Daisy di Robilant

Contessa Daisy di Robilant (died 1933) was an Italian noblewoman, fascist, feminist and campaigner for children's and women's rights. She campaigned for legislation that would protect unwed mothers and their children, women's suffrage and welfare reforms, as well as becoming a spokeswomen for the early fascist regime.

Family

Daisy di Robilant came from a wealthy Piedmontese family, but her date of birth is unknown.[1] She married General Mario Nicholas di Robilant, who commanded the Fourth Army of the Kingdom of Italy.[2] They had two daughters: Irene di Robilant,[2][3] who became a journalist; and Maria Luisa di Robilant, who married World War I flying ace Count Flaminio Avet in 1925.[4]

Activism

Di Robilant was founder and president of the National Mothers' Aid Society, which provided temporary shelter for homeless single mothers and their children.[1][5] She was also a member of the International Child Welfare Committee.[6][7] In the 1910s and 1920s, she lobbied Italian governments for legislation that would protect unwed mothers and their children[1] and wanted single women with children to not be seen as "fallen women" by society.[8]

When Benito Mussolini took power as totalitarian dictator of Italy in 1922, di Robilant became a supporter of his fascist regime. She approved of the health and welfare reforms introduced by Mussolini,[8] including the prevention of illegal abortions to increase the national birth rate.[1] She served as an spokeswoman for Fascist Italy at international events[8] and oversaw the government's experimental social programmes.[9]

Di Robilant campaigned for women's suffrage in Italy and was a leader of the Pro-Suffrage Alliance in Italy (also known as the International Woman Suffrage Alliance) from 1923.[8]

In 1924, di Robilant was visiting her daughter Irene in New York, United States, and was reportedly robbed.[2][4]

In 1931, di Robilant was appointed convener (presiding officer) of the Consiglio Nazionale delle Donne Italiane (CNDI, National Council of Italian Women), the Italian branch of the International Council of Women, by the fascist government.[6][10] She succeeded Gabriella Rasponi Spalletti.[11] While di Robilant served as leader, the CNDI worked on the causes of infant mortality and failure to thrive, the social problem of child abandonment, public welfare programmes, the provision of playgrounds and the effects of rheumatism on children.[12] The council also provided free legal advice for women.[1]

Di Robilant abandoned fascism over women's suffrage being denied under Mussolini's regime.[8]

Di Robilant died in 1933.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Commire, Anne (1999). Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Yorkin Publications. ISBN 978-0-7876-6436-7.
  2. ^ a b c "COUNTESS REPORTS $50,000 GEM THEFT; Daisy di Robilant, Wife of Italian General, Says Two Men Robbed Her on Street". The New York Times. 25 December 1924. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  3. ^ Kennedy, William Sloane (1927). Italy in Chains: A Nation Under the Microscope. Stonecroft Press. p. 35.
  4. ^ a b "COUNTESS DI ROBILANT MARRIES COUNT A VET; Cardinal Sincero Performs Ceremony Attended by Italian Cabinet and Ambassador Fletcher". The New York Times. 4 February 1925. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  5. ^ Monnanni, Massimiliano (2005). Per la protezione della stirpe: il fascismo e l'Opera nazionale maternità e infanzia (in Italian). Sallustiana. p. 127. ISBN 978-88-87351-27-9.
  6. ^ a b Rossi, Alice Seelye (1937). Women of Imperial Italy. Stamperia Romana. p. 19.
  7. ^ Currey, Muriel Innes (1938). The Position of Women in Italy. "Forum" Limited. p. 25.
  8. ^ a b c d e Quine, M. (7 February 2002). Italy's Social Revolution: Charity and Welfare from Liberalism to Fascism. Springer. pp. 255, 260. ISBN 978-1-4039-1979-3.
  9. ^ Quine, Maria Sophia (2002), Quine, Maria Sophia (ed.), "From Public Beneficence to Public Welfare: The Roman Experiment, 1927–1938", Italy’s Social Revolution: Charity and Welfare from Liberalism to Fascism, London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 249–288, doi:10.1057/9781403919793_10, ISBN 978-1-4039-1979-3, retrieved 2 March 2026{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
  10. ^ Cagnolati, Antonella; Follacchio, Sara (1 January 2022). "Valorizzare, inquadrare, orientare. Il ruolo dell'Associazione nazionale fascista donne artiste e laureate". Annali di Storia delle Università Italiane. 26 (1): 27. ISSN 1127-8250. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  11. ^ "RASPONI SPALLETTI, Gabriella". Treccani (in Italian). Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  12. ^ Women, International Council of (1966). Women in a Changing World: The Dynamic Story of the International Council of Women Since 1888. Routledge & K. Paul. p. 163.
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