Filomena Delli Castelli (28 September 1916 – 22 December 2010) was an Italian politician. She was elected to the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

in 1946 as one of the first group of women parliamentarians in Italy. She was subsequently elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1948, serving (with the exception of a six-month spell in 1953) until 1958.

Biography

Delli Castelli was born in

Città Sant'Angelo Città Sant'Angelo () is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Pescara, Abruzzo, Italy. History The origins of Città Sant'Angelo are uncertain and have always been a basis for historical discussion, beginning with the Vestini, an ancient Sabi ...

in 1916.DELLI CASTELLI Filomena
Chamber of Deputies After her father emigrated to America, she was raised by her mother. She studied literature and philosophy at the

Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (English: ''Catholic University of the Sacred Heart'', colloquially the ''Catholic University of Milan''), known as UCSC or UNICATT or simply Cattolica, is an Italian private research university founded in 1 ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, and then worked as a teacher. Having become a member of the youth movement of

Azione Cattolica The Azione Cattolica Italiana, or Azione Cattolica (Catholic Action) for short, is a widespread Roman Catholic lay association in Italy. History In Italy in 1905, Azione Cattolica was established as a non-political lay organization under the dir ...

, she served as its president while studying for a master's degree, also joining the

Italian Catholic Federation of University Students The Italian Catholic Federation of University Students ( it, Federazione Universitaria Cattolica Italiana, FUCI) is a federation of groups representing Roman Catholic university students in Italy. History On December 8, 1889, it was founded in Rom ...

in 1940. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, she became an instructor at the teaching seminary where she had trained. She served as a nurse in the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and ...

and was part of the anti-German resistance, looking after refugees in Pescara province. After joining the Christian Democracy party, Delli Castelli became provincial secretary of its women's section. In 1945 she moved to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

to work in the press office of the Prime Minister. In the 1946 general elections, she was a Christian Democracy candidate in L'Aquila, and was one of 21 women elected to the Constituent Assembly. She was re-elected in 1948, and in 1951 became mayor of

Montesilvano Montesilvano () is a city and ''comune'' of the province of Pescara in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Abruzzo often called Mare-Monti (Sea-Mountain) region. The name Montesilvano is apparently derived from the Latin which means "woody hill" ("woo ...

, a role she held until 1955. Although she lost her seat in parliament the June 1953 elections, she returned to the Chamber of Deputies in December 1953 when she replaced , who had resigned after being appointed to the judiciary. She lost her seat again in the 1958 elections. Delli Castelli subsequently worked for

RAI RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...

until 1975, focussing on children's television, after which she moved to

Pescara Pescara (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Pescàrë; nap, label= Pescarese, Piscàrë) is the capital city of the Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 119,217 (2018) residents (and approxim ...

. She died in the city in 2010.Filomena Delli Castelli
Enciclopedia delle donne In 2019, one of the bridges between Città Sant'Angelo and Montesilvano was named after her.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delli Castelli, Filomena 1916 births Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore alumni Italian schoolteachers Christian Democracy (Italy) politicians Members of the Constituent Assembly of Italy Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy) Mayors of places in Abruzzo Rai (broadcaster) people 2010 deaths People from the Province of Pescara 20th-century Italian women politicians Women members of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy)