“Luisa”, the woman who knows how to grasp dreams

Paola Jacobbi, Luisa, Sonzogno 2024

At my house, when it came to choosing clothes for an important event, my mother would say, “Let’s go see what’s in the window of Luisa Spagnoli shop in Naples”.

Drawing from the Spagnoli family's archives, Paola Jacobbi tells the story of Luisa Spagnoli (1877-1935), a woman who was ahead of her time, determined and visionary, and her rise in early 20th-century society. The portrait that emerges is of a contemporary woman, with a family and three children, who believed in dreams and is ready to seize them. From  the old jam shop she bought, the Perugina company was founded, and from her hands came the Rossana candies and Bacio chocolates that we can still find today. Tirelessly, Luisa transformed a simple hobby—the breeding of rabbits—into the Angora Spagnoli, which would then become the significant fashion company that still bears her name. She is an example of independence and female empowerment; it was Luisa who hired women in the factory, invented company daycare centers, offered language courses to her employees, and much more besides.

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