March 2017
Monthly Newsletter of the Professional Women’s Association of Rome Celebrating our Silver Jubilee Anniversary
Lisa Rosen, the Ameropean
PWA is an international hub in the heart of Rome where ideas and values, tradition and innovation, diversity, culture and professionalism meet and intersect. On our journey into the future our travel companions are respect, ethics, and a sense of social responsibility. This year we celebrate our 25th Jubilee Anniversary.
What is your story?
My phone got stolen on a rush-hour bus in Rome. I had it in my coat pocket, received a message, read it and placed the phone in my pocket again. A guy, standing very close to me, kept bumping into me every now and then. He must have snuck the phone out of my coat-pocket while bumping into me. I must admit, I did not notice anything. My duffel-bag was snatched off on a Rome-Florence Intercity train. I stupidly placed it on the shelf in the corridor area as I entered the train, and went to sit down in my wagon. As the train left the Rome station, I got up to get it, but the bag was long gone. My car window was broken as I had left valuable items visible on the back seat, my jewellery was robbed out of my suitcase during a flight and my apartment door forced open with a crowbar. I am sure most of us have lived through stories such as these. Almost all of these incidents could have been avoided, if I had paid more attention to my surroundings and kept a better eye on my belongings. I have never been drunk in my life, but many of my friends have had similar things happen to them while under the effect of alcohol. As soon as our vigilance level decreases, we become living targets. For years I listened to the Safety Officer of the U.S. Embassy in Rome give talks on personal safety to young Americans and he would always say: the criminals are really good at what they do, they steal/mug/rape 24/7 most of their adult lives. The best tip to avoid thefts and violent incidents is to always stay alert and not give these professionals the opportunity to target us. This newsletter is full of resources, apps and tips on how to stay safe. Tonight we will learn from a true safety expert, Mark Baxter, who will go through certain methods of thinking and observation skills that work for International Women wherever we are. Let's keep his advice in mind as we travel and move around, even in places we think we thoroughly know. Be safe,
Hanna
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Hanna Suni editor and layout designer www.hamedesign.com newslettereditor@pwarome.org
in this issue
4 March Conference: Better Safe Than Sorry
6 8 10 12 13 14 15 16
Being Smart about our Safety Member Spotlight: Lisa Rosen — the Ameropean 2.0 Safety A Knight in a Shining Armour - No Thanks Far from Equal: PWA participates in a JCU Panel March Multinational ConneXion February Wrap-Up: What Turns You On? IWD: Trasteverine & ME2
18 Artemisia: Life, Art and Passion 22 Women and Words
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PWA MARCH Conference
15 March at 19.30 at Grand Hotel Palace
Better safe than sorry
better safe than sorry Meet an Expert and Learn how to be more Street Smart Attacks at work, public events, social activities. Look at the recent incidents of violence across the world (criminal/domestic/terrorism/racism) and develop new thinking methods and observation skills that safeguard International Women where ever they are. Learn tactics that work to evade a confrontation, and establish a plan to escape any dangerous situation, and reach safe refuge. Mart Baxter will give an overview of key events effecting certain increases in violence recently, and issues across Europe. To include attacks at work, public events, social activities. Look at the breakdown of incidents (criminal/domestic/ terrorism/racism). Outline a campaign of training women/girls in public places with 3-4 hours of skill to gain confidence etc. He will also outline tactics that work to evade a confrontation, show how to establish a plan to escape any dangerous situation. Mark provides a list of places to take safe refuge and stresses the importance of reporting all suspicious activity. He will name organisations that can provide support and training.
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About Our Speaker
Mark Baxter
Mark has extensive UK Armed Forces background in the Middle East, with 4 years in Iraq and further service in Afghanistan, Colombia, Russia, Syria, Libya and right across Africa. Following his service with the UK Special Forces, he worked in the security consultancy industry, and for the U.N. hostage working group, before going on to a senior position with Fortus Security based in London. Mr. Baxter has developed a wide range of management skills including training, special operations, administration, and staff welfare. A crisis management and hostage rescue expert, he also has expertise as a covert surveillance instructor, developing penetration and scenario testing programmes.
main sponsor
www.lifecoachitaly.it 5
Being smart about our safety by Hanna Suni www.hamedesign.com
As our conference title states, it is better to be safe than sorry. There are dozens of safety tips that we can memorize and apps that provide instant help and guidance in a dangerous situation. Browse through these resources and pick the one that seems most suitable.
