Women's Portraits

Carmen Capatti

An 82-year-old woman, married, with a daughter and grandson, a retired administrator in the public sector, she was educated to elementary school level. Satisfied with her life, she thinks it is vital to have something to live for.

Interview

I remember my childhood with pleasure – the affection and strength of my family, my mother’s struggle to make me autonomous in daily life as soon as possible. It was important to her that I knew how to read and write (I attended school up to and including the fourth year of elementary school), sew, embroider, cook and keep the house tidy. Furthermore, I had to learn to work in the fields and look after the farm animals.
The birth of my sister in 1938 was a reason for hope for me.

I also have bad memories, like my father’s emigration in 1938 and his enlisting in the reserves – he was later sent to Pesaro as a coastguard.

Other negative experiences I remember were the fascist invasion and malaria – an illness that struck me when I was 9 years old and had started work as a farm hand.

When I got involved in the worker’s struggle, politics became my school, profession and occupation. My aspirations corresponded with the practice of political action.

My life led in the direction of social research, and in-depth reading, current affairs, continuous self-evaluation, hobbies, interests and study were integral parts of my life’s journey.

Family has always meant a lot to me – intimacy, support and mutual respect; it allowed me to put my choices into action; every member has been able to live their own life, understanding how to manage their time and finding ways of dealing with the demands of daily life.

As a mother I am satisfied by how I brought up my only daughter; I devoted all my attention to her, sharing the responsibility with my husband. Our relationship permits each of us to be a point of reference to the other, without compromising our personal autonomy.

In the same way, we were able to share our niece’s upbringing.

During my youth, there were mixed positive and negative experiences; there was the war and the partisan struggle. One memory prevails – the early death (at only 59 years if age) of my mother-in-law – an independent woman who gave me great strength. At my first political assembly, surrounded by law enforcement officers, my mother-in-law waited until late at night to hug me.

From 40 to 60, as an administrator, my life was characterized by political work.
From 1952 to 1956, I was a town councillor for Lagosanto (a small town in the province of Ferrara); I then worked as provincial councillor for health and welfare for 13 years.

After that I was an administrator at the local health authority for 10 years.
I worked towards the establishment of social, health and educational services, including alternatives to institutional care for the mentally ill. At that time, these services set a shining example to the rest of the nation.
Along with these work commitments, I was also involved with the Italian Women’s Union and, obviously, taking care of my family, without missing out on the pleasure of meeting and travelling with friends.

I’m very attached to my past history, and precisely for this reason, when my experience as an administrator in the public authorities came to an end, I became President of a Municipal Care Home – an experience which lasted 14 years.

The most difficult time in my life was, without doubt, my childhood, due to the war.

In recent times I have read a lot, travelled and met up with friends.
Furthermore, I’m attempting to write an account of my social activities – meeting those associates still living in order to honour a complex series of testimonies of civic responsibility and participation, of energy and beauty, of sacrifice and satisfaction.
Moreover, I have taken up voluntary work for the Italian Women’s Union again.

I’m convinced that, more so today than in the past, it is important to have something to live for. I live for the future – I would like to finish writing my account and to speak about my experiences with young women.
Thinking about death makes me sad – being able to think about something else helps me live better.
In the future, I’ll continue my social activities, sharing convivial meetings and holidays with my husband and friends. I look on with pride at the magnificent cultural development my niece is undertaking.

I’m happy about my past, and the difficult moments form part of it.
The most important values for my life are self-respect, equal civil rights for all, and the value of responsibility, even the family when it permits work, friends and differences to be shared.

I advise the younger generations not to seek riches, to be aware of the value of history, to be curious about other people’s life stories and to be socially active.

Liliana Guidetti