The Italian Almanac

September 2, 1938: birthdate of Giuliano Gemma, Italian actor

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The many roles of Italian women in the late 19th and early 20th centuries are spotlighted in a new exhibition inspired by one of the country's first feminist authors, Sibilla Aleramo. The event takes place in the small port town of Civitanova Marche where Aleramo set 'La Donna', the most famous of her autobiographical works exploring the difficulties of life as an Italian woman in the late 1800s.

Inspired by Aleramo's literary interest in how women were perceived, the exhibition sets out to explore the same subject through art. More than 50 paintings and sculptures are on show, although just two women artists are represented: Giulia Panichi, who studied with the Roman fresco master Cesare Mariani, and Giulia Centurelli, who used her artistic skills to promote the Risorgimento.

The rigidity of Italian society that so enraged Aleramo also barred women from taking up art as a career and very few were willing to brave the risk of social exclusion such a choice entailed. As a result, the bulk of the artworks on show explore the perception of women from a male point of view. This is particularly apparent in the section devoted to the image of 'femme fatale', ignited by salacious reports in tabloids of the day.

But the exhibition also offers a number of subtler, more personal portraits. Ritratto della Signora Simboli (1928) by Giacomo Balla is a far cry from the Futurist style that made him famous, featuring a beautifully naturalistic portrait of a much older woman, whose warm, direct gaze at the viewer conveys faint puzzlement and good humour. Osvaldo Licini's portrait of his wife Nanny Hellstrom, also created in the 1920s, powerfully suggests the physical fatigue of a figure slumped at a desk.

There are also a number of more distant depictions of women, which explore the difficulties thrust upon them by forces outside their control. Nazzareno Orlandi's paintings, for example, show the physical struggle of peasant women working in the fields, while Domenico Morelli's touch on the sad fate of daughters locked up in convents by parents unable to support them.

'Uno sguardo sulle donne: dai Macchiaioli a Modigliani' ('Looking At Women: From the Macchiaioli to Modigliani') is on show at the Marco Moretti Pinacoteca in Civitanova Marche until October 17.

The economic recession might have shut down opportunities for many people but it has at least opened doors for Italy's dogs and their owners to the nation's shops. Hard times seem to have forced Italian shopkeepers to be less picky and take down their No Dogs Allowed signs, according to a survey which said the number of retail outlets admitting man's best friend has increased 76% since 2005.

The AIDAA animal rights association said that just 694 of 3,500 shops it surveyed barred dogs, compared to 2,600 five years ago. What's more, it said almost all of the stores barring the pets were places where food was sold. It also found that 206 of 500 supermarkets and shopping centres it polled allowed pooches into some areas, while almost all banned them totally in 2005.

AIDAA said dogs have the hardest time getting into shops in Rome, Venice and Florence.

An Italian priest is urging his congregation to make up the numbers at funerals which are often poorly attended if not deserted. Father Marcello Colcelli has written to his flock in Arezzo to form what he calls a Company of the Departed to make sure all the deceased get a "dignified" send-off.

Father Colcelli said that many services, especially for lonely elderly parishioners, were attended "only by a few relatives and acquaintance". Sometimes he had even been left alone with the coffin, he said. "I often have to do everything on my own: the readings, the rites, even the mourning. I could carry on like this but I ask myself: where's the community?"

Father Colcelli has put together a draft 'regulation' he is hoping mass-goers will subscribe to. It includes "an obligation (when possible) to take part in funerals, guaranteeing a minimum funeral service including readings, offerings and incense". photo: Father Colcelli writing to parishioners.