10 Inspirational Italian Women to Know This International Women’s Day
Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1653) – one of the first women artists to achieve recognition in the male-dominated world of post-Renaissance art; a painter, she was the first woman to become a member of the Accademia di Arte del Disegno in Florence in 1616.
Laura Bassi (1711-1778) - the first woman to be offered, in 1732 at the University of Bologna, an official, salaried teaching position at a university in Europe; she paved the way for female academics.
Maria Montessori (1870-1952) – a physician and educator whose educational method, which stresses independence and respect for a child’s natural development, is still applied in Montessori schools all over the world.
Anna Magnani (1908-1973) – “earthy and unkempt, she was neither glamorous nor statuesque, yet radiated such fierce intelligence and sensuality that she became a major star” (The New York Times); she was the first Italian actress to win an Oscar.
Margherita Hack (1922-2013) – an astrophysicist, she was the first Italian woman to administrate the Trieste Astronomical Observatory, bringing it to international fame. She was also politically and socially active.
Oriana Fallaci (1929-2006) – the first Italian female journalist to become a war correspondent, she became famous worldwide for her coverage of war and revolutions, and for her aggressive and revealing interviews with many world leaders.
Emma Bonino (1948-) – politician, leading member of the Italian Radicals party and most recently Italy’s foreign minister, she has led many battles for reform policies involving civil rights and individual freedom.
Miuccia Prada (1949-) – the fashion designer and businesswoman behind Prada, included by Forbes in its list of the world’s most powerful women. She took over the family business in 1978 and transformed it into a fashion empire.
Fabiola Gianotti (1960-) – On 1st January 2016 she became the first female Director-General of the prestigious multi-national laboratory CERN; she led the team that found evidence of the Higgs boson.
Samantha Cristoforetti (1977-) – an astronaut with the European Space Agency (selected among 8,000 excellent candidates), an Italian Air Force pilot and an engineer, she was the first Italian woman to fly into space, where she spent 199 days on ISS.
In honor of International Women’s Day, known as Festa della donna in Italy, we take a look back at some of the Italian women who have inspired and continue to inspire us.
International Women's Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. In that spirit, we have selected ten Italian women of the past and present who, through their lives and accomplishments, have made history in Italy and beyond.
Buona Festa della Donna! If you want to celebrate Italian-style, bring the women in your life a nice bouquet of mimosa flowers. Curious to learn how the tradition of giving mimosa began? Read more here.
Ed. March 8, 2024: This archival slideshow was originally published in 2016.
