In the photos portraying her, Anna is always smiling, often with others, almost always at others. But there’s at least one in which she isn’t. One in which the tones conveying her image as a composed, elegant, orderly, placid lady change completely. And I like it that this occurs precisely when she finds herself defending an all-female project, all about architecture and all for herself.

The volume is part of the series OILÀ, edited by Chiara Alessi, which presents the stories of women who were protagonists of the 20th century. Women who, on the Italian and international creative scene (from design to fashion, architecture, music, illustration, graphics, photography and literature) have distinguished themselves in fields and skills that have always been considered the prerogatives of men. The books, designed to be read aloud from beginning to end in forty-five minutes — a short journey — are accounts of people viewed through a special lens in their biographies, works, private lives and public achievements.

The graphic design is by Studio Sonnoli.