She was born in Chiaravalle on 31 August 1870.

After graduating with a mark of 137/160, the first conflicts with her father began. Her father saw in his daughter a future as a teacher, but his ideas were not in line with Maria's interests. She was increasingly inclined towards biological sciences.

Maria Montessori was initially unable to enroll in medical school because she did not have a high school diploma but when she joined the faculty, she had to follow strict rules in order to join a predominantly male scientific community, as there was still much prejudice against women in the medical field. For example, Montessori was obliged to practice anatomy mainly at night, so as not to create a scandal, as at that time it was unreasonable for a woman to handle the naked body of a deceased person and to work with other male students.

In 1896 she became the third Italian woman to graduate in medicine, specializing in neuropsychiatry. 

She took part in the congress in Berlin in 1896 and one of her speeches on the right to equal pay for men and women is famous.
In 1907 she opened the first Children's Home in San Lorenzo, Rome.

In 1926, she organized the first national training course that prepared teachers to use her method.

On 6 May 1952, she passed away in Noordwijk, South Holland.

                The Montessori method

The Montessori method is an educational system practiced in some 60,000 schools worldwide, serving children from birth to eighteen years of age. 

Based on her own observations, Montessori believed that allowing children the freedom to choose and act freely within an environment prepared according to her model would spontaneously contribute to optimal development. 
The Montessori method involves the construction of open or communicating classrooms in which children of different ages can interact with each other. 
The purpose of these interactions is to offer children not only the support of an adult, but also that of a peer, encouraging the exchange of knowledge and mutual help. 
 
The Montessori method of education illustrates free activity within a 'prepared environment', in other words an educational environment costumized to basic human characteristics and to the specific characteristics of children of different ages.

In addition to providing access to materials appropriate to the child's age, the intentionally structured environment should have the following characteristics: construction in proportion to the child and his/her actual needs, beauty and harmony, cleanliness of the environment, order, an arrangement that facilitates movement and activity and limitation of tools.

I have chosen to talk about Maria Montessori and her method, because in my opinion it is important that children recognize the impact that this woman had on education and beyond.
This woman revolutionized the school world.
Today, many of the rules of her method seem very ordinary to us because we have grown up with them, but at the time the education of children was completely different, the pupils were completely submissive to the teacher and had practically no rights. I have chosen to talk about her also to show that sometimes the dedication of just one person is enough to improve the world we live in.

Beatrice Borrello

The most famous Egyptian queen in history, Cleopatra VII Thea Philopatore, was born in Alexandria in Egypt in 69 BC. Cleopatra is a clever, cultured, and polyglot woman (she is able to speak seven or even twelve languages and is the first Macedonian queen to learn Egyptian to better govern her people) and, above all, she is perfectly aware of her charm. She was the last sovereign of the Ptolemaic dynasty to reign in Egypt and also the last of the entire Hellenistic age, whose end coincides with her death. She pursued an expansive policy; Cleopatra managed, in fact, to relate effectively with the great Roman power thanks also to the personal relationship that she established with two important Roman generals, Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, and had a central role in the last republican civil war, which led to the birth of the Roman Empire at the hands of Octavian Augustus. She never nominally held power alone, as a woman, she ruled first with her brother and then with her son, but in reality it was always she who ruled over her own kingdom. He is also among the most famous personalities of ancient Egypt and universal history. During her life she had two men: Julius Caesar who helped her defeat her brother and be named queen, with whom she later married and had a son, and Marco Antonio, who married her after the death of Caesar (who later committed suicide). Cleopatra, after hearing of Antony's death and fearing that she would be captured by Octavian (first Roman emperor), rather than being seen as a disgraced prisoner, killed herself.

Matilde Boreanaz

In 1943, Rosa joined the American Civil Rights Movement and became secretary of the Montgomery section of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). After, she began attending an educational center for workers' rights and racial equality, the Highlander Folk School.

