March 8 - International Women's Day in Italy

The first  Women’s Day celebration in Italy was organized by 

the Unione Donne Italiane in 1946.  

The country was not yet a republic, and although women had obtained the right  to vote, they would have to wait until June 6th, 1946, before exercising that right in  the referendum to choose between the kingdom and a  new republic.

Many women had been very important in the resistance movement during the war, fighting against fascism and foreign occupation. Three ex-combatants, Teresa Noce (T0), Rita Montagnana (TO), and Teresa Mattei (GE), chose mimosa flowers as a symbol for the Giornata internazionale di lotta e di festa della donna.  The flowers 
were not chosen for any specific symbolic meaning, but because they blossom during this time of year and that "… mimosas were abundant and available at almost no cost…”.

Since then, women have been filling Italian streets and squares to emphasize the urgent problems that need to be faced in order to change their status and condition, in hopes of liberating themselves from the oppression of a male dominated society.

On March 6th, 1978, a meeting of the Turin provincial assembly of confederated trade unions established the mimosa as a symbol of social mobilization:  “it is not an empty ritual. It is our moment as women; it is a moment to recover energy and strength and to continue our fight to change our lives and our society.”