Maria Dalle Donne

Maria Nanni was born on 12 July 1778 in the Municipality of Loiano (Bologna), a village of 600 people perched on the Bolognese Apennines; her family had extremely humble origins, and it is believed that her parents were both farmers.

[1] From an early age she suffered from a shoulder deformity that prevented her from undertaking physically difficult work; she was entrusted to the care of a paternal relative, Don Giacomo Dalle Donne, whose surname she would take as an adult.

He realised the extraordinary qualities of his pupils, as is testified by a letter sent in May 1789 to Canon Nicola Fabbri, his friend and scholar, in which it was written: "I have with me a Bolognese girl of eleven years old, who speaks and writes Latin and devotes herself to humanistic studies.

[5] Next, with the mathematician Sebastiano Canterzani she followed lessons in philosophy and then physics with Giovanni Aldini, anatomy and pathology with Gaetano Uttini but above all obstetrical surgery with Tarsizio Riviera.

In the Church of San Domenico, during May 23–24, 1800 Maria sustained three theses of a historical-medical nature on the function of the various organs and on the various therapeutic methods, standing up for three days to doctors and philosophers, strong in her scientific preparation.

With regard to certain topics such as fertilisation, placental circulation and fetal malformations, Dalle Donne expounded personal opinions that refer to the thought of her teacher Tarsizio Riviera.

The chapter on surgery provides information about the interventions practiced at the end of the eighteenth century and they probability of success; for example, operations on the viscera were impossible because of the lack of anaesthesia and asepsis.

Lastly, two interesting aspects are: nosology, which is based mainly on the set of symptoms rather than on aetiology, and the exposition of the most used therapeutic substances, such as cinchona, mercury, iron and opium.

However, this dissertation was undoubtedly edited, and this is confirmed by a commemoration written in 1941, from which we learn that, after having dealt with a number of obstetrical topics, in the last chapter Dalle Donne speaks about the care of the newborn, also providing practical advice that differs from the ideas of the time, such as that of banning the use of swaddling clothes.

Maria considered creepy the widespread use of entrusting in the hands of rough and inexperienced women, only eager for money, the life of two people and therefore during her lessons she did not spare attention, time, care and study.

[13] For several years the school did not have its own regulations and the aspiring student had to present only a certificate of good political and moral conduct issued by the authority of the place of residence as well as a document attesting to the practice with a surgeon.

Generally, the course lasted one year and was attended by women coming from the Bologna area and, in some cases, from other provinces: the first six months were exclusively theoretical and only afterwards could the practice begin, assisted by an expert public midwife.

The awarding of the diploma was conditional on compulsory attendance at the courses but, very often, this obligation was not fulfilled, especially by midwives from the countryside, who had difficulty travelling and did not have sufficient means to meet the expenses.

"The tomb of Maria, daughter of Carlo Dalle Donne, a woman of great learning, illustrious for every kind of virtue, doctor of philosophy and medicine, enrolled, as a sign of honor, among the members of the Benedictine Academy.