LUCIA
ANNA: Tell me about the room we are in.
LUCIA: This is Paola Spada’s room, and I am here because she wanted me to be involved in “Casa della Mamma.” Then I met your grandmother as well, and there are their photographs here, pieces of those who carried everything forward. Now I take on the role they once had, and I leave something of mine too, like the theater company and little objects, It’s always a circle of stories in this place.
A: And how did your story begin?
L: I came to Rome for university, I studied political science, and while babysitting because I needed the money, I realized I really enjoyed working with children. So, I decided to pursue a second degree and started working in nurseries. It was a natural inclination, something I think was already within me.
A: How did you come to know about the project of Casa della Mamma?
L: At first, I didn’t know anything about it, I only knew about orphanages. A colleague of mine told me about this house for mothers with children, young girls without families and it was impossible for me to imagine or even comprehend it. Coming from a large, ever-present family, I couldn’t understand such a situation, I came here as a volunteer, and later, I did an interview. I didn’t feel adequate or capable of being an educator or taking on that kind of responsibility.
A: What motivated you to take on this new path?
L: The possibility of giving a future and transformation to people who were simply less fortunate; I’ve always believed, however, that this is a job that requires professionalism, not improvisation. Transformative work must be done properly and with care.
A: What was your first approach to the work like?
L: With the children, it was incredibly easy. With the mothers, it was much more complex because we were the same age, and I had to set boundaries, I couldn’t be a friend or a sister. The first time I saw the mothers, they were sitting at a table, and all I remember is how dark everything felt. They are women carrying immense struggles.
A: How did you manage to establish the right connection?
L: Through theater. My parents used to take me to the theater as a child, and I’ve always felt i was born there, for the emotions, for everything. I thought it could be a
valuable addition to these women’s lives. They would go to work and then come back here and spend all their time here, I thought it would be wonderful to introduce them to a new reality.
We put on our first play in 1990. For me, it was important for them to interact with new people, I even asked some of my friends from the theater world to help me show these women all the qualities and potential they already had but couldn’t see in themselves.
A: What practices do you follow when you leave here and go home?
L: First of all, I went through ten years of therapy because this job involves taking on all their pain, transforming it, and giving it back as something positive. The other important element is that my life is separate, my family is my husband, and I nurture all my passions. I walk home, and work doesn’t follow me there