Rosina Ferrario (1888–1959) was the first Italian woman to receive a pilot's licence when she passed her test on 3 January 1913 at Vizzola,

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

, in a

Caproni Caproni, also known as ''Società de Agostini e Caproni'' and ''Società Caproni e Comitti'', was an Italian aircraft manufacturer. Its main base of operations was at Taliedo, near Linate Airport, on the outskirts of Milan. Founded by Giova ...

monoplane. She received Licence No. 203 from the Aeroclub of Italy.

Biography

Born into an affluent bourgeois family, Ferrario worked as a clerk. She was an avid sportswoman and mountain climber, as well as a keen cyclist. After receiving her pilot's licence, she took part in several demonstrations and exhibition flights in 1913 and 1914, for example in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

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, ...

and

Como Como (, ; , or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Nestled at the southwestern branch of the picturesque Lake Como, the city is a renowned tourist destination, ce ...

. In October 1913, in connection with celebrations for the 100th anniversary of

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi, his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma ...

's birth in

Busseto Busseto ( Bussetano: ; Parmigiano: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Parma, in Emilia-Romagna in Northern Italy with about inhabitants. Its history is quite well documented back to the 10th century, and for almost five hundred years it was the ...

, she flew alongside Achille Landini. In June 1913, she spent a day in a hot air balloon with Erminio Donner Flori, flying from

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 ...

to Lodi. In 1914, Ferrario was unable to accept an invitation to fly in South America as the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

had been declared. She applied to work for the Red Cross in Italy but was refused as she was not in the military. There is little information on Ferrario until 1921 when she was living married to Enrico Grugnola whom she met on an outing with the Italian Alpine Club. Together they opened a hotel with a large garden in Milan where they lived with their two children. She regularly attended meetings of the ''Pionieri dell'Aeronautica'' (Aviation Pioneers) but no longer flew. She continued to be recognized as a pioneer until her death in 1959.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrario, Rosina 1888 births 1959 deaths People from Milan Italian aviation pioneers Italian women aviators