MEIS – March 8, International Women’s Day

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, MEIS is proposing a series of initiatives and activities.

On Sunday, March 8, museum admission will be free for female visitors.
At 11:30 a.m., a guided tour entitled “The Women of the MEIS” will begin. This tour will explore the permanent exhibition “Jews, an Italian History” and the new room “The 20th Century in a Room,” highlighting revolutionary female figures. The stories of the women preserved in the museum emerge through illustrated parchments, artwork, reproductions of archaeological finds, clothing, and everyday objects. The guided tour is free for everyone. To book: eventi.meis@orologionetwork.it.

The MEIS is organizing the conference “From Micòl Finzi-Contini to Anna Banti: The Double Face of Femininity in Bassani”: the event will take place at the bookshop (Via Piangipane 81, Ferrara) on Sunday, March 8th at 4:00 PM.
The talks offer an original exploration of the complex relationship Giorgio Bassani had with the women, both real and imaginary, who populate his life and work. On the one hand, prominent female figures of cultural influence emerge, such as Anna Banti and Marguerite Caetani, crucial interlocutors in the writer’s ethical and professional development, capable of guiding his gaze on history, testimony, and the role of women in the twentieth century.
On the other hand, Bassano’s narrative universe is inhabited by characters such as Lida Mantovani, Clelia Trotti, Anna Barilari, and the enigmatic Micòl Finzi-Contini, a figure so real in her evocative power that she still represents one of the most debated points of Bassano criticism.
Micòl, suspended between the world of the women Bassani knew and that of the women he imagined, exemplifies the condition of women as victims of the social and political system of the time, marked by the oppressive and patriarchal logic of fascism. Yet at the same time, she possesses an ineffable inner strength that makes her the undisputed protagonist of the novel dedicated to her family.
Through the interweaving of biography and fiction, the conference shows how Bassani, despite being surrounded in reality by successful, independent, and influential women, chooses in his literature to represent a vulnerable, exposed, and dramatically affected femininity. The dialogue between these two poles—the feminine power of real women and the fragility of imagined women—illuminates a central theme of Bassani’s poetics: woman as a mirror of historical trauma, wounded memory, and the writer’s moral responsibility.

Speakers:
Marcello Azzi, Fondazione Giorgio Bassani
Rosy Cupo, Sorbonne Nouvelle Université, Parigi

Reservations are required by calling +39 342 5476621 (Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM) or by emailing eventi.meis@orologionetwork.it.
Event poster available.