FEMALE SAFETY 10 safety tips for women Have you ever felt frightened or intimidated when out walking alone? Have you ever wondered what you should do if approached by an attacker? Have you ever worried about becoming yet another home invasion statistic? Learn 10 important safety tips an become smarter on the streets.
SAFETY APPS You can find several different apps that can be downloaded for free and used in hazardous situations. Panik is your own personal assault alarm for those situations where you need an extra life line! Panik has a couple of tricks up it's sleeve to keep you as safe as possible. The App Siamo sicure! is a similar application, only in Italian.
STREET SAFETY It might seem useless to learn about street safety, but most often we get attacked in common places in which we feel the safest. This leaflet designed by the Street Life safety for young people research team gives advice with youth in mind, but the tips are useful for adults as well. Below you can watch a video on street safety.
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cyber-safety for kids As our children and teens race down the onramp to the Information Superhighway, many parents feel left behind in the dust. News stories about online sexual predators, child pornography, cyberbullies, hate groups, gaming addiction, and other dangers that lurk in the online world make us feel increasingly concerned about what our children are doing (and with whom) in cyberspace. In Cyber-Safe Kids, CyberSavvy Teens, Internet safety expert Nancy Willard provides you with need-to-know information about those online dangers, and she gives you the practical parenting strategies necessary to help children and teens learn to use the Internet safely and responsibly. There is a separate article on page 10 on internet safety for adults. Read it carefully!
workplace safety
Travel safety Violent incidents and frauds often happen while we are traveling, especially when in a new, unknown environment. It is important to know how to act and what to do while abroad.
This is a guide by ACAS in the UK to battling harassment at the workplace
FINANCE safety
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Lisa Rosen, the Ameropean
W
hen a member of PWA 20 years ago, Lisa occupied the position of Treasurer for two years. Lisa lives on the coast outside the Eternal City, and now with more time to do more things as her kids are grown, she feels the need to get back into the groove; in contact with people in Rome, hence her return to PWA. Lisa was born in North Dakota, U.S. and spent much
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by Valerie Baxter President
of her childhood going back and forth between the US and Italy, finally spending her high school and university years in Houston, Texas. Only daughter of an Italian mother and an American father Lisa wanted to shine, and remembers being a high achiever and best student, shy yet independent, counting on her own strength to forge her future. With dad in the US Air Force it came naturally to her to be precise and responsible. She grew up with
a strong sense of ethics. Although finding an absence of role models in her youth, Lisa found herself in a quandary regarding her future, so she reasoned by process of elimination when it came to choosing her career. Two majors in finance and marketing at university set her up for the corporate world. During her high school and college years, Lisa worked as a hostess in her uncle’s Italian restaurant where she had the opportunity of networking with interesting clients and businessmen who helped shape her personality and ideals. Despite Texas being a culturally rich area, full of art-minded people, museums and theatres, Lisa perceived at that time a class gap with which she felt uncomfortable. During university she also worked part-time in a bank and was offered a role after graduation which she put on hold while she spent her summer after graduation in Italy. Lisa had a strong desire to move to Italy. Her love for “il bel paese” dominated her thoughts when she accepted a position at J&J in Rome and met her Italian future husband. J&J was the perfect fit following her studies and she decided to close bridges with the US, dedicating herself full-time to working with marketing people as she budgeted accounts for various products. Although Lisa is expert at time management, she worked day and night with no life, so her next step was to abandon the multinational in order to bring up two children. She moved to a small company called Parsons, an international import company for promotional gadgets from Hong Kong and the Orient. She discovered herself learning to do everything in such a small dimension, gaining an allround experience; of the type required for her unspoken desire to have her own business, yet she was happy at finally being able to work normal hours. The shutdown of Parsons, a fate shared by many small companies, forced Lisa to look towards a new adventure. With Millward Brown, a fast growing market research company, our Ameropean was able to grow with the company, supporting the CFO of the Central & Eastern Europe regional HQ headquartered in Rome in management accounting, reporting and budgeting tasks. She was fascinated by the continuous change she experienced, as the HQ expanded to include other nations and further acquisitions and her role grew further, allowing Lisa to develop good relations among her colleagues of different nationalities and professional levels as well as create a team of analysts to help her in her role. A restructure of the parent company Kantar started in early 2016, merging the management of MB with other research and data insights companies within the group. The immediate impact was the elimination
