Ernestina Paper (née Puritz-Manassè; 1846 – 14 February 1926) was the first female university graduate in modern Italy.
[1][2] Ernestina Puritz-Manassè was born in Odessa in 1846 to a wealthy bourgeois Jewish family of Russian origins.
[2] After graduating high school, Paper attended the University of Zurich for three semesters between 1870 and 1872.
[3][4] This was not an uncommon path for Russian female students, as women were not allowed to attend university in 19th century Russia except for a brief period between 1859 and 1863.
[1][6] After graduating, Paper opened her own private practice focused on treating women and children.