Nilde Iotti

Nilde (born Leonilde) Iotti (1920-1999) is the daughter of Egidio, a railway worker and socialist trade unionist, and Alberta Vezzani, a housewife and practicing Catholic, she grew up in a family facing severe financial hardship.
Their precarious situation worsened when her father was dismissed in 1923 for political reasons and passed away prematurely in 1934.
Despite this, Nilde was able to continue her studies thanks to her mother who, at a time when women were confined to home under fascist law, began working.
A number of scholarships enabled her to enrol at the Catholic University of Milan, where she graduated with first-class honours in Arts and Philosophy in 1942.
It was during her university years that Nilde underwent a profound spiritual and ideological crisis, which culminated in her abandoning the Catholic faith and embracing communism.

On her return to Reggio Emilia, Nilde began teaching at the Technical Industrial Institute and, following the armistice of September 8, 1943, became actively involved in the Resistance.
First as a courier, then in the Women’s Defence Groups and in providing support to freedom fighters. Following the Liberation, she became president of the Italian Women’s Union (UDI) in Reggio Emilia, continuing to promote social and welfare initiatives.

In 1946, Nilde started her political activity: elected to the Reggio Emilia City Council and then to the Constituent Assembly, she made a decisive contribution to the drafting of the Italian Constitution, sitting on the Commission of Seventy-Five dedicated to the rights and duties of citizens.
Here she already demonstrated an extraordinary capacity for mediation, balance and dedication to democratic principles.

Nilde’s private life was intertwined with Italian political history: in 1946 she met Palmiro Togliatti, leader of the Italian Communist Party (PCI), with whom she shared a deep relationship until Togliatti’s death in 1964.
Together they adopted an orphaned girl, Marisa Malagoli, a symbol of their civic and humanitarian commitment.

Nilde Iotti’s political career was extraordinary: re-elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1948, she served there continuously until 1999, becoming in 1979 the first woman in Italian history to hold the office of President of the Chamber of Deputies.
During her thirteen years at the helm of the Chamber, Nilde distinguished herself through her impartiality, balance and attention to the rights of the most vulnerable groups, with a particular focus on women.
Among her most significant legislative achievements were the Family Law Act (1975), the referendum on divorce (1974) and the Abortion Act (1978).
She also played a pioneering role in the European Parliament, promoting direct suffrage and actively participating in institutional reforms.

The ‘Lady of the Republic’, as she is affectionately remembered, ended her political career by resigning in November 1999, greeted by a standing ovation.
A few days later, December 4, 1999, she died in Rome.
Her state funeral, held as a civil ceremony in accordance with her wishes, saw her laid to rest at the Famedio of the PCI (Italian Communist Party) in the Verano Cemetery.

Walking through Reggio Emilia, the figure of Nilde Iotti remains alive in the memory of the city where she was born: from the places of her childhood to the streets of local politics, her journey tells the story of a woman who turned her passion for her community into an unparalleled civic and national commitment.

La ragazza dalle spalle larghe