Storia e Politica (Dec 2022)
Filantrope femministe nell·Italia di inizio Novecento. Un·avanguardia poco riconosciuta
Abstract
This paper analyzes the female philanthropy in Italy at the beginnings of the XX century, as a strategy of the Italian emancipation movement in the direction of “practical feminism”. The central part of the essay presents a concrete initiative, the cooperative of the Industrie Femminili Italiane (Italian Female Industries), and discusses its political relevance through some writings by Amelia Pincherle Rosselli, a very active member of the organization. Rosselli highlights: 1) the political significance of the enterprise, whose objective was not only the economic and social promotion of women, but also their active citizenship; 2) the enhancement of textile craftsmanship that underlies specific development model and quality of work; 3) the polyvalent meaning of lace, in the economic, social, aesthetic and symbolic realms; 4) the laboratory as a place where unprecedented relationships were experienced between women of different classes. In conclusions, the paper refers to recent researches that suggest a new methodological and historiographical approach, useful for framing the presence of feminist philanthropists and recognizing their particular contribution to the political history of the twentieth century.