On the first of December 1955, Rosa Parks boarded a public bus that would take her home after work at the Montgomery Fair department store. After paying for the ticket, Rosa took a seat in front of the black zone, in the middle of the bus, with three other black passengers. At the next stop, some white passengers occupied the opposite seats, but one of the whites remained standing; it was at that point that the driver told the blacks to give up the seat: all obeyed except Rosa. At that point, the driver called the police who arrested the woman who was not old, she was only 42 years old and came from a family with a great tradition of civil rights activism.

Her gesture was the result of a convinced political militancy, which often led her to denounce segregation in buses. That gesture had enormous political repercussions, perhaps unforeseen by Parks herself.

She was found guilty of breaking segregationist laws and condemned by a court: the black community responded with a boycott until the end, until the authorities had changed the provisions.
She died on the 24th of October 2005.

I have chosen to talk about this woman because  she was very courageous  despite being aware of the risks and consequences.
Eleonora Gandolfo

In June 1979 she won the elections: she was the first woman in Europe to hold the position of Prime Minister. At this time England was in a disastrous situation due to a severe economic recession with skyrocketing unemployment and social malaise. Margaret Thatcher cut public spending and corporate finance, her policy was privatisation.
 
In the 1983 elections she had an overwhelming victory, thanks to the decision to regain the Falkland Islands, temporarily occupied by Argentina. She implemented new reforms: she privatised much of the national health service and the school system, making them more efficient. She dismantled part of the heavy industry that had become unproductive, favouring the development of the advanced tertiary sector.
In this way, unemployment and inflation fell and the economy restarted.

In 1987 she won the elections again and began her third term in government. But the introduction of the “poll tax”, a tax not proportionate to income, aroused strong social protests. For this reason she was forced to resign.

In 2002, the Iron Lady retired from public life and died on 8 April 2013 at the age of 87.

Among her most famous phrases, we must surely remember this: "No one would remember the Good Samaritan if he had only good intentions. He also had the money".

I chose to describe Margaret Thatcher because, in my opinion, she was a woman with great personality and she guided her country with courage and determination in very difficult times. I think she gave an example to many people after her.

After her studies, she worked as a deputy district attorney in Alameda County.
After working in that office for two years, she was elected San Francisco District Attorney in 2003.
In 2010, she was elected California Attorney General and re-elected again in 2014.
Harris was the first woman to hold this office and the first Asian-American.
In 2016, she ran for Senate. On 7 June, she was the clear winner in California's jungle primaries, in which candidates from all parties participated.

On 8 November, she defeated the other Democrat Loretta Sanchez with 62.5% of the vote, in the first senatorial election in California history without Republican candidates, becoming the first African-American to be elected to the Senate.

On 12 August 2020, she was selected by Democratic candidate Joe Biden as a vice-presidential candidate for the presidential election, in which the Democratic party prevailed, making her the first female vice-president and the first Asian-American vice-president in US history.
In December 2020, the US weekly 'Time' chose her as 'Person of the Year' along with President-elect Joe Biden.
On 19 November 2021, she became the first woman to hold the office of President of the USA, albeit only temporarily as a result of Biden relinquishing power during anaesthesia for a colonoscopy.
She decided to appear at her swearing-in wrapped in a purple coat as a tribute to Shirley Crisholm, the first African-American woman to run for the White House in 1972.

As Attorney General of California, she prosecuted international criminal groups, big banks, oil companies and private universities, and opposed direct attacks on Obamacare (President Obama's health care reform).
She also fought to reduce absenteeism in primary schools, pioneered the first nationwide disclosure of information about racial disparities in the criminal justice system, and introduced bias training for police officers. 
She was the second black woman to be elected to the US Senate, and the second black woman to be elected to the US Senate,and the first woman, the first person of colour, the first Indo-American to be nominated for Vice President.
Kamala Harris has worked to reform the US criminal justice system, raise minimum wages, make higher education free for most Americans and protect the rights of refugees and immigrants.

