8 incredible Italian women who transformed Italy and left their mark on world history
Learn More 8 Italian women whose actions changed the direction of Italy and the world and were fundamental to the empowerment of a sex that is anything but fragile.
1 – Rita Levi Montalcini
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Born in Turin in 1909 and died in Rome in 2012, she was a neurologist and senator in defense of life and, above all, winner of the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1986. In the 1950s, her research led to the discovery and identification of the factor nerve fiber growth factor or NGF, nerve growth factor, for which she was awarded the Nobel Prize.
2 – Grazia Cosima Deledda
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Born in Nuoro in 1871, Grazia died in 1936 from a breast tumor. Italian writer and poet, she received the 1926 Nobel Prize for Literature for her work Canne al vento (Reeds in the wind), which narrates the existential crises and human frailties of its characters, as well as describing in detail and with clear realism the customs and legends of the agro-pastoral society of his beloved island of Sardinia. This novel is set in the small commune of Galtelli, province of Nuoro, which has a beautiful historic center and beautiful landscapes that inspired the author in writing her masterpiece.
3 – Maria Tecla Artemisia Montessori
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Maria Tecla Artemisia Montessori was an educator, doctor, Catholic Christian and pedagogue. Known for the educational method she developed and which is still used today in public and private schools around the world. Montessori was born on August 31, 1870 in Chiaravalle.
4 – Nilde Iotti
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Leonilde Iotti, known as Nilde Iotti, was an Italian Communist Party politician, the first woman to become president of the Italian Chamber of Deputies for three consecutive legislatures from 1979 to 1992. Nilde was born in 1920 in Reggio Emilia.
5 – Fernanda Pivano
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Nanda, as she was called, was born in Genoa in 1917 and died in Milan in 2009. She was an important Italian translator, writer, journalist and music critic. Due to her importance to Italy's cultural scene, an award was created in her honor: the Fernanda Pivano Award.
6 – Margherita Hack
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Remembered as the “Lady of the Stars”, Margherita Hack – born in Florence – is considered one of the most important Italian astrophysicists, but above all she is remembered as the first woman appointed to lead an astronomical observatory in Italy. A member of the Lincei Academy, the International Union of Astronomers and the Royal Astronomical Society, she made a great contribution to the research, study and spectral classification of many stellar categories in her long career.
7 – Anna Magnani
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Born in Roma in 1908 and died in the Italian capital in 1973, Anna Magnani was an important Italian actress. One of the greatest of her time, Magnani was awarded the Oscar for Best Actress by the Hollywood Academy and considered by her peers as the greatest talent in dramatic interpretation since Eleonora Duse.
8 – Samantha Cristoforetti
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Born in Milan in 1977, Samantha Cristoforetti is the first Italian astronaut and a member of the astronaut corps of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI). She went to space in 2014 as a flight engineer on Soyuz TMA-15M. She returned on the same ship on June 11, 2015, after serving 199 days in orbit on the space station. Showing her Italian heritage, Samantha was the first person to make an espresso in the space. She is the record holder for consecutive days spent in orbit, among all ESA astronauts, men and women, and the woman with the most consecutive days in space. In September 2015, she was named a Unicef Goodwill Ambassador at a ceremony held by air Force Italian.
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