of dual positions and regional HQs as well as a gradual standardization and automation of work, which both reduced work opportunities and eliminated any form of creativity, forcing Lisa to look into the future, asking herself “where to from here?” It was then that her idea of opening her own business returned as she was already consulting for her husband, a Certified Public Accountant, regarding his international client base. Lisa organized an international conference for the International Association of Lawyers and Accountants (IPG) of which she too is a member. Proudly, very shy Lisa was able to test her strengths also as a public speaker, something she’d never done before at that level. An achievement in PR negotiations instead of sitting behind a computer, plus the much-complimented success of the conference event fired her self-confidence, and contributed to her enjoyment of the challenge. Lisa finds Europe easy to travel and regards it as the ‘middle of her world’. She knows lots of people, feels at home and looks upon Europe as family. As a world traveller to broaden her horizons her impressions of India during a recent trip left an indelible mark by people of tolerance and positivity, and on a journey to Russia the discovery of her Russian heritage enthralled her to proceed into further investigation. Teamwork is one of the great satisfactions Lisa obtains in her professional life. Teamwork is also wonderfully expressed in her true passion: participating in a choir, which not only helps her to use breathing to relieve stress and to overcome her fear of performing in front of people, but also gives her an incredible amount of pleasure. Lisa enjoys today’s PWA. What has changed - how? Years ago, Lisa remembers “there were more people at conferences, yet the quality of conference is more professional now, as are the opportunities of social gatherings, then totally missing from PWA activity”. Above all she notes in the quality of membership today a higher level of professional women. She realises the importance of reference points as she encourages her two collegeaged kids to glean new experiences in order to forge their characters. She loves travelling, having time for culture, being with people and is happy to retake command of her life, accepting change with joy, unafraid of “rediscovering life and happy with what I do” as she puts it. Her decision to candidate herself as Treasurer once again to further contribute to PWA is one we all welcome with open arms, wishing even more success to the intrepid and fearless Lisa Rosen!
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2.0 Safety
by Cristiana Montani Natalucci
My grandmother used to talk to me about safety, warning me to look after myself in the different situations such as: parties, discos, pubs, streets and the underground. Remembering her advice now, her words sound to me like a “black and white photo”. Nowadays the concept of safety has become, unfortunately, more tricky to assure: the 2.0 dimension of our life makes it really aleatory today. Most probably my grandmother, understanding the current risks, would simply recommend me not to enter the web at all! The question is: how is it possible to defend our safety, while we live in 2.0? There are several potential hazards we might need to confront, if we don’t behave carefully. The most serious one is certainly identity theft that involves bank and personal data, documents and electronic IDs for online access. But there are other ones as well. Bullying and stalking, or people that trying to get in touch with our children or people we chat with on dating sites. Photos would merit an entire chapter apart. Even photos can become dangerous if they get into the wrong hands. With 44% of children aged 10-13 now using social media, many of them may not be fully aware of the implications and effects of their online behaviour. Children can be pressured into taking pictures of themselves or passing on images of others, without realising that this information can be instantly shared and copied. The latest numbers from Internet Safety 101 reveal that 82% of the people who commit sex crimes against minors use information they obtain
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about them online to facilitate their relationship with the victim. So here are some simple rules to follow in order to protect ourselves and our children in a 2.0 life*: 1) Don’t use lazy passwords If your account is hacked, it is often because someone has worked out your password. Never use a password that anyone could guess or work out — a middle name, pet’s name or favourite football team. Include capital letters, numbers and punctuation marks for extra security. So if your pet is called Hamish, try using password Ham15h! And never use the same password for different accounts. It means that when someone gets into one of your accounts, they can access everything. 2) Be careful about what you post online Everything you write on a social network is public, so don’t give out any personal details, such as your address, bank details etc. That would be the equivalent of shouting the details out of the window. Don’t write that you are going on holiday, as that leaves you vulnerable to burglars. Many employers also google prospective employees before hiring, so don’t post anything that could damage your chances of getting a job. 3) If you are a victim of cyberbullying, do not answer back The rule for dealing with cyberbullies is to “stop, block and tell”. Don’t answer back, as that will only feed the abuse. Block that person's contacts or message and tell someone you trust.
