Padua, social councillor speaks: 'Nice that gender equality and culture intertwine'

Marta Nalin, class of 1982, born and raised in Padua, is the councillor for social welfare, equal opportunities and housing policies in her municipality. She was out of town for a few days when in early January Padua ended up in newspapers around the world for the debate that was raging about whether or not a statue should be erected in Prato della Valle to Elena Cornaro Piscopia, the first woman graduate of the University of Padua and perhaps the world. "I learned about the proposal of the councilors only a few days before they presented the motion," on Dec. 23, she explains. This is also why she has not spoken out until today, given her stated lack of knowledge of issues concerning cultural heritage preservation. She doesso today, for Windows on Art, subject to an explicit request not to deal with concrete proposals for the Meadow: “I don’t have the qualifications to say whether this or that can or cannot be done,” she explains, given her professional profile rooted in jurisprudence, European and labor law as well as the fight for gender equality.

LB. Were you aware of the absence of women from the 78 statues in Prato della Valle? And if so, since when?

MN. Yes, I was aware of that. I couldn’t say how long, since always I would say. And I had happened to mention it several times. I remember the last time I discussed it extensively: it was in May 2021, when with the committee “Lina Merlin, the senator” (composed of Milvia Boselli, Paola Lincetto, Laura Puppato and Anna Maria Zanetti) we delivered to the Senate the bust of Lina Merlin, precisely, donated by the City of Padua. During that trip to Rome the issue had emerged, it was a known thing, in short, for those in Padua who deal with gender equality.

So did you expect a debate like the one that was triggered? What surprised you the most, positively and negatively?

No, I did not expect it myself as I think no one expected it. The echo received by the proposal, and then by the reactions, was a surprise for me as well as for many people involved in equal opportunity: these are issues that usually do not come up easily in the media, that are left to those who are more sensitive, except in the case of exceptionally serious events such as a feminicide. Instead, here a debate has been created, a real debate, which can become very important in raising awareness, an opportunity to grow and to improve. Of course, let me say, I regret that we then struggle to find space in the media when we do or propose something concrete to achieve change, for people. But in my opinion in this case the panorama created is positive: gender issues are cultural issues, and in fact many are the cultural activities we put on for example for November 25. So it’s good to talk about it in the purely cultural sphere as well. An interesting interweaving and an opportunity. As interesting is that a civic movement has been created around the issue, which happens rarely.

I find it very relevant that you framed the debate triggered as a debate about equality, rather than cultural heritage. So let’s talk about symbols, about representation. What do you think it means for Padua today to have more than 80 statues of men erected around the city and none of women?

Actually, I don’t think it’s just a Padua problem, but it seems to me it’s a widespread problem, affecting so many other areas, for example, toponymy. It has to do with the lack of visibility that women have had in history: few opportunities to study, to act independently, to contribute to change in the world, unlike men. There are statues of men because these had power and decided to represent themselves. But even those few women who managed to play important roles in history are often absent, and this is a problem: given the enormous difficulty they had to achieve them, we should remember them all, instead we forget them. For example, I was in Madrid for a few days and noticed that at the Prado there are very few women in the exhibition, which is also huge, and the museum points this out in the captions: fewer women were painting, but many also were not given a space. This is a situation that we inherit from the past, and despite the great strides we have made it continues to have an impact on the present. Just look at the gender balance at the University of Padua, where female students are the majority but at the top levels the ratio is reversed. Or again how hard it is to bring examples to schools that are different from the stereotypical ones, to explain that a girl child who can be a scientist, an engineer, an explorer, even giving a different visibility to these examples. This, I stress, does not of course imply changing the monuments of the past because you have to change the stereotype, it is more complex.

Scientist, engineer, explorer... painter. You mentioned the Prado, and let me ask you, since sometimes it is not just absence but little-known presence, do you know that the Civic Museums of Padua preserve some of the canvases of one of the greatest painters of the 17th century, Chiara Varotari?

Here honestly, no, I did not know that. It seems to me a fact to be valued.

What does Prato della Valle represent for you, as a citizen before being an alderman?

For me it is a beautiful place, where I bring all the people who have never been to Padua. The first place to bring friends: the impact coming from Via Umberto is wonderful. And then I really like that it’s a place of culture and at the same time lived in, where you can sit in the shade of a tree or even a statue and read, chat. It is nice that monuments are not just to be visited, but that they are part of the city and are walked through and used, with due respect. This should happen more and more, with squares and monuments: having the opportunity to experience history in the everydayness of life.

The administration, by necessity, will take time to reflect after such a debate. Is there a commitment you want to make to the citizens and townspeople regarding the issue of monuments and symbols?

Yes, I think as an administration we will have to reflect a lot on the echo that this episode has had. I think we should take the opportunity to find spaces in our city to restore the memory of the many women who have played important roles in our city’s history. Also for the significance that this has: not only to recognize the value of their existence, but also to break down stereotypes, to create examples. And then if you will allow me to add.

Go ahead and add.

Speaking of symbols, the language of equality can also seem like a symbolic theme. It can be, of course, but only if the changes are not accompanied by a strong and important political and change intention. Here, language, like art and culture, can be the vehicle for creating a widespread culture of respect, equality, and overcoming stereotypes. I think it should be done, yes.

Side note, in the same hours that this interview was taking place, the Equal Opportunities and Gender Policy Commission of the City of Padua was issuing this very explicit press release on Prato della Valle.

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