There are names that have made history, but who too often remain outside the plaques, the corridors of power, the places where the future is decided.
Sardinia is trying to fill this void by giving a name, a face, and a female history to its institutional spaces.
With a resolution approved by the Regional Council, rooms and spaces open to the public within the Regional System will be named after illustrious Sardinian women, protagonists of the island's scientific, cultural, political, artistic, and social life.
This initiative implements one of the measures envisaged in the Gender Equality Plan of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia and aims to make women's contributions to collective growth visible every day.
"This is a clear and concrete choice," explained Giuseppe Meloni, Councilor for Planning and Budget, "that recognizes the fundamental role of women in the history and development of Sardinia. It is an act of justice and public responsibility that restores visibility to figures who have profoundly impacted the life of the island and offers new generations examples of commitment, competence, and active citizenship."
The project was born from a participatory and shared process, coordinated by the Regional Programming Center through a working group and a technical panel that involved institutions, equality organizations, unions, and organizations committed to gender equality issues. This discussion allowed for the definition of common criteria and objectives and the expansion of the initiative: from the three initially planned names, a total of eight spaces has been created.
The names chosen reflect a diverse and courageous Sardinia. Linetta Serri, teacher, regional councilor, mayor, and president of ANCI Sardinia; Cecilia Contu, national secretary of the Partito Sardo d'Azione and president of the province of Cagliari; Giuliana Minuti, sociologist and founder of the Cooperativa Allevatrici Sarde, a pioneering example of female entrepreneurship; Paola Pau, director of regional social policies; Franca Valsecchi, botanist and scholar, among the first to advocate for biodiversity protection; Maria Giacobbe, a writer from Nuoro with international influence; Eva Mameli Calvino, a scientist from Sassari and the first woman to hold a chair in botany; and the Cigar Women of the Manifattura Tabacchi of Cagliari, a symbol of work, rights, and female dignity.