4) Never open email attachments or click on links from strangers Viruses are often spread via attachments on emails, so if you don’t know what an attachment is, do not open it. Never open .EXE attachments. The same is true of links. Even if it looks like a safe link, it may be forwarding to somewhere you weren’t expecting. 4) Watch out for email scams Spoof emails are very common, ranging from Nigerian princes asking for a short-term loan to proper-looking companies asking you for personal information. This is called phishing. If you get an email from someone like a bank, eBay or PayPal, saying there is a problem with your account, forward it to the company in question to get confirmation it’s from them. Most companies will never ask you to tell them your password. Try searching on google for similar scams. For example, Nationwide bank has an archive of known email scams in circulation. 5) Even emails from friends can be suspicious Robert Fox, a journalist for the Evening Standard, told of how his email contacts were all sent an email saying he was stuck in Cyprus after having his passport and wallet stolen and asking for money. Some of his friends did this. All of this was done when a hacker got into his account, changed passwords and locked him out. 7) If you’re doing online banking, use all of the bank's security recommendations Many banks will recommend adding a piece of software which guards against hackers. Do it. That will give your account maximum protection. For example, HSBC uses a programme called Rapport. Only complete online transactions where the URL starts with ‘https’ and not just ‘http’. The ‘s’ stands for secure. Don’t do internet banking on computers that may be infected. Again, remember your bank will never ask for your login details via email, text or phone. 8) If you get hacked, change your password immediately Often, when you are hacked, a spam email will be sent to all your contacts. If you find out this has happened, change your password to something completely different immediately. Alert the people that may have received a spam email from your account to delete it immediately without opening it. 9) Read the small print When you’re signing up for an account, make sure you look for the box near the bottom, which asks if
you want to receive more information. Some require you to tick them to opt-in, some require you to tick them to opt-out, so read it carefully. Only fill in the mandatory boxes, marked with an asterisk *. Some companies will sell your personal data, so make sure you take time to tick/untick the right boxes. 10) Use a firewall, anti-virus programme and anti-spyware programme You can use Windows’ own firewall, or a third-party, such as Norton or McAfee. But make sure you don’t use both as they can interfere with each other. - A firewall will stop unauthorised people hacking on to your computer. - Anti-virus programmes will guard your computer from viruses which could destroy your device. - Anti-spyware will look out for programmes such as keyloggers and trojans which spy on your computer use in an attempt to learn passwords or account details. A lot of campaigns all around the world are now engaging people on the correct attitude in the web listing a sort of decalog that we believe in: • Do own everything you say • Do speak only for yourself • Do be the same friend online as you are in person • Do think about the effect your post will have on other people • Do report it if you see any of your friends being bullied • Don’t say anything online you wouldn’t say to someone’s face • Don’t write if if you wouldn’t be happy for your Mum to read it • Don’t respond to anyone who is being negative towards you - don’t feed the troll • Don’t write/post anything you aren’t 100% happy to be made public - as it will be out there forever • Don’t say anything you wouldn’t be happy to have said to you * h t t p : / / w w w. l b c . c o . u k / n e w s / t h e - n e w s explained/stay-safe-online-10-ways-to-protectyourself-on-th/
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A knight in shining armour? No thanks by Valerie Baxter, President
In a quandary on how to address this difficult situation, I racked my brains, tossing around ideas and discarding many of them as rhetoric as I asked myself what drove me to become president of PWA. Well, you’re never going to believe this - my inspiration to write this article came from a roll of toilet paper - pure white with hearts indented in its soft texture. It all has to do with the heart! As simple as that. Even if taken out of context - with the heart we can expect the unexpected and learn to live with it.
