Identifying Patriots: Women in Uniform in Italy

This chapter examines Italian women in uniform during World War I and their impact on gender norms in Italian society. Unlike other Allied nations, Italy had no tradition of women in military-style dress, making their wartime emergence in roles such as nurses, munitions workers, and public sector employees particularly significant. While their uniforms often reflected contemporary anxieties about gender roles, women's visible presence in public service represented a dramatic shift in Italian society. Though most women lost their positions after the war, their wartime service in uniform established new models of female citizenship and public participation that would influence interwar Italy, particularly under Fascism.