by Rachael Perez
A common characteristic that is shared
among social organizations is to have a hand in several different affairs; as
creating and promoting change within a community is a job that can certainly be
described as multi-faceted. When I sat
down with Signora Milly Mazzei from Libreria delle Donne
though, I could not have foreseen just how many hats this association wears. At
face value one may only see a bookstore. As I learned this is much on the
contrary, as the extent of their work goes beyond the small shop on Via
Fiesolana; to serve not only as a business, but as a cultural and social venue
as well.
Opened
on March 8th, 1980, the Libreria delle Donne still holds true to its
feminist roots as a self-proclaimed bookshop for women. It may come as no
surprise that it was the Cooperative of Women who opened its doors and who,
despite formally transitioning from a single cooperative into two separate
associations, continues to oversee it today. Signora Milly explains how at the
time of its foundation in 1979, she was its youngest member and a student
furthering her cause for a collective center… a library where women could come
together. As the feminist movement of the 1970’s was alive and well throughout
Italy, these 37 women of all different ages, occupations, and socio-economic
levels, decided to open a bookshop dedicated to selling only women’s literature.
The city of Florence granted them the space, which had been abandoned for 60
years; “we had a lot of work to do, but we did it. Just us women, we renovated
the whole thing ourselves” says Milly. Their efforts were rewarded as its
opening was met with popular demand, calling for a staff of at least three
women per shift to keep up with the public’s interest. Now, 33 years later, it
opens its doors to more than just customers off the street.
To
uphold its mission, which Milly describes as, “helping the Florentine community
as a whole in any way they can, with special attention and focus on women”, the
Libreria has partnered with several Italian entities to lend a helping hand; the
first of these being with local prisons for women. The female prisoners make items
such as t-shirts and bags, which the bookstore then sells. In a similar
fashion, the shop has also partnered with a specific women’s prison group known
as Pantagruel. What is unique about this particular group is that instead of
bags and t-shirts, the convicts make dolls and stuffed animals following the
guidelines of psychiatrist, Steiner. It was his theory that providing
individuals with this hands-on framework was parallel to techniques used to
educate young people. The Libreria has received several letters from the women,
expressing their gratitude and explaining how what they earned from the sales,
allowed them to send money back home to their families.
It
is not only female convicts that this association works with, but also a group
of male juveniles as well. The bookshop first came into contact with these
young men when the prison bought several book titles from the Libreria to supply
their library. Through this supply of literature the prisoners began to read a
book about a young girl coming from Iran to Italy. The story unfolds to explain
how she struggles to gain citizenship and recognition from the Italian
government, despite her having lived in Italy during the early years of her
life. “What was interesting to see…” says Milly, “is how the male convicts
identified with her story, which at its core was a tale of multiple identities
and the struggle that came with that”. The Iranian girl who wrote the story
heard about how the convicts and the personal intrigue it had sparked among
them, and went to visit. Since that time, the bookshop has worked closely with
the juveniles to raise public awareness and support for them.
It
may seem unconventional for a bookshop to be partnering with populations that
society typically deems as unwanted and unreachable, but the goal of their work
is to give the public different insights to violence. Whether it is the
violence that comes with bureaucracy, as the Iranian girl faced, or the
violence of criminals’ pasts, as they attempt to move forward and rehabilitate themselves;
the Libreria wants to help the community see that violence does not always have
to perpetuate more violence. Good can come from evil. Another goal of this work
is to help these groups (and their projects) be financially self-sustaining.
All the profits made go directly back to the prisons; the bookshop does not
take any money from the sale. These groups are not receiving monetary support
from the Italian government, so the only way to continue their work is to
support themselves.
If
this community outreach is not enough, the Libreria also serves as a sort of
social service agency, where individuals (particularly women) can drop in with
their questions or concerns if they are faced with personal struggle, may it be
physical, emotional, or psychological. After talking with the individual to
assess their situation, the staff can then make the appropriate recommendation
to a local social service agency, where they can seek professional and/or
medical help. It is this part of their work that according to Milly makes their
association unique. “We are open right out on the street, six days a week”,
says Milly, so if a woman should need help she can seek refuge at a known
establishment, or rather within the comfort of a familiar place.
After
discovering that the bookshop’s influence extends far beyond its doors, one may
wonder the impact it has within its four walls, so to speak. This is where I
introduce the archive. As a champion of feminism, both past and present, the
archive works to preserve the history of the feminine mystique. Within this
collection of literature devoted to the feminist movement lies journals,
magazines, and articles that can no longer be found. The Libreria has held
subscriptions to social science and feminist review magazines from U.S.,
Germany, France, and Spain going back to 1980. Milly also gained access to
archives from a former activist group in Florence, whose work cannot be
accessed anywhere else but at the shop. Holding even more recognition,
specifically on the feminist movement in Italy, are the bookstore’s original
copies of the magazine Effe. During the 1970’s this publication was considered
a bible for Italian women. Unfortunately, the Libreria is the only place where
one can find copies of every issue it published and because of this it is
conserving the political memories of this social movement, and keeping the
feminist memory alive.
In
fact, many of the 4,900 books, articles, and magazines that are stored at the
Libreria have either gone missing, or have a limited amount of copies left in
existence. Therefore the shop’s utilization of a digital inter-library loan
system, established by the public libraries within Italy 13 years ago, serves
as the point of access for those looking to read the literature of the time.
The process for uploading their material is one that is ongoing, with the delay
being an issue of “no time and no money” says Milly. However, if one is looking
to access the information first hand, they are more than welcome to come into
the shop and read to their hearts content; but cannot take any archive material
out of the shop.
In
addition to the archive the Libreria also holds a special reading group, with
the texts selected focusing solely on feminist issues. Started eight years ago
with the participation of other local social organizations, this reading group
is today comprised of twenty women, and in its most recent form this group has
developed into a literature and writing group. The bookstore also holds
lectures every Sunday, which are open to the public. The topic although
ever-changing, from female roles in the theater to famous English Florentine
community members, is always feminist in nature. Finally, there are the books
that the shop writes and publishes to raise awareness about the great female artists,
both past and present who are unknown. In a city where art is at every corner
and is visited by crowds who have come to see the masters, this association is
doing its part to showcase these talented women and their work.
Although
Milly acknowledges that there are other social organizations working to help
women and highlight the history of feminism, there are not many others (if any
at all) that are as eclectic as Libreria delle Donne. For they are a bookshop,
library, historical archive, social service agency, advocacy center, and the
list can go on; so I take my hat off to the association that proudly wears so
many for the city of Florence.
