Jump to content

Franca Pilla

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Franca Pilla
Pilla in 2001
Companion of the President of Italy
In role
18 May 1999 – 15 May 2006
PresidentCarlo Azeglio Ciampi
Preceded byMarianna Scalfaro
Succeeded byClio Maria Bittoni
Spouse of the Prime Minister of Italy
In role
29 April 1993 – 11 May 1994
Prime MinisterCarlo Azeglio Ciampi
Preceded byDiana Vincenzi
Succeeded byVeronica Lario
Personal details
Born (1920-12-19) 19 December 1920 (age 103)
Reggio Emilia, Kingdom of Italy
Spouse
(m. 1946; died 2016)
Children2
Residence(s)Rome, Lazio, Italy

Franca Pilla (or Franca Ciampi; born 19 December 1920) was the first lady of Italy, when Carlo Azeglio Ciampi was president of Italy from 1999 to 2006.

Biography

[edit]

Pilla was born in Reggio Emilia on 19 December 1920.[1] She was in education when she was eighteen and there she met her future husband who was of the same age. They met at a "dancing tea" which was a respectable way to meet. The tea was organised by mothers, and boys and girls would be allowed to practise dancing with each other.[2]

After the war when her boyfriend had been a soldier and then a resistance fighter, they had a year's engagement and then they married in Bologna when she was 25. They spent over seventy years together.[1] During that time her husband was prime minister, he led Italy's central bank and he was Minister of Finance. In 1999, he became Italy's President until 2006 when he became a senator for life.[3]

Pilla was sometimes less than diplomatic. 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 celebrated her 100th birthday in December 2020.[1] Pilla and Ciampi were married until his death on 16 September 2016.[3]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e Redazione Politica (2020-12-19). "I 100 anni di Franca Ciampi, la first lady che conquistò l'Italia". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  2. ^ "la Repubblica/politica: Franca Ciampi racconta 'Ottant'anni di felicita". www.repubblica.it. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  3. ^ a b Emsden, Christopher (2016-09-16). "Italy's Former President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi Dies Aged 95". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
[edit]

 Italian Wikiquote has quotations related to: Franca Pilla

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