Every March 8, Women’s Day celebrates the female social conquests achieved in the last century. In Lazio, many a woman left their mark.
Bread, Love and Dreams
Born in Subiaco, Gina (actual name Luigia) Lollobrigida was an extraordinary charismatic actress, an unforgettable icon of Italian cinema. Her movies earned her several nominations and the award for the best actress for her performance in “The Most Beautiful Woman in the World” at the Cannes Festival. In 1955, Time Magazine dedicated its cover to her, and, in 2023, the Republic of San Marino issued a special stamp in her honour. Immortal characters are the “Bersagliera” in “Bread, Love and Dreams”, filmed in Castel San Pietro Romano, or “The Blue Fairy” in “The Adventures of Pinocchio”, partly shot at Torre Astura in Nettuno. Lollo, as she was called, distinguished herself in the fields of art, photography and sculpture. Her great support to women’s emancipation and her social commitment within humanitarian organizations earned her many awards.
The extraordinary figure of Maria Montessori, renowned for her social and scientific commitment, created the first “Casa dei Bambini” in the District of San Lorenzo in Rome in 1907. Among the first Italian women with a university degree in medicine, she specialized in child neuropsychiatry. Her methods of teaching are still used in thousands of nursery and primary schools around the world.
Casa dei Bambini of Maria Montessori – Instagram @la_mia_casa_roma
She revolutionized the educational system by helping children grow spontaneous and independent and also fought for women’s freedom. Her face is familiar to all Italians, as she appears on the old thousand Lire banknote.
Sezze
Clementina Caligaris the heroine of the Agro Pontino, was among the first thirteen Italian women to enter the “Consulta Nazionale per la Costituente” on September 25, 1945. She arrived in Sezze at the age of 22 to work as a teacher at the local primary school, but soon distinguished herself for her political commitment, within the trade unions, in supporting women labourers and their economic and social emancipation. As a representative of the “Teachers’ National Union”, the schoolmarm of Sezze held public rallies in every square in the areas of the the Lepini Mountains and the Pontine Plain, remaining forever in the collective memory. She took refuge in Velletri and died a liberated woman in 1977, at the age of 94.
Donna Olimpia Maidalchini, painting by Enrique Cordero
The controversial figure of Donna Olimpia Maidalchini lived in San Martino al Cimino, a hamlet of Viterbo, in the seventeenth-century. She was called the “Pimpaccia”, the nickname on a message left on the satirical statue of Pasquino. The Princess promoted the construction of Palazzo Doria-Pamphilj on the semi-abandoned remnants of the ancient Cistercian Abbey of San Martino al Cimino, to be built with the materials from her Roman Family Palace, that she was renovating, and where she lived until the death of Pope Innocenzo X.
The portrait of Anita Garibaldi by Gaetano Gallino
In Rieti, from February 26 to April 13, 1849, Giuseppe and Anita Garibaldi experienced the forty-six happiest days of their life in Europe. They lived at the first floor of Palazzo Colelli (today a museum of the same name) as guests of the Marquis. According to reports, Anita had set up a military tailoring shop, where most of the town’s dressmakers worked. Their friendly relationship with her, affectionately called “Sor’Annita“, influenced the population and brought the attitude towards the couple back to normal.
www.lamimosadiadelmo.it
Let us conclude our journey into the stories of these extraordinary women with a taste of Mimosa, the delicious cake invented by Adelmo Renzi, the chef and pastry chef from Rieti who prepared it for a competition for the first time.