Paper short abstract:

Clara Gallini: a career spanning six decades of Italian anthropology

Paper long abstract:

One of the founding grandmothers of European anthropology is Clara Gallini, who started her admirable career in the early fifties. Clara Gallini has been one of the first female anthropologists in leading positions in the Italian academia. She has also been a founding figure in the elaboration of Italian ethnology, and a close colleague to Ernesto de Martino. After the premature death of de Martino she has treasured, edited and published the de Martinian life work and heritage. Even though Gallini's breakthrough in Italian anthropology was connected with Ernesto de Martino's work, she considers as her main works books on pilgrimage, ritual and healing published in 1983 and 1996, independently of de Martinian influence. Clara Gallini has also been successful in establishing and consolidating fieldwork in Southern Italy, especially in Sardinia.

Throughout her career, Clara Gallini has been actively engaged politically. She has brought her anthropological knowledge into the Italian public life in the form of a feminist agenda and constant social criticism, most recently against racism and xenophobia.

The paper is based on an interview made by the authors this year.