{"id":267691,"date":"2025-10-30T11:00:22","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T10:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unipi.it\/news\/censiti-per-la-prima-volta-con-una-ricerca-di-unipi-i-brevetti-femminili-in-italia-tra-il-1861-e-il-1939-la-prima-fu-una-genovese\/"},"modified":"2025-11-10T15:57:59","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T14:57:59","slug":"patents-filed-by-women-in-italy-between-1861-and-1939-have-been-catalogued-for-the-first-time-the-first-was-a-lady-from-genoa","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.unipi.it\/en\/news\/patents-filed-by-women-in-italy-between-1861-and-1939-have-been-catalogued-for-the-first-time-the-first-was-a-lady-from-genoa\/","title":{"rendered":"Patents filed by women in Italy between 1861 and 1939 have been catalogued for the first time: the first was a lady from Genoa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rosa Predavalle was the first woman in Italy to obtain a patent<\/strong>. In 1861, she designed the Armonitone<\/strong>, a \u201cmuted piano\u201d<\/em> that allowed for more controlled playing<\/strong>. Rosa was the first woman to embody the long yet little-known history of female creativity, which has now been brought to light by the research of Marco Martinez<\/strong>, Professor of Economic History at the University of Pisa<\/strong>. This research was published in the international journal Business History<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Drawing on the study of over 330,000 patents filed in Italy between Unification and the Second World War<\/strong>, this research is the first to systematically record women\u2019s inventions between 1861 and 1939. The outcome<\/strong> \u2014 1,878 patents<\/strong>, representing 0.7%<\/strong> of the total \u2014 reveals that women made a significant contribution to the country\u2019s technological development.<\/strong> Up until the 1920s<\/strong>, the growth rate of women\u2019s patents was comparable to that of men\u2019s. However, the Fascist regime set them back, confining women once again to the domestic sphere through propaganda and legislation.<\/p>\n

Women\u2019s inventions spanned mechanics, the textile industry, transport, armaments, and innovations for the home. In 1918, Francesca Giuseppa Sillani patented a military tent for the army<\/strong> and Lina Holzer<\/strong> designed a fuel economiser<\/strong> \u2014 a device to improve the efficiency of stoves and heating systems \u2014 in the same year. Other inventors, including Eufrasia, Marcantonia, Ersilia and Melvenia, who were active between the late 19th century and the 1930s, registered patents for industrial mechanisms and domestic devices, including spinning and sewing instruments, household tools, heating appliances, and small mechanical contraptions for everyday use.<\/p>\n

The most active provinces were those of the industrial triangle \u2014 Milan, Turin and Genoa \u2014 along with Rome and Naples<\/strong>. However, manufacturing centres such as Udine, Bergamo, Pisa, Florence and Salerno<\/strong> also stood out for their high concentration of women\u2019s patents<\/strong>, which were often connected to textile and silk processing<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Tuscany\u2019s patent archives <\/strong>reveal surprising inventiveness. In Pisa, for example, Rosa Pelucchi patented a system for cocoon winding in 1869<\/strong>, which is evidence of the important role played by the silk sector in local production. In 1877<\/strong>, Carolina Cappelletto (n\u00e9e Pizzorni)<\/strong>, daughter of the late Antonio, patented the so-called sugo al magro<\/em><\/strong> (meatless sauce<\/em>) \u2014 an example of food innovation at a time when preserving food posed major technical challenges. In 1890<\/strong>, Giovanna Bottari<\/strong> obtained a patent for Soda Champagne<\/strong>, a carbonated drink that was registered as a medicinal preparation. Several other remarkable figures emerged in Florence<\/strong> and its surroundings: Francesca Cremonesi<\/strong> patented a roller bearing for railway vehicles<\/strong> \u2014 a highly technical invention that demonstrates how certain women were able to work competently in traditionally male-dominated fields such as mechanics. Adelaide Marchi<\/strong> devised a bingo game for the visually impaired<\/strong> \u2014 a project combining ingenuity and social sensitivity that anticipated the modern idea of inclusion. Lina Spinetti<\/strong> and Italo Spinetti registered a mourning stamp and a stamp for advertising tax on correspondence. Meanwhile, Anna Alessandrini<\/strong> patented a system of teaching materials for teaching arithmetic to individuals with cognitive disabilities, which is further evidence of a growing interest in special education and innovative pedagogy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese women were true creative entrepreneurs<\/strong>,\u201d explains Marco Martinez, Professor of Economic History at the University of Pisa, ‘capable of turning ideas into technical solutions and challenging legal, cultural and social barriers.’ Our research shows how gender dynamics profoundly shaped innovation processes and how the relationship between industrialisation, culture, and rights was crucial in determining women’s opportunities. Yet the inequalities of the past still cast a shadow today: even now, in Europe, only 16% of patents are held by women<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1,878 patents were filed, accounting for 0.7% of the total, spanning every field including mechanics, the textile industry, transport, armaments, and innovations for the home. 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