Corsivo and scrittura mista, or cursive and mixed writing, are handwriting instruction models that are described in educational guidelines published by the Dipartimento dell’educazione, della cultura e dello sport (DECS), or Department of Education, Culture and Sport. They are specified in a 2024 report, Non è solo una questione di carattere, written by occupational therapist Lietta Santinelli, and school inspectors Ariano Belli and Michele Tamagni. The document is based on practices and research developed from the early aughts onwards, and does not enumerate any typefaces, relying instead on detailing styles.
According to the guidelines, students must be introduced to stampatello maiuscolo, or uppercase print in Kindergarten, followed by stampatello minuscolo, or lowercase print. The shift to corsivo, or cursive, happens in the first grade. Students continue to build fluency over the next couple of years, and scrittura mista, or mixed writing, which is a combination of print uppercase and cursive lowercase, develops naturally. Cursive uppercase is not taught.
In this model, uppercase letters are disconnected and feature simple shapes. Cursive lowercase letters are built on round foundational forms and have smooth connections and tall ascenders. There are no connecting strokes between upper and lowercase. Distinctive letter shapes include the open “p” and “f” without a lower loop.
