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Italian writer From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Renata Viganò (1900–1976) was an Italian writer best known for her neo-realist novel L'Agnese va a morire, published in 1949.[1] She was an active participant in the Italian Resistance movement during World War II and included fictionalized accounts of her experiences as a partisan in her written work.[2]
Viganò was born in Bologna on 17 June 1900. As an adolescent, she published two books of poetry, Ginestra in fiore (1912) and Piccola fiamma (1915).[3]
Vigano was a member of the Italian Communist Party.[4] During World War II, she participated in the resistance as a nurse and courier in Emilia-Romagna region.[5] Together with her husband, Antonio Meluschi, she helped to organize armed resistance activities in the Po Valley.[6]
Viganò published several novels in the postwar period, including L'Agnese va a morire (1949) which tells the story of a washerwoman living in the countryside who joins the Communist resistance. The book became popular among Italian Communists at the time and established Viganò's position as a literary figure in the community.[6] It won the Italian Viareggio Prize and was adapted into the film L'agnese va a morire in 1976 by Giuliano Montaldo.[3]
In addition to L'Agnese, much of Viganò's other work also focuses on themes of labor, resistance and women's role in Italian society.[4] She wrote two collections of short stories (including Matrimonio in brigata, 1976, published in English as Partisan Wedding) and a reference volume about women who participated in the resistance (Donne nella Resistenza).[7] She also worked as a journalist, contributing to L'Unità, Rinascita, Corriere Padano and Noi donne.
In the post-war period, her house in via Mascarella in Bologna was frequented by intellectuals such as Pier Paolo Pasolini, Sibilla Aleramo, Antonio Meluschi and Nella Nobili, former partisans and students.[8]
From 1951 to 1955, she wrote an advice column for Noi donne on topics related to womanhood and motherhood aimed at leftist women.[9] In 1952, she published Mondine, a collection of personal essays about the so-called female mondina workers and the struggle to improve their conditions.[4]
Viganò died in Bologna on 23 April 1976.[10] In 2018, the city of Bologna in collaboration with the Associazione Nazionale Partigiani d'Italia (ANPI, National Association of Italian Partisans) erected a plaque commemorating the longtime home of Viganò and her husband.[11]
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