Alessandra Usai
The docufilm "Eva Mameli Calvino: Roots of Science in the Garden of Time" tells the extraordinary story of the mother of writer Italo Calvino, a Sardinian botanist and a prominent figure in science and biological research. Eva Mameli overcame the challenges of her time, earning two degrees and becoming the first woman to hold the chair of botany at Pavia University in Italy and the first director of the botanical garden of Cagliari in Sardinia in 1926. Despite her success, she remains little known as an international botanist, often referenced only as the mother of the renowned writer Italo Calvino. Her life embodies not only scientific excellence but also the struggle for women's emancipation and environmentalism, marking an important chapter in the history of 20th-century Italian science.
2025