Carole Jane Beebe Tarantelli (born July 12, 1942) is an American-born former member of the

Italian parliament The Italian Parliament () is the national parliament of the Italy, Italian Republic. It is the representative body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1848–1861), the Parliament of the Kingd ...

. She was the first American citizen elected to the

Italian Chamber of Deputies The Chamber of Deputies () is the lower house of the bicameral Italian Parliament, the upper house being the Senate of the Republic (Italy), Senate of the Republic. The two houses together form a perfect bicameral system, meaning they perform ...

Early life and education

Tarantelli was born in

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

in 1964. She then attended the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

where she earned a master of arts in English literature before moving on to

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

where she earned a Ph.D. in English literature. At Brandeis, she met Ezio Tarantelli, an Italian labor economist. The couple married in 1970 and moved to Italy. Ezio was assassinated by Red Brigade terrorists in 1985. They had a son, Luca.

Life in Rome

After moving to Italy, Tarantelli began teaching the English language and English literature at the

Sapienza University of Rome The Sapienza University of Rome (), formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", abbreviated simply as Sapienza ('Wisdom'), is a Public university, public research university located in Rome, Italy. It was founded in 1303 and is ...

. In 1979, she began training to become a psychoanalyst at the Italian Center for Analytical Psychology, and she entered private practice in 1982. While in Italy, Tarantelli was active in the

feminist movement The feminist movement, also known as the women's movement, refers to a series of social movements and political campaigns for Radical politics, radical and Liberalism, liberal reforms on women's issues created by inequality between men and wom ...

. She took part in a number of international seminars featuring feminist intellectuals. Following her husband's murder, she met in prison with terrorists who were questioning terrorist methods and the impact it was having on Italy. She also became active as an anti-terrorism activist, appearing in print and on television. Tarantelli helped found Differenza Donna, an organization dedicated to combating violence against women, in 1988. She served as president from 1988 to 1995. , Tarantelli continued to teach at the Sapienza, volunteered at Differenza Donna, and worked as a psychoanalyst.

Chamber of Deputies

Tarantelli was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1987 and focused on women's issues, including legislation focusing on rape, domestic violence, abortion, and family leave. She was the first American ever elected to parliament in Italy. She was reelected twice and stepped down in 1996. She was a member of the Independent Left parliamentary delegation.

Awards

Tarantelli received the Alumnae Achievement Award from Wellesley College in 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarantelli, Carole Beebe Wellesley College alumni University of Michigan Law School alumni Brandeis University alumni Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy) Independent Left (Italy) politicians People from Elizabeth, New Jersey Academic staff of the Sapienza University of Rome 1942 births Living people