Brescia
Jun 29, 2024 09:59
“For a woman ‘her whole life is inside a bag’! This is why they are often so heavy. The difference between the male and female universe in the use of this accessory today lies in the way of conceiving it: while for men it remains, in most cases, an object to carry; for us women it represents an important part of our way of being”. This is how the Honorable Martina Semenzato, president of the parliamentary commission of inquiry into feminicide, as well as all forms of gender violence, begins in her preface to the book “The women’s bag”. “Reading this book – writes President Semenzato – immersing yourself in these women’s stories through the pen of a man, Adriano Baffelli, opens up a different perspective vision of the female universe”. For her part, the author explains the reason for the book and the title: “The women’s bag because I had long been cultivating the idea of developing an in-depth study on the relationship between every woman and her bag. The idea has long sailed in the sea of thousands of distances and infinite proximity between the female hemisphere and the male hemisphere, too often straight lines that touch each other without really understanding each other. The bag as an external metaphor of a profound difference between two worlds continually attracted and at the same time committed to repelling each other”. Above all, for Baffelli, a woman’s bag is the metaphor of her proverbial ability to intervene immediately to solve small and large problems, finding suitable objects for the need.
“The women’s bag. Culture and respect” is a book that aims to make people reflect, thanks to the testimonies of leading figures from various worlds and professional and social sectors. They are: Cristiana Girelli and Sofia Goggia, sports stars of football and skiing; Martina Caironi, Paralympic champion; the journalists Camilla Baresani, Cristina Parodi, Nunzia Vallini; the entrepreneurs Laura Colnaghi Calissoni, Cristina Fogazzi, Umberta Gnutti Beretta; the presidents of Ance Bergamo, Vanessa Pesenti, of Confindustria Bergamo, Giovanna Ricuperati, of Confesercenti Lombardia Orientale, Barbara Quaresmini; the actress Giulia Manzini, the banking manager Stefania Perletti; the researchers Ariela Benigni and Silvia Giordani; the professional with relevant roles in financial and cultural foundations and companies, Francesca Bazoli; the mayor of Brescia, Laura Castelletti and the former deputy mayor of Bergamo, Nadia Ghisalberti; the young engineer with relevant international experience, Marzia Bolpagni.
A book tribute to the female universe, its achievements and its difficulties. “It may be that the set of words that make up this book do not serve to save a life – Adriano Baffelli, journalist and author, reflects in his introduction –, to prevent another woman from suffering violence, moral or physical. It may be that none of the sentences contained in the following pages manage to shake the conscience of the many, too many, far too many, alleged men who consider women an object, a property. Maybe. It’s a risk worth taking. I think it would be worse to look the other way, do nothing, say nothing.” Also on the basis of tragic murders, including the brutal one of Giulia Cecchettin and previously the ferocious crime of Elena Casanova, a worker at Iveco in Brescia, killed with a hammer in Castegnato, in Franciacorta, to the west of the city, the author has deemed it appropriate to work on an editorial project that had been smoldering under the ashes for some time, to offer men, especially young people, an opportunity to reflect on their attitudes towards girls and women. The project, it was said. In line with and in continuity with the year of Bergamo and Brescia as Capital of Culture, a first objective is to unite some protagonists of the social, economic, cultural and civil life of the two provinces. At the same time as the publication, the initiative includes a Charity, a fundraiser in favor of the Anti-Violence Center Casa delle Donne CaD of Brescia, for which a special current account is active at the Bcc of Brescia. The book is enriched by the portraits of the protagonists created by Maestro Renato Missaglia, an artist with significant international experience, known for the creation of portraits: of political and artistic personalities, Heads of State and pontiffs such as Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.
The launch of the project, which is supported by Propaganda3 Società Benefit, and the pre-sale of the book – crowdfunding will also be used to make printing possible – was hosted by the Gare82 contemporary art gallery in Brescia, with interventions, moderated by journalist Giusi Legrenzi of RTL 102.5, by Viviana Cassini, president of the Casa delle Donne Anti-Violence Center in Brescia; Stefano Fantini, managing director of Q-Aid, a certification body for gender equality; Martina Caironi, Barbara Quaresmini, Nunzia Vallini, who spoke with the author Adriano Baffelli. The various testimonies underlined how the fight against gender violence requires constant commitment and highlighted the sharing of the need for a new narrative that starts from the central role of women in society, reflecting and also using new words. “Everyone’s contribution is needed – urged Baffelli – to avoid new tragedies and immense suffering”.
