Filomena Delli Castelli (28 September 1916 – 22 December 2010) was an Italian politician. She was elected to the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

in 1946 as one of the first group of women parliamentarians in Italy. She was subsequently elected to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

in 1948, serving (with the exception of a six-month spell in 1953) until 1958.

Biography

Delli Castelli was born in

Città Sant'Angelo Città Sant'Angelo () is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Pescara, Abruzzo, Italy. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). History The origins of Città Sant'Angelo are uncertain and have always ...

in 1916.DELLI CASTELLI Filomena
Chamber of Deputies After her father emigrated to America, she was raised by her mother. She studied literature and philosophy at the

Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, colloquially the Catholic University of Milan () or simply the Cattolica, is an Italian private research university founded in 1921. Its main campus is located in Milan, Italy, with satellite campuses in B ...

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, and then worked as a teacher. Having become a member of the youth movement of

Azione Cattolica The Azione Cattolica Italiana, or Azione Cattolica (English: Catholic Action) for short, is a widespread Roman Catholic lay association in Italy. Members believe that priests have an ethical and religious duty to support the rights of the oppress ...

, she served as its president while studying for a master's degree, also joining the

Italian Catholic Federation of University Students The Italian Catholic Federation of University Students (, FUCI) is a federation of groups representing Roman Catholic university students in Italy. History On December 8, 1889, it was founded in Rome the Saint Sebastian Circle which published the ...

in 1940. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, she became an instructor at the teaching seminary where she had trained. She served as a nurse in the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

and was part of the anti-German resistance, looking after refugees in Pescara province. After joining the

Christian Democracy Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics. Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo-scholasticism, as well ...

party, Delli Castelli became provincial secretary of its women's section. In 1945 she moved to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

to work in the press office of the Prime Minister. In the 1946 general elections, she was a Christian Democracy candidate in L'Aquila, and was one of 21 women elected to the Constituent Assembly. She was re-elected in

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

, and in 1951 became mayor of

Montesilvano Montesilvano () is a city and ''comune'' of the province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Abruzzo is often called Mare-Monti (Sea-Mountain) region. The name Montesilvano is apparently derived from the Latin which means "woody hill" (" ...

, a role she held until 1955. Although she lost her seat in parliament the June 1953 elections, she returned to the Chamber of Deputies in December 1953 when she replaced , who had resigned after being appointed to the judiciary. She lost her seat again in the

1958 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1958. Africa * 1958 French Togoland parliamentary election * 1958 Nigerien Constituent Assembly election * 1958 South African general election * 1958 Southern Rhodesian general election * 1958 Sudanese ...

. Delli Castelli subsequently worked for

RAI (), commercially styled as since 2000 and known until 1954 as (RAI), is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terrestrial and subscription television channels a ...

until 1975, focussing on children's television, after which she moved to

Pescara Pescara (; ; ) is the capital city of the province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo Regions of Italy, region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 118,657 (January 1, 2023) residents (and approximately 350,000 including the surround ...

. She died in the city in 2010.Filomena Delli Castelli
Enciclopedia delle donne In 2019, one of the bridges between Città Sant'Angelo and Montesilvano was named after her.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delli Castelli, Filomena 1916 births Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore alumni Italian schoolteachers Christian Democracy (Italy) politicians Members of the Constituent Assembly of Italy Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy) Mayors of places in Abruzzo Rai (broadcaster) people 2010 deaths People from the Province of Pescara 20th-century Italian women politicians Women members of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy)