Sibilla Aleramo
Encyclopedia
Sibilla Aleramo was an Italian
author
and feminist best known for her autobiographical depictions of life as a woman in late 19th century Italy.
. At 11, she moved with her family from Milan to the Marche region of Italy, where her father had been appointed manager of a glass factory.
Unable to continue schooling beyond the elementary degree in Civitanova Marche
, she continued studying on her own, and asked for reading advice from her former teacher.
While employed at her father's factory, she befriended a local man, 10 years her senior, who raped her in the office when she was 15. Rina did not tell her parents about the event, and was instead persuaded to marry him. A year and a half later, at 17, she had her first and only child, Walter.
Her first book described her decision to leave her husband and son and move to Rome, which she did in 1901. After a brief relationship with a young artist, Felice Damiani, she cohabited for some years with Giovanni Cena, writer and journalist, who convinced her to turn her story into a fictionalized memoir (and to take on the pseudonym of Sibilla Aleramo). In 1906 her book, Una donna, was published. She also became active in political and artistic circles, and engaged in volunteer work in the Agro Romano, the poverty-stricken countryside surrounding Rome
.
In 1908, while still involved with Cena, she met Cordula "Lina" Poletti
at a women's congress, and their one-year lesbian
relationship was recounted in the novel Il passaggio (1919), a book in which Aleramo also famously returned on the story told in Una donna. In it, she argued that Giovanni Cena had originally convinced her to slightly change her story, and she offered a different version of a few events, notably the ending.
Sibilla Aleramo would go on to be one of Italy's leading feminists. Her personal writings to Poletti have, in more recent years, been studied due to their open minded views toward homosexual relationships, as has her production in general. Aleramo's first book in particular, Una donna, is by now considered a classic of Italian literature, and the first outspokenly feminist novel written by an Italian author.
Throughout the 20th century, Aleramo was mostly remembered for her tumultuous love affairs, with partners that included Umberto Boccioni
and Dino Campana
(The 2002 film Un Viaggio Chiamato Amore, by Michele Placido
, depicts Aleramo's affair with the latter). But Aleramo's life is mostly significant for her trail-blazing trajectory as an independent woman and artist, and as an individual that traversed very different epochs (Liberal Italy, Fascism, post-WWII Italian Republic) while always maintaining cultural and political visibility.
In later life Aleramo toured the continent and was active in Communist politics after World War II
.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and feminist best known for her autobiographical depictions of life as a woman in late 19th century Italy.
Life and career
Born Rina Faccio in Alessandria, PiedmontPiedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
. At 11, she moved with her family from Milan to the Marche region of Italy, where her father had been appointed manager of a glass factory.
Unable to continue schooling beyond the elementary degree in Civitanova Marche
Civitanova Marche
Civitanova Marche is a comune in the Province of Macerata in the Italian region Marche, located about 40 km southeast of Ancona and about 25 km east of Macerata.-Geography:...
, she continued studying on her own, and asked for reading advice from her former teacher.
While employed at her father's factory, she befriended a local man, 10 years her senior, who raped her in the office when she was 15. Rina did not tell her parents about the event, and was instead persuaded to marry him. A year and a half later, at 17, she had her first and only child, Walter.
Her first book described her decision to leave her husband and son and move to Rome, which she did in 1901. After a brief relationship with a young artist, Felice Damiani, she cohabited for some years with Giovanni Cena, writer and journalist, who convinced her to turn her story into a fictionalized memoir (and to take on the pseudonym of Sibilla Aleramo). In 1906 her book, Una donna, was published. She also became active in political and artistic circles, and engaged in volunteer work in the Agro Romano, the poverty-stricken countryside surrounding Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
In 1908, while still involved with Cena, she met Cordula "Lina" Poletti
Lina Poletti
Lina Poletti , born Cordula Lina Poletti, was an Italian feminist, often described as being beautiful and rebellious, prone to wear men's clothing, and who is best known today for her lesbian affairs with writer Sibilla Aleramo and actress Eleonora Duse...
at a women's congress, and their one-year lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
relationship was recounted in the novel Il passaggio (1919), a book in which Aleramo also famously returned on the story told in Una donna. In it, she argued that Giovanni Cena had originally convinced her to slightly change her story, and she offered a different version of a few events, notably the ending.
Sibilla Aleramo would go on to be one of Italy's leading feminists. Her personal writings to Poletti have, in more recent years, been studied due to their open minded views toward homosexual relationships, as has her production in general. Aleramo's first book in particular, Una donna, is by now considered a classic of Italian literature, and the first outspokenly feminist novel written by an Italian author.
Throughout the 20th century, Aleramo was mostly remembered for her tumultuous love affairs, with partners that included Umberto Boccioni
Umberto Boccioni
Umberto Boccioni was an Italian painter and sculptor. Like other Futurists, his work centered on the portrayal of movement , speed, and technology. He was born in Reggio Calabria, Italy.-Biography:...
and Dino Campana
Dino Campana
Dino Campana was an Italian visionary poet. His fame rests on his only published book of poetry, the Canti orfici , as well as his wild and erratic personality, including his ill-fated love affair with Sibilla Aleramo...
(The 2002 film Un Viaggio Chiamato Amore, by Michele Placido
Michele Placido
Michele Placido is an internationally known Italian actor and director. He is best known for the role of Corrado Cattani in the TV series La Piovra.-Life and career:...
, depicts Aleramo's affair with the latter). But Aleramo's life is mostly significant for her trail-blazing trajectory as an independent woman and artist, and as an individual that traversed very different epochs (Liberal Italy, Fascism, post-WWII Italian Republic) while always maintaining cultural and political visibility.
In later life Aleramo toured the continent and was active in Communist politics after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Selected works
- Una donna (A Woman, 1906)
- Il passaggio (The Crossing, 1919)
- Andando e stando (Moving and Being, 1921)
- Momenti (Moments, 1921)
- Trasfigurazione (Transfiguration, 1922)
- Endimione (Endymion, 1923, play)
- Poesie (Poems, 1929)
- Gioie d'occasione (Occasional Pleasures, 1930)
- Il frustino (The Whip, 1932)
- Sì alla terra (Yes to the Earth, 1934)
- Orsa minore (Ursa Minor, 1938)
- Diario e lettere: dal mio diario (Diary of a Woman, 1945)
- Selva d'amore (Forest of Love, 1947)
- Aiutatemi a dire (Help Me to Speak, 1951)
- Gioie d'occasione e altre ancora (More Occasional Pleasures, 1954)
- Luci della mia sera (Lights of My Evening, 1956)
- Lettere (Letters, 1958)
External links
- Sibilla Aleramo via Italian Women Writers database
- Sibilla Aleramo