ISBN: 88-7292-469-3
This book is dedicated to the women who lived and toiled in Lazio, devoting a good part of their lives to this territory, enriching it with their labor and ingenuity. Peasant women who lived in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Deeply lined worn-out faces. Hands that bear the marks of work in the fields. Feet covered with rags or bare. But also vivacious eyes, proud faces. They carry water in great copper jars, wash their laundry and that of others, draw drinking water at the fountain, work in the fields. They are also seen in festive moments: pausing to rest after a day of work, or as protagonists of the folk and religious festivals of which Lazio has so many. Pretty young women are shown distributing strawberries, cherries, or flowers. Often in traditional costumes with good-luck coral necklaces, and gold earrings. On holidays they make a show of all their most beautiful things, jealously handed down from mother to daughter. Included too are fashionable aristocratic women, with flowing gowns, parasols to protect them from the sun, and broad brimmed hats. They are having a picnic outside, with their friends, riding horses for a fox hunt. The women of the House of Savoy are also here. The two world wars obviously involved the men at the front but it was the women who had to make do at home, keep solitude at bay, face up to shortages of food and bombings. Women who learned new professions when there were no men left to do them. And then the women of the 1960s and 70s: years of social unrest, of disorder in the cities, of fighting to have their rights respected. Themes such as abortion engendered impassioned struggles. And then, the women of today, having a go at new roles, new types of work. And well-known faces: actresses, internationally famous singers. But also intellectual women: writers, musicians, business women. A book that is beautiful in the beauty of the photos, but interesting in its contents and many implications. The simple truth evinced is that in a territory as rich in traditions, history and culture as Lazio, the role played by women was and is determining. Also because the role of women in Lazio went beyond the borders of Lazio.