Tuscan women architects and engineers: visions, practice and intervention on architectural heritage

The Tuscan panorama, since the 1930s up to now, is characterized by women architects and engineers who have played a key role in the field of architectural design and conservation, which how-ever have never been investigated. At the Faculty of Engineering in Pisa, there’s almost no female presence before the 40s: the first two women graduated in 1948/49, three other women graduated in 1949/50, and another one, Ornella Bibbiani, in 1950/51. Before the '40s, women were just a few at the Faculty of Architecture in Florence as well. Among the firsts, Berenice Parisella and Corinna Bartolini. Numbers starts to rise during the 50s and the 60s, so that some prominent figures start to emerge. Among them: Carla Pietramellara and Silvia Briccoli Bati, respectively professors of Architectural Restoration and Construction Science at the University of Florence, and Anna Braschi, Anna Olivetti, Bianca Ballestrero Paoli, Maria Grazia Dallerba, Bona Pellini Arzelà and Marta Lonzi, involved both in the professional practice and theoretical reflection. The aim of this contribution, therefore, is to rebuild their academic, professional and theoretical paths, and to understand if and how the so-called “specifico femminile” has influenced their work, considering also their common ground: Tuscany and its architectural heritage.