After IWD celebrations of diversity and reflections on our theme of Inclusion with reference to the workplace - a practice of ensuring that people in organizations feel they belong - I thought quite appropriate Lori Allen’s post of 24th February from the official LinkedIn blog: “At LinkedIn, we want to ensure that every member of our team feels like they belong and that each of us appreciates and values all of our colleagues’ uniqueness and creativity. So it was only fitting that in celebration of Black History Month, our Black Inclusion Group hosted an all Black executive roundtable, in partnership with EYs Black Professional Network, on ‘The Business of Belonging.’ The evening featured a thoughtprovoking panel discussion on what it means to belong and some of the challenges faced by Black professionals in the workplace. My hope is that the stories that we shared will help others remove their masks and unleash their full potential.” It was as a speaker at JCU’s panel discussion “Far from Equal - The Gender Gap in the Workplace” of that same day that I discovered how many women still feel that they don’t belong in leadership roles, overwhelmed by the inequality of gender in the workplace, and by greater domestic responsibilities than men. Preferences for a male boss, typical of stereotyping and prejudice, add to the general attribution to women being less effective, less competent and less influencing in leadership roles. We are still up against the perception of men having the ability to lead, while women ‘get lucky’ if they land a prominent job as a CEO, CFO, CMO etc.
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Culture describes “the way things work around here”, while engagement describes “how people feel about the way things work around here”. If we feel engaged, we women can combine exceptional competence with emotional intelligence. When we feel we belong, we are ready to give of ourselves. If we are inspired or motivated, through teamwork we can transform followers into leaders. If we close the gender gap at home, showing assertiveness towards our partner, we can erode stereotypes. Through instinctive motherly love and care, we are forging the next generation. We can treat our male/ female offspring equally, making them feel they belong, yet allowing them autonomy to face the challenges of the future, testing their character and unleashing their potential. It will soon be time to renew the PWA Board and consolidate the brand “The People We Are”. We are all aware that PWA is membercentric, yet, as in all organisations, it’s common to find that diversity strategies lack resilience without effective leadership. Vulnerable to shifts in the organisational landscape, collective leadership could be undermined or wound back. It is important to focus on what we want to achieve and where we want to be - as women, as entrepreneurs, as professionals. Essentially, it’s all about the business of belonging. Then, in our hearts we should ask ourselves if we’re ready to contribute our time and expertise to championing innovation and change, thus maintaining PWA as a point of reference for the working woman. We don't want a knight in shining armour, what we want are people able to persuade, motivate and inspire others. People who are conscientious, trustworthy and open to experience. Lay your cards on the table; candidate yourself for the leadership team of PWA and show what you’re capable of!
Far from equal: PWA participates in a JCU panel
On Friday, 24 February 2017 JCU’s Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI) hosted a panel discussion and a follow up workshop about the gender gap in the workplace, in collaboration with the Business Club and Student Government. Kiriko Mechanicus, President of John Cabot University’s WLI, opened the panel discussion “Far From Equal.” She thanked everyone involved and introduced the panelists: Valerie Baxter (president of the Professional Women’s Association of Rome), Nicoletta Dentico (board member of Banca Popolare Etica) and Martina Romanelli (representative of the Young Women’s Network). Kiriko then showed the audience the video she had made to publicize the event. She also talked about how important it is to define ourselves as feminists: “People are afraid to admit that they are feminists, or some still don’t know what it means. Some think that the great battles have already been fought by our mothers and grandmothers and therefore there’s no need to identify as feminists.” Student Government Vice President Katie Kehoe, who moderated the event, began the discussion by asking the three panelists to share a mistake that they had made in the past when it came to equality in the workplace. Nicoletta Dentico talked about the time when she was director of Doctors Without Borders, while she was also trying to parent three children. At one point, she said, she realized her babysitter knew more about her children than she did. So she decided to give up her position to spend more time with her family. Her regret is not having tried to find a compromise solution, maybe hire a coach who could have helped her manage both aspects of her life. Instead she gave up her job, one that she felt was “perfectly tailored” for her. The gender gap in Italy is tangible. Over 30% of women who work are in a part-time position, because they feel they have to shoulder most domestic responsibilities. A common practice in Italy was to have women sign the so-called dimissioni in bianco, whereby companies made women sign their resignation papers the moment they were hired, so that they could easily be fired, in case they ever decided to have a child. Fortunately in 2007 the government passed a law to crack down on this illegal practice, although it still happens.
