Franca Pilla

Last updated

Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
(m. 1946;died 2016)
Franca Pilla
Franca Pilla Ciampi in 2001 (cropped and AI upscaled).jpg
Pilla in 2001
Companion of the President of Italy
In role
18 May 1999 15 May 2006
Children2
Residence(s) Rome, Lazio, Italy

Franca Pilla (or Franca Ciampi; born 18 December 1920) is a former first lady of Italy, serving during Carlo Azeglio Ciampi's presidency.

Contents

Biography

Pilla was born in Reggio Emilia on 18 December 1920. [1] At the age of 18, she met her future husband, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa. They met at a "dancing tea" which at the time was a respectable way for youth to meet. The tea was organised by mothers, and boys and girls would be allowed to practise dancing with each other. [2]

After World War II, in which Ciampi had been a soldier and then a resistance fighter, they had a year's engagement and then married in Bologna when she was 25. They spent over seventy years together, [1] during which time her husband was prime minister, leader of Italy's central bank, minister of finance, and later president. [3]

During a tour of Naples, in the south of Italy, she was quoted as saying that the Italians in the south were better and more intelligent. [1] She was known for her openness, giving the pope advice when they met. She encouraged people to read and to ignore the TV. [1]

Pilla and Ciampi were married until his death on 16 September 2016. [3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Redazione Politica (19 December 2020). "I 100 anni di Franca Ciampi, la first lady che conquistò l'Italia". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  2. "la Repubblica/politica: Franca Ciampi racconta 'Ottant'anni di felicita". www.repubblica.it. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  3. 1 2 Emsden, Christopher (16 September 2016). "Italy's Former President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi Dies Aged 95". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 18 June 2021.

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Unofficial roles
Preceded by
Marianna Scalfaro
Acting
Companion of the President of Italy
1999–2006
Succeeded by