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MARIA LUISA CORSINI
(1884 – 1965)

Maria was born in Florence (Italy) on June 24, 1884, the
only daughter of Florentine parents. Her father, an army officer,
was authoritarian and short-tempered; her mother was lively
and domineering. This often led them to disagree. Young Maria,
while feeling loved by her parents, was disturbed by the animated
arguments and sometimes invited them to make peace by leaving an
olive leaf under their napkin. One day, she goes so far as to say to her
father, «See, Father, I wouldn’t have married you the way Mother
did, with your bad temper!» . The little girl developed a sensitive
1
and introverted character, but at the same time she was strong and
decisive.

education

Maria grew up in a lay environment, with values such as
homeland and freedom that, at the time, were openly at odds with
the teachings of the Church. In 1893 the family moved to Rome and,
disregarding Maria’s love of literature, her parents enrolled her in
the Women’s School of Commerce for Managers and Accountants.
A choice that revealed a lot about the influence in this family of the
Renaissance ideas of freedom and emancipation of women. The
technical studies did not however prevent the young woman from
continuing to cultivate her passion for literature, learning English,
French and studying piano. BIOGRAPHY

1 Lettera beati Luigi e Maria Beltrame Quattrocchi (05/02/2009), Abbazia San Giuseppe di Clairval,
<www.clairval.com>.