Article courtesy of a JCU student
Later, the conversation shifted to some of the differences between women and men in the workplace. “Men are usually more competitive,” said Valerie Baxter. “Women can be more insecure, and don’t apply for certain positions because they feel like they are simply not good enough. There are so many invisible women who need help out there. They tend not to accept help even when the road gets rough. We are here to tell them ‘the road is yours, and we are here to help you get there.’ That is the difference between most men’s and women’s associations: men look for competition, women look for help and collaboration.” The speakers in the panel discussion for gender equality The speakers in the “Far from Equal” panel discussion Martina Romanelli talked about the need for an openminded approach to diversity in the workplace: “Equality should embrace and value all kinds of diversity, and take the strength of each of them.” One woman in a maledominated working space will most likely adapt and become “like a man.” It takes many women to change the culture. But how do we change a culture that is so intrinsically patriarchal? Nicoletta Dentico took the question. “As a Catholic, I also fight my battles in church every week. If we can still be Catholic and feminist, I think we have learned some resistance by now.” “Donald Trump can be of help, paradoxically,” said Valerie Baxter. “He gives us an opportunity, he reminds us not to take our rights for granted. We need to fight, in the sense that we can’t even consider to be paid even just 10% less.” The panel was followed by a closed workshop called “Breaking the Glass Ceiling,” led by Sofie Lambert, a consultant at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. She organized a series of exercises tackling various types of gender stereotypes and discrimination in the workplace. “On a daily basis, women and men struggle to overcome stereotypes, which can hinder their full participation in the workforce,” said JCU Professor Tara Keenan. “Our idea was to give the JCU community the tools and the wherewithal to respond when confronted by these barriers. We hope to build on this event in the future to address workplace inequalities and the intersections of identity as a whole.”
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March Multinational ConneXion
On March 1st PWA members and guests met for an aperitif at Rosso, in front of the FAO Rome offices. We had a lovely space in which to network, talk about PWA mentoring and future events and enjoy the fantasious cocktails and delicious foods offered by the restaurant. In April we will host a Speed Networking aperitif so you can present yourself to other participants in quick 3-minute intervals. Prepare your elevator-speech and join us for some networking fun!
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FEBRUARY CONFERENCE: WHAT TURNS YOU ON?
PWA had full-house participation at the intriguing, informative and inspiring presentation by sexologist Valentina Cosmi, founder of SIPS - SocietĂ Italiana di Sessuologia e Psicologia. She stressed the importance of common, shared imaginary and being comfortable with ourselves and our partner. Also why the effort of making time and creating occasions for sexual activity are key to an active, satisfying sex life.
Adriana Tempesta and Rossana Scazzocchio welcoming guetss and members
Winners of the PWA Inclusion contest ME2, Marina di Pietrantonio and Asya Bell.
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2017 IWD: Trateverine, ME2
History, art, architecture, inclusion and great company of friends: the ingredients for this year's IWD event! Social Director Laura Rizzi led an intriguing tour of Villa Farnesina and the Trastevere area telling the herstory of this historical area of Rome through the eyes of Julia the Elder (daughter of Emperor Augustus), Francesca,
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(a powerful Renaissance banker’s wife), beautiful Margherita “la Fornarina” (Raphael’s model & mistress), the blazing vitality of Christina, the Queen of Sweden who abdicated to Rome and Francesca, Trasteverina D.O.C. and charitable noblewoman (S.Francesca Romana).
Last stop of the tour was the church of Santa Maria in Trastevere, adorned with beautiful golden mosaics.
Trattoria Degli Amici hosted us for a scrumptious lunch full of friendship and laughter. The guests enjoyed typical Roman dishes such as ricotta, pasta all'Amatriciana and Cacio e Pepe and Carciofo alla Romana.
Trattoria Degli Amici manager Sophie Janssens explained the concept of the restaurant, together with Gianluca, one of the waiters.
