Queens of Italy: Women in Power in Medieval Italy

The series


Introduction by Franco Giulio Brambilla, Bishop of Novara
(In Italian with English subtitles)


Introduction by Maria Luisa Chiappa Mauri
Professor emerita of Medieval Lombard Hystory
University of Milan

The International Inner Wheel Club of Monza (Italy) PHF has conceived, supported and promoted the realization of the cultural project “Queens of Italy”. The goal of this initiative is to create a series of multimedia “narratives” presenting four medieval Italian politically relevant women: Theodelinda, Constance of Hauteville, Eleanor of Arborea, Matilda of Canossa. The narratives will sketch the personalities of these queens, highlighting their political influence and their capacity of dealing as peers with all the most prominent political powers of their time: kings, emperors, princes and popes, with the restless and ever-changing Middle Ages in the background, identifying and studying in depth those themes which, throughout history, they contributed to evolve, both in the short and in the long term.
The historical setting encompasses a national and at the same time international landscape. Indeed, these queens are the protagonists of events rooted in their local contexts, and yet strictly connected to the history of Italy and Europe.
But they were not the only ones: therefore this project aims at inspiring other similar initiatives, to tell the stories of women who made a difference at their time.
Narrated in a vivid and engaging style, and relying on the authoritativeness and passion of the scholars involved in the historical reconstruction of the events, the multimedia narratives produced by HOC-LAB of Politecnico di Milano effectively respond to the need of valorizing, communicating, and promoting this cultural initiative.