Rome (NEV), 21 February 2023 – Lidia Poët. The Netflix series brought this name to the fore. But who was Lidia Poët really? You talked about it during the broadcast “Culto evangelico” on RaiRadio1 on February 19, in the section “Between the words”.
We are talking about a woman, the first female lawyer in Italy, born in Traverse, a small village in the municipality of Perrero, in the Val Germanasca in Piedmont, at an altitude of 1100 m. Gian Mario Gillio interview the historian and essayist Clara Bounous, author of the book “Lidia Poët. A modern woman”.
The series is instead called “The law of Lidia Poët” and is available on Netflix from February 15th.
“This is not a biography, it is not the true story of Lidia – explains Bounous -. Even if she does not fully tell her story about her, she nevertheless makes known, at least, the name of Lidia Poët ”. In the series it is not mentioned that Lidia Poët was a Waldensian. How important is it to remember this religious affiliation? The scholar replies: “It’s important because we always have to start from when she was born, that is, in the mid-nineteenth century, before the unification of Italy. In her valley the population was practically all Waldensian and the Waldensians had culture very much at heart, because through culture everyone could read the Bible. In our three Waldensian valleys there were as many as 200 elementary schools. Then she was from a wealthy family, so she also had the opportunity to read other things. This culture that flowed from her church has always accompanied her. And she didn’t sit idly by, but she dedicated herself to social work with a commitment that led her too to be an Italian member in various international congresses, especially with regard to prisons, minors, the disadvantaged. And this was exactly what she got from having read the Bible and understanding that love and charity are cornerstones in a person’s life. The hope is that the name of Lidia Poët will finally be known by the Italians because she was the first female lawyer in 1920 and she was the second female graduate in Italy; before her there was only one other woman, graduated in medicine. It’s not little. That world was masculine and still is now. In certain judicial sectors, still today, women have not yet achieved equality with men”.
To know more:
Who was Lidia Poët? Listen to the complete interview on “Culto evangelico” – RaiRadio1 of 19 February (from 17:40)
Read on Riforma.it the critical commentary by Peter Ciaccio: Poetic License
