Olga Ossani

{{Expand Italian|Olga Ossani}}

{{short description|Italian writer and feminist (1875-1962)}}

{{Infobox Writer

| name = Olga Ossani

| image = Olga Ossani aka Febea.jpg

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| pseudonym = Febea, Carbonilla

| birth_name = Olga Ossani

| birth_date = {{birth-date|24 May 1857}}

| birth_place = Rome, Italy

| death_date = {{death-date and age|11 February 1933|24 May 1857}}

| death_place = Rome, Italy

| occupation = Activist, writer, journalist

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Olga Ossani (May 24, 1857 - February 11, 1933) was an Italian journalist, writer, and women's rights activist.{{Citation |last=Mitchell |first=Katharine |title=Index |date=2014-05-27 |work=Italian Women Writers |pages=237–250 |url=https://utppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3138/9781442646414.bm3 |access-date=2025-03-11 |series=Toronto Italian Studies |publisher=University of Toronto Press |doi=10.3138/9781442646414.bm3 |isbn=978-1-4426-4641-4}} She is considered one of the pioneering female journalists in Italy.

Career

Ossani made her mark as one of Italy's first female journalists, breaking ground in a male-dominated field. She was involved in editing La vita, a Roman newspaper with a pro-suffrage stance, alongside her husband Luigi Lodi.{{Cite web |title=Olga Ossani, la bella Febea |url=http://www.specchioromano.it/fondamentali/Lespigolature/2014/MARZO/Olga%20Ossani,%20la%20bella%20Febea.htm |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=www.specchioromano.it}}

In addition to her journalistic work, Ossani was also known as a writer. She contributed to the growing body of literature produced by Italian women writers in the post-unification period.

Activism and feminism

Ossani was part of a network of women who challenged traditional constructions of femininity in early 20th-century Italy. Along with figures like Sibilla Aleramo, Maria Montessori, and Eleonora Duse, she advocated for women's right to pursue professional ambitions and artistic endeavors.{{Cite journal |last=Gentili |first=Barbara |date=2024-02-12 |title=A Project of Her Own: Emma Carelli's Enactment of Femininity in Early Twentieth-Century Italy |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/cambridge-opera-journal/article/project-of-her-own-emma-carellis-enactment-of-femininity-in-early-twentiethcentury-italy/91BE329139603959660EF53D3BDF03AA |journal=Cambridge Opera Journal |language=en |pages=1–16 |doi=10.1017/S0954586723000228 |issn=0954-5867}}

During a cholera outbreak in Naples in 1884, she volunteered to the Croce Bianca (White Cross) to help out the victims.{{Cite web |date=2015-02-19 |title=Risorgimento |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219051535/http://www.risorgimento.it/rassegna/index.php?id=67865&ricerca_inizio=0&ricerca_query=&ricerca_ordine=DESC&ricerca_libera= |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=web.archive.org}}

References