I have chosen to talk about this woman because, in my opinion, she is the example and the model from which to take inspiration for all girls who dream of being able to work in difficult and often male-dominated environments such as politics.
a further reason for my choice is her being black, being proud of it, paying homage to the figure of Shirley Crisholm and her giving voice to the black community.
a voice that has not gone unnoticed, that has stood out, that has had a payback and given hope to all black families who have suffered injustice, discrimination or who have lost family members to police abuse of power in the United States.

Giorgia Lavagnino

But after a year Diego returns and the two get married again.
Frida begins to be known for her works, but her body pains force her to wear her bust.

This will make her paint one of her most famous paintings "The Broken Column".
In 1953 they amputated her right leg and after a year died at the age of 47.

I think she is an ispiration for all the people because she never go back despite everything.
We need more Frida Kahlo in the world

Castellini Lisa

She was the first woman to hold the third highest office of the Italian State as President of the Chamber of Deputies and Member of Parliament from the first to the thirteenth legislature.

In June 1946 she joined to Palazzo Montecitorio, she was the first women elected to the new Italian Parliament. On 20th July she was chosen by the Commission of seventy-five to write the Constitutional Charter and helped to write Articles 29-30-31 of the Italian Constitution. On June 20th 1979 she was crowned "Queen" of Montecitorio at the first scrutiny with 433 votes and began the term as president of the Chamber for thirteen years and then she was re-elected in 1983 and 1987. On 18th November 1999 Nilde Iotti left her bench for health reasons after spending fifty-three years in politics.

I chose Nilde Iotti because she was a strong and courageous woman who made very important political and social choices. She opened the way for other women to enter in the world of Italian politics. I think she is an example of a woman who should be followed more.

Ilaria Leoni

Norma spends a very problematic childhood: her mother's conditions did not allow the latter to take care of the child, who was forced to be placed in foster care by unknown families or to be abandoned in various orphanages.

Photographer David Conover, committed to documenting women's work in the war period, notes her and convinces her to pursue a career as a model

She will be in 1953 with Niagara, alongside Joseph Cotten, to achieve world success.

Marilyn is loved by the public because she represents an ideal of beauty different from the canonical one, a simpler beauty, endowed with an innate sensuality; she is a diva who has influenced and inspired the world of art, fashion, photography and, of course, cinema.

In 1962 Marilyn received the Golden Globe for best actress: it is the worldwide confirmation of her abilities.

The diva's emotional instability worsened rapidly and she Marilyn habitually took refuge in alcohol and drugs.

On the night between August 4 and 5, 1962, she was found dead, apparently suicidal, in her Los Angeles home, from an overdose. She was only thirty-six.

Even today, Marilyn is alive in everyone's memory: even the youngest know her, the victim of a sad fate and a troubled life.

I chose to talk about Marilyn Monroe because in my opinion she will be a timeless figure who influenced the whole world in the 20 century, managing to impose herself and to emerge going against the canons of her time by making her talk about her everywhere, with a difficult history and a cruel destiny. I saw two her movies such as "Some like it hot" and "The seven year itch" that I appreciate a lot.

Few women are as well known and loved as she was and for me she is an important model of female emancipation.

Capelli Filippo

But after a year Diego returned and the two got married again.
Frida began to be known for her works, but her body pains forcde her to wear her bust.

This will make her paint one of her most famous paintings "The Broken Column".
In 1953 they amputated her right leg and after a year died at the age of 47.

I think she is an ispiration for all the people because she never gave up despite everything.
We need more Frida Kahlos in the world

Castellini Lisa

 

 

 

Joan of Arc, is considered a heroine of France for her role during the Lancastrian phase of the Hundred Years' War, and was canonized as a saint. She was born to Jacques d'Arc and Isabelle Romée, a peasant family, at Domrémy in the Vosges of northeast France. Joan said that she received visions of the archangel Michael, Saint Margaret, and Saint Catherine of Alexandria instructing her to support Charles VII and recover France from English domination late in the Hundred Years' War. The as-yet-unanointed King Charles VII sent Joan to the siege of Orléans as part of a relief army. She gained prominence after the siege was lifted only nine days later. Several additional swift victories led to Charles VII's consecration at Reims. This long-awaited event boosted French morale and paved the way for the final French victory at Castillon in 1453.

