by Sibilla Aleramo

Journalist, poet, and novelist Sibilla Aleramo (1876-1969) distinguished herself as a leading proponent of women’s rights in turn-ofthe- twentieth-century Italy with the publication of her first novel, A Woman. Born Rina Faccio in Alessandria, Aleramo changed her name in 1906 at the urging of her lover, the poet Giovanni Cena. The daughter of Ernestina Cottimo and Ambrogio Faccio, Aleramo was formally educated only through elementary school, at which time her father relocated his family to the provincial southern town of Porto Marche Civitanova, where the young woman was no longer able to attend school. Aleramo nevertheless developed a passion for literature and writing, which prompted her to contribute articles to various newspapers and magazines. In 1899, Aleramo received an offer to direct L’Italia femminile (Women’s Italy), a Milan-based magazine. This new position put her in contact with many intellectual luminaries of the...