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“Artemisia: life, art and passion” By Laura M. Rizzi www.laltraroma.net
Artemisia Gentileschi come suonatrice di Liuto 1617-8 Hartford, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art
In this newsletter, dedicated to IWD and female safety, I would like to share with you the story of Artemisia Gentileschi, one of the most famous female artists of the 17th century, also a rape victim. Palazzo Braschi is celebrating Artemisia with a great temporary exhibition entitled Artemisia Gentileschi ed il suo tempo that hosts more than 90 artworks, 30 of them made by Artemisia from 1610 to 1652 in the renovated new space at the first floor of the palace. Artemisia was born in Rome on July 8th, 1593. She was the first child of painter Orazio Gentileschi and Prudenzia Montone. Her father, despite the fact that she was a girl, recognized immediately her talent and supported her by choosing Agostino Tassi, a colleague of his, specialized in perspective “quadraturista”, as a private teacher for Artemisia. In 1611 Agostino raped Artemisia and continued a relationship with her for months, promising an impossible wedding; in fact Agostino had recently got married! In 1612 Orazio decided to denounce the painter for the violence against his young daughter; during the long and dramatic court hearing Artemisia told every detail of the rape. Agostino was condemned to 5 years of exile that he never fulfilled. After the public scandal Orazio immediately chose a husband for Artemisia, painter Pierantonio Stiattesi.
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Giuditta e la fantesca Abra 1613-1 Firenze, Galleria degli Uffizi
After the wedding Artemisia and Pierantonio moved to Florence and started their new life together. Artemisia had children and became a famous painter in the court of the Grand Duke Cosimo II de Medici; in Florence she reached success and learned to write, read and ride a horse. She also met important people such as the scientist Galileo Galilei and her lover, Francesco Maria Maringhi. In 1616 she was accepted into the Academy of the Arts of Drawing of Florence, as the first female member ever! The exhibition at Palazzo Braschi follows Artemisia’s life and career step by step, showing both the masterpieces of her youth, immediately after the rape, in which it is possible to find unusually brutal violence, but also the artworks she created as an adult in Naples and London.
Artemisia Gentileschi ed il suo tempo 30 Novembre 2016 - 7 Maggio 2017 Museo di Roma, Palazzo Braschi
Giuditta che decapita Oloferne 1620-1 Firenze, Galleria degli Uffizi Judith and Holofernes was a very popular subject, painted by many artists from the Middle ages, and one of the favorite themes of Artemisia: in fact she prepared many paintings dedicated to Judith in different moments of the story, especially the cruel beheading of Holofernes. Some scholars explain that it is possible to identify Judith in Artemisia in a sort of revenge against Holofernes-Agostino. Artemisia was a successful artist with her own workshop and assistants, she worked for noblemen and kings such as Charles I of England and Philip IV of Spain. In that epoch, her life was very unconventional, as she was an independent woman who lived and travelled alone in different cities, such as Rome, Florence, Venice, Naples and London. She had a complex existence full of fame, money and love, but also sorrows such as the death of her children and the abandonment by her husband Pierantonio.
Maddalena Penitente 1616-20 Firenze, Palazzo Pitti Artemisia spent her last years in Naples and probably died after 1654. She became a myth and a model for future generations of female artists for her incredible courage in fighting her personal tragedies and working in a male artistic world. The vast majority of her paintings are dedicated to women: Old Testament heroines (Susan, Judith, Esther, Giaele and Bathsheba), mythological figures (Danae, Galatea and Corisca), classical female protagonists of drama or history (Medea, Lucretia and Cleopatra) and Counter–Reformation subjects such as the Conversion of Mary Magdalene. In many cases these women represent Artemisia herself, who painted beautiful self-portraits in a sort of hall of mirrors in which she is herself, but like an actress, she also became every woman she portrayed.
The purpose of the Roman exhibition is to offer the visitors the opportunity to compare and find differences, influences and exchanges between the famous artworks of Artemisia and the masterpieces of other painters, such as Massimo Stanzione, Josè Ribera, Carlo Saraceni and Cristofano Allori, who worked in the same cities and era with her. The style of Artemisia is a mix of elements, the use of deep contrasts following the “revolution of Caravaggio”, darkness against light, realism and ideal beauty, sharp, perfect details — such as precious jewels, silky dresses or weapons — and common elements of daily life.