On 23 May 1430, she was captured at Compiègne by the Burgundian faction, a group of French nobles allied with the English. She was later handed over to the English and put on trial by the pro-English bishop, Pierre Cauchon, on a variety of charges. After Cauchon declared her guilty, she was burned at the stake on 30 May 1431, dying at about 19 years of age.

In 1456, an inquisitorial court authorized by Pope Callixtus III examined the trial, debunked the charges against her, pronounced her innocent, and declared her a martyr. In the 16th century she became a symbol of the Catholic League, and in 1803 she was declared a national symbol of France by the decision of Napoleon Bonaparte. She was beatified in 1909 and canonized in 1920. Joan of Arc is one of the nine secondary patron saints of France.

Joan of Arc has remained a popular figure in literature, painting, sculpture, and other cultural works since the time of her death, and many famous writers, playwrights, filmmakers, artists, and composers have created, and continue to create cultural depictions of her.

I chose her because she is probably one of the most important people in French  history, and is also strange in this period to see a woman, less than 19 years old, so younger than me , who fought a war.

 

 

Edoardo Spadoni

In the beginning she wrote about her days between Milan, the city where she studied, and Cremona, where she spent time with her family, including also her lifestyle. After she noticed that a lot of people liked her outfit so she focused in fashion.

In 2010 she launches her first collection of shoes and in 2011 she gets the name of blogger of the year from Vogue. In the following year she create her new personal brand and become more famous: now she is considered the most important fashion blogger of the world.

I choose Chiara Ferragni because she is an example of Woman that shows us to follow our dreams. She started doing basic things that all of us can do and became a fashion world’s icon. She has revolutionized and launched the online world and the fashion in all the world. Maybe she is not appreciated by everyone because she is the first one that stars this type of career, that can be difficult to understand for the old generations, but we have to notice that she has done a great job!

On 9 October 2012, she was severely shot in the head by gunmen who boarded the school bus she was driving home from school.  

She was hospitalized in Peshawar military hospital and ,fortunately, she survived the attack after the removal of the bullets.

The boss of the Taliban claimed the motivation for the attack, arguing that the girl "is the symbol of infidels and obscenity";

The terrorist leader then threatened that if she survived, she would be attacked again.

On 10 October 2014 she received the Nobel Peace Prize, for the Norwegian Nobel Committee the motivation is: "for her struggle for children and young people and for the right of all children to education".

On November 9, 2021 Malala, through her Twitter account, announces that she has married with a Muslim rite, in her home Birmingham, her partner Asser Malik.

I chose to tell Malala's story because it is a great example of courage and insight.  She fought for the rights of children and continues to do so today, she is a person to be inspired by for sure.

-Dainelli Siria

Hack attended the Liceo Classico "Galileo Galilei" in Florence, but the outbreak of World War II prevented her from taking her exams. In 1945, she graduated in phisics from the University of Florence with a test score of 101/110 her thesis in astrophisics was on Cepheid variables  based on her studies in the Arcetri Observatory, then under the direction of Giorgio Abetti. Hack considered Abetti her model for a scientist, teacher, and scientific research centre administrator.

She was full professor of astronomy at the University of Trieste from 1964 to the 1st of November 1992, when Hack was placed "out of role" for seniority. She has been the first Italian woman to administrate the Trieste Astronomical Oservatly from 1964 to 1987,bringing it to international fame.
Hack was also known for her activities outside of science, especially in the social and political fields.
She was an atheist and she did not believe in any religion or form of supernaturalism. Hack also believed that ethics does not derive from religion, but from "principles of conscience" that allow anyone to have a secular view of life, respectful of other people's individuality and freedom.

Giacomo Solari