.g., [85], multiculturalism and STEAM interdisciplinary approaches (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) see, e.g., [86,87], spatial data and geography learning [88,89], sustainability and of the relationship with climate change, see, e.g., [90]. Funding: This research received no external funding.  [41,42,46].

Title of the LM
The Mental Representation in Primary School Children in Calabria of Sites of Memory of the Risorgimento

Pupils involved
Primary school classes of years IV and V of the three provincial capitals of Calabria: Cosenza, Catanzaro, Crotone.

Subjects involved
History and Geography Time 6 months (total time needed to carry out the LM in the three schools of the selected provincial capitals)

Spaces necessary and material needed
Inside the School: Classroom, School Building. Outside the school: monuments, buildings, symbolic sites of the Unification of Italy.

Main theme
The knowledge of the sites of memory relating to the Risorgimento period, the historical process that led to independence and national unification, the illustrious Italian figures and above all the Calabrian people who lived in that period and contributed to this process.

Unit Objective
Learning to interact with peers, communicate with a specific code, orient oneself in space, especially in the context of the city, to develop a critical sense through direct and indirect observation.

Specific learning objectives
Know the meaning of "site of memory" and the main aspects of the Risorgimento; to recognize and distinguish the sites of memory, to orient oneself in the urban environment, to take advantage of the places considering their figurability, to assess accessibility.

Skills to evaluate
Know how to use specific terms, master empirical knowledge and knowledge acquired during didactic proposals, know how to orient oneself in space.

Learning Pathway
Interview and starting questionnaire to evaluate the initial knowledge of students on places, characters and historical process of Unification of Italy.
-Teaching lessons on the subject and delivery of teaching materials: PowerPoint slides to illustrate the historical period of the Risorgimento and the most significant moments in the local context, through the use of the interactive whiteboard (IWB); geographic maps to help the children understand the geographical and political division of pre-unitary Italy and to identify the different states within the Italian geographical region by using different colors; blank map of United Italy with the task of children writing the names of the various regions, highlighting those with special status.
-Micro Perception: previewing the map of the intended visit using Google Maps.
-Macro perception: Going into the territory and visiting the sites of memory in the urban context, starting from the pupils' school.
-Verification through a final questionnaire; elaboration of the mental map of the school-memory trip. Identifying sites of memory locations and geographic coordinates detected on the territory on a paper map of the city downloaded from Google Maps.

Student production
Realization of mental maps of the school-sites of memory route; multiple-choice and open response questionnaires, at the start and at the end of the project.

Assessment and evaluation Methods
Questionnaires, verbal descriptions, mental maps

Teaching Methodology
Teaching lessons, discovery learning during the educational trip