Maria Palazzesi (1954) – Born in the Tuscan Maremma, she graduated in Political Science at La Sapienza University in Rome and obtained a postgraduate specialisation in publishing and translation from the University of Siena in Arezzo. She attended the Umberto and Elisabetta Mauri School for Booksellers. She has collaborated with public bodies, institutions and university departments.
Specialising in publishing consultancy and the book trade, she was a member of the Libreria delle Donne in Rome. She is co-founders of the cultural association Zora Neale Hurston, Libreria e Art Gallery (1998/2010), created to spread women’s culture and wisdom.
Her political and practical commitment to Roman feminism takes shape through the organisation of events, meetings, and training courses aimed at promoting gender culture. She was head of the Culture Department at the Casa Internazionale delle Donne di Roma (2004-2011). She is a member and Vice-President of the Alma Sabatini International Documentation Centre.
A member of Archivia, she has been Head of Cultural Activities since 2016. In this role, she created the ‘Fare Pensare’ and ‘Archivia Legge’ initiatives, where she organised seminars and interest groups, devised exhibitions dedicated to female performance poetry, and proposed presentations and meetings based on contemporary titles and themes.
She is part of the group of women who created ‘Feminism’, the Women’s Publishing Fair, a national event launched in 2018, which will celebrate its 10th edition in 2027. Within the Fair, she acts as co-director and project coordinator.