Via Libera 50 Donne che si sono fatte strada by Valentina Ricci Viola Afrifa and Romana Rimondi

I love reading books containing portraits of women who made the difference during their existence. There are not too many women who can tell this to the posterity.

That's why this new book Via

Libera 50 Donne che si sono fatte strada by Valentina Ricci Viola Afrifa and Romana Rimondi is so important.

50 portraits of women who made of their unicity the mirror of their existence and their success.

Each portrait, all written in first person is long just a page and few other lines: there is a picture of the protagonist.

I want to remember some portraits: surely Mariele Ventre, gone too soon, the director of the chorus of children and little protagonists of Lo Zecchino D'Oro wanted by the friars of the Antoniano di Bologna. 

Artemisia Gentileschi, a lot of siblings to grow up after the departure of her mother, at the same time a precocius painter, quality taken by her father.

Franca Florio was a manager, the one of the Palermitan... Belle Epoque.

Giulietta Masina an actress and wife of Federico Fellini; she died just few months after the departure of her beloved husband.

Matilde Serao created the newsmagazine Il Giorno; Margherita Hack was an astronomer; Giuseppina Strepponi lyric singer, and later companion of Giuseppe Verdi for ten years lived a turbulent private existence with a lot of public successes; Giuditta Levato a peasant, fought for her rights, losing the existence. Gae Aulenti vice-versa has been an architect and designer and she worked in the entire world. Genoeffa Coccini Cervi was the mother of the Brothers Cervi. Anti-fascists they gave hospitality to partisans and rebels; once discovered seven of her children were killed and their casolare destroyed. Mrs Cervi died for the pains accumulated.

Fernanda Gattinoni was an original stylist. Coco Chanel offered her a work, but she refused.

She created her maison and her clients have been Lana Turner, Jackie Kennedy, Kim Novak.

Aurora Vuillerminaz was killed because a partisan.

Gina Palmucci was a lyric singer but she died pretty soon. Cordula Poletti was a writer, in love for many women, including Eleonora Duse  and one of the first women who declared their homosexuality.

Frau Emma, with her hotel opened the Tirol and their hospitality to the world!

Irma Bandiera, good family, entered in the partisan party during the last conflict; no one would have suspected of her, but a night she fell in the hands of fascists. She was tortured for seven days and seven nights and killed close to the house where she lived with her parents.

Amalia Guglielminetti was a poet; there are also two philantropist, benefactors: Sofia Lomellini and Laura Pinelli. From Genoa, during the pestilence of 1656-1657 they helped the population in needs. Genoa counted 90.000 souls; after the pestilence just 30.000.

Elisabetta Sirani born in 1638 was a painter. She was the first one who signed his paintings although her signature, because a woman was not yet legally recognized; later founded the first academy of art for young women.

Anna Magnani, a name, the most powerful symbol of our cinema; let's also rememeber Alda Merini, her tormented existence and thelove for poetry, that saved her.

Beautiful. Buy this book to your daughters, or to yourself. It's too important! Perfect gift for the day of March 8th, International Women's Day! You'll discover beautiful portraits, written with touch and humanity and in most cases real fighters for freedom, love, work, their existence but also the wellbeing of the other ones.

Highy recommended.

I thank Sonzogno for the physical copy of this book.

Anna Maria Polidori