Le cattoliche in politica

The author presents an overview of the most relevant publications concerning Catholic women’s political action in Republican Italy. The earliest studies in this field were carried out by Paola Gaiotti de Biase, who is still the most authoritative scholar in this area. Situated at the intersection of political history, women’s political history and Church history, her analyses and interpretations of the relationship between the Catholic Church, religion and modernity and of the relationship between women and secularization have been crucial in the development of many studies on Italian women’s associations. Indeed, the gender perspective helps clarify several core historiographic issues regarding republican Italy. It has been instrumental in bringing about what we recognise today as a pluralistic and long-established historiography that acknowledges the importance of a plurality of points of view for the advancement of historical knowledge.