Kate Mitchell, from Cambridge University Language Centre, gave a most interesting peep into the world of women in 19th Century Italy. She spoke about the legal, cultural and social aspects of their lives.  Less than 20% were literate and married women were expected by the State and the influential Roman Catholic Church to remain in the home as housewives and mothers, a role which was viewed as most important and intrinsic to the moral integrity of the nation. Women rarely married for love but were governed in their choice of husband by their parents; many more women than today remained single. The school syllabus included ‘domestic duties’ and girls left at the age of 12-13 years old, mostly going on to work in textile, cigarette or other factories. There was much poverty and a high incidence of TB. Several outstanding women, such as Anna Kuliscioff and Anna Maria Mozzoni, devoted themselves to women’s emancipation and by the early years of the 20th Century more than 60% could read and write, although they still could not vote.