Angiola Minella Molinari
Angiola Minella Molinari was a partisan, anti-fascist and member of parliament, one of the twenty-one women elected to the Constituent Assembly in the post-war period. Born in Turin, she is remembered as one of three «Constituent Mothers» linked to the city, together with Teresa Noce and Rita Montagnana [3]. In 2026 a lower secondary school on via Cavagnolo, in Turin, was named after her [1][2][3].
Biography
She was orphaned when her father was killed by the fascists, an event that shaped her commitment to collective action in a period when, as Turin's mayor Stefano Lo Russo recalled during the school's naming ceremony, «almost nothing could be done freely» [3]. She took part in the Resistance as an anti-fascist partisan and was among the twenty-one women elected to the Constituent Assembly, the body that wrote Italy's Constitution after twenty years of dictatorship [3]. She later became a member of parliament [1][2].
Advocacy for children
Angiola Minella was the first to raise the issue of nursery schools (asili nido) in politics: in 1962, when public opinion did not generally see a need for a dedicated service for very young children, she presented the first bill on the subject, as its first signatory [3].
Turin's Constituent Mothers
Ten years before the school was named after her, Turin's District 6 had approved a motion calling for the three Constituent Mothers linked to the city — Teresa Noce, Angiola Minella and Rita Montagnana — to be commemorated [3]. A square had already been dedicated to Teresa Noce, the first in Italy named after a Constituent Mother [1][2].
The naming of the via Cavagnolo school
On 21 October 2026 the lower secondary school on via Cavagnolo, in Turin, part of the Leonardo da Vinci comprehensive institute, was named after Angiola Minella Molinari in a ceremony involving the whole school community [1][2][3]. The ceremony was attended by the school's headteacher Antonio Balestra, the mayor Stefano Lo Russo, the councillor for education policy Carlotta Salerno and the chair of District 6, Valerio Lomanto [1][2][3]. The choice of name, decided by previous headteachers and the school board, grew out of research into the Constituent Mothers linked to District 6 [3]. During the event, students from the school performed musical pieces, including «Bella Ciao» [1][2][3].
Sources
- TorinoClick — 21 October 2026
- CronacaQui Torino — 21 October 2026
- TorinoOggi — 21 October 2026