Kate goes back to nature as Princess of Wales enjoys great outdoors (and pasta) on second day of her Italian trip

The Princess of Wales is visiting children learning in the great Italian outdoors today on the second leg of her tour.

Catherine has charmed Italians with her easy style and speaking their language learnt from her gap year days as a young woman.

Today she is continuing her visit to Reggio Emilia, a northern city famed for its pioneering approach to early years education.

She is seeing for herself how youngsters use nature-based learning at the Salvador Allende Scuola dell’infanzia school for under sixes.

The school places particular emphasis on outdoor learning and environmental education.

Italians following the ‘Reggio Emilia Approach’ to young education consider the natural environment as ‘the third teacher’.

In a nod to her hosts, the princess was wearing Italian fashion: a blazer by Blaize Milano and a bracelet from Atelier Molayem, a small brand based in Milan.

Later Catherine is due to visit a creative resource centre to learn how local businesses and the wider community support early childhood education through the Reggio Emilia Approach.

Supported by around 200 companies, the centre recovers materials destined for disposal and reimagines them as tools for investigation and learning for children.

The Princess of Wales at the ‘Salvador Allende’ Scuola dell’infanzia in Reggio Emilia today

The Princess of Wales is learning about education in nature in Reggio Emilia this morning

The Princess of Wales on her visit to ‘Salvador Allende’ Scuola dell’infanzia in Reggio Emilia

The Princess of Wales during a visit to ‘Salvador Allende’ Scuola dell’infanzia in Reggio Emilia

The Princess of Wales with children during the second day of her visit to Italy this morning

The Princess of Wales at the ‘Salvador Allende’ Scuola dell’infanzia in Reggio Emilia today

The Princess of Wales is learning about education in nature in Reggio Emilia this morning

The Princess of Wales at the ‘Salvador Allende’ Scuola dell’infanzia in Reggio Emilia today

For her final engagement in Italy, the Princess will visit a rural ‘agriturismo’ – a farm-stay – to reflect on her experiences during the trip – and learn how to make pasta.

She is joining the team at Al Vigneto in preparing lunch, along with many of the people she has met during her visit to Italy.

Yesterday, the princess greeted well-wishers with an ‘I am Catarina’ as she won hearts in Italy and marked her royal comeback in style.

Italians gave Catherine a rapturous welcome as she slipped easily back into royal duties on her first solo overseas trip in four years.

Putting her cancer treatment firmly behind her, she met children – including a very excited-looking baby – posed for selfies and chatted to the residents of Reggio Emilia.

The city in northern Italy is famed for its pioneering approach to young children, a crusade close to the princess’s heart.

Baby Elena, aged three months, was held over the barrier by her mother Marta and beamed as the future queen stopped to play with her.

Looking relaxed and radiant in a blue Edeline Lee trouser suit, the princess – who honed basic Italian during her gap year in Florence – met schoolchildren and told them in their native language: ‘I speak a bit of Italian. What is your name? I am Catarina.’

Alice, five, said afterwards: ‘She asked my name in Italian. She spoke Italian very well.’

Alice was among a crowd of about 3,000 people who welcomed Catherine at the start of her two-day trip to the city.

The Princess of Wales smiles during the second day of her visit to Italy this morning

The Princess of Wales at the ‘Salvador Allende’ Scuola dell’infanzia in Reggio Emilia today

The Princess of Wales is learning about education in nature in Reggio Emilia this morning

The Princess of Wales on her visit to ‘Salvador Allende’ Scuola dell’infanzia in Reggio Emilia

The Princess of Wales waves during the second day of her visit to Italy this morning

The Princess of Wales is learning about education in nature in Reggio Emilia this morning

Children wait for Kate at the ‘Salvador Allende’ Scuola dell’infanzia in Reggio Emilia today

It is the first solo overseas official visit for the princess, 44, since she went to Denmark in 2022 before her cancer treatment, and palace aides say it is a ‘huge moment’ for her to be back.

Yesterday she wowed her hosts on a royal ‘walkabout’ outside the town hall.

Maria Angelo Redaelli, a teacher who had set her alarm for 3.15am to make a 130-mile trip from her home, said: ‘I just love the Royal Family and I just had to be here. The princess said my hat was very glamorous and I gave her a rose. She is so beautiful.’

Marilena Prediere, 43, of Reggio Emilia, said: ‘I said give a big hug to your children. I said you are beautiful and it’s a pleasure to meet you. This is a historic moment.’

Royal fans whooped and bellowed ‘Bellissima’, ‘Kate’ and ‘We love you’.

At a pre-school later, Catherine said ‘ciao’ as she joined a group of five youngsters writing animal names.

Spotting one that said Lupo, which means wolf in Italian, she said: ‘That was the name of our dog. Our dog was called Lupo.’

The Princess of Wales meets baby Elena in Reggio Emilia on day one of her trip yesterday

People stand at a window to see the arrival of the Princess of Wales in Reggio Emilia yesterday

The Princess of Wales is welcomed to Reggio Emilia by royal fans yesterday afternoon

People wait for the arrival of the Princess of Wales in front of Reggio Emilia town hall yesterday

A teacher said ‘it must have been a big dog’, but the princess replied: ‘No, it wasn’t actually. It had a big personality.’

Outside the Anne Frank infant school, excited youngsters swamped her with hugs and high-fives.

And after she left, many of the teachers started crying, showing just how much the royal visit means to the small Italian city.

Catherine also visited the world-renowned Loris Malaguzzi International Centre where she met pioneers of the ‘Reggio Emilia approach’ of child-led learning for under sixes – which is similar to the Montessori method and aligned with her Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood.

The princess said that it was important to encourage ‘children these days to slow down’ because ‘their world is so fast-paced now’.