Giaele e Sisara 1620. Budapest, Szépművészeti Múzeum
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PWA BOARD ELECTIONS on Wednesday May 17
Ready to be a part of it? For questions and to candidate yourself, contact electioncommittee@pwarome.org
WE ARE LOOKING FOR A President Vice President Secretary PR Director Programming Director Social Director Newsletter Editor
make a difference
get involved
HAVE YOU CHOSEN ALREADY?
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▶ get to know the candidates ▶ voice your opinion ▶ be a candidate
La John Cabot University di Roma presenta i MASTER 2017 We would like to inform you that there are eight spots available to participate in one of John Cabot University’s Continuing Education Executive Courses (Human Resources and Communications/Marketing; taught in Italian) at a reduced tuition fee (2.500 euro, that is Ÿ of the original fee, 10.000 euro) for PWA members and associates.
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women and words
poem Elvira La Rocca painting Rosanna Chiani
DONNE Sanno regalarti un sorriso mentre sentono strapparsi il cuore e trasfondere calore in un abbraccio mentre il vuoto di un'assenza le inghiotte senza sosta. Sono luce nel cammino della vita anche quando si dibattono in un buio senza via d'uscita. Ma se sai leggere le parole mute di uno sguardo puoi scoprire il valore di un'essenza. Forte e fragile l'essenza delle donne cullata dalla carezza della vita... prigioniera di una morsa che non molla.
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INCLUSION CONTEST WINNER LAUNCHES THE PROJECT Marina di Pietrantonio, winner of the Inclusion contest and Assessore alla Cultura in Riano, presented her project, d'Altra Moda on Sunday, March 12th. Together with the Major of Riano they announced that the town has given them rooms to use for the workshops. They have also received silk fabrics and a sewing machine as gifts. Marina, assisted by other 5 women, is ready to start off the experiece of turning existing materials into fashion items. PWA was represented by Jubilady Olga Plyaskina and Hanna Suni, who designed the logo for d'Altra Moda.
PWA Jubilee Year 2016/17 Event program
conneXionsconferences April 5 May 3 June 7
special events March 11 - IWD June 16 - Jubilee Summer Party
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Check out www.pwarome.org
April 19 May 17
Membership news New Members Welcome!
We would like to welcome Rossella Castaldo, Paola Ciani, Teresa Alma Pepiatt and Irene Prete as members who have recently joined our Association. PWA is a place that grows with each member, therefore we are looking forward to enjoying PWA together with you! Make sure to take advantage of all that PWA has to offer, from our monthly events to scholarships and Expert Resources, from the Mentoring programs to TimeOut Professional TimeBank. If you’d like to join, visit our website and contact MembershipDirector@pwarome.org .
2016-2017 PWA Board and Team members President Valerie Baxter President@pwarome.org Secretary Secretary@pwarome.org Treasurer Treasurer@pwarome.org Programming Director Christine Sterpetti Programming@pwarome.org Membership Director Adriana Tempesta MembershipDirector@pwarome.org Associate Member coordinator Nicole Giacomarra MembershipAssociate@pwarome.org Social Director Laura Rizzi SocialDirector@pwarome.org Vice President &Sponsorship Director Valentina Ferretti Sponsorship@pwarome.org PR Director Marta Schneider PR@pwarome.org Newsletter Editor Hanna Suni NewsletterEditor@pwarome.org Webmistress Rossana Scazzocchio Webmistress@pwarome.org Community Director Cristiana Montani Natalucci Media@pwarome.org Mentoring Consultant Maria Banks Mentoringconsultant@pwarome.org Special Projects Annalisa Cicerchia SpecialProjects@pwarome.org Think Tank Alessandra Tacconelli Thinktank@pwarome.org Media communications assistant Karima Hassa Media2@pwarome.org Legal Advisor Adriana Tempesta Legal@pwarome.org
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PWA Professional Women’s Association is a recipient of a Google Grants award. The Google Grants program supports registered nonprofit organizations that share Google’s philosophy of community service to help the world in areas such as science and technology, education, global public health, the environment, youth advocacy and the arts. Google Grants is an in-kind advertising program that awards free online advertising to nonprofits via Google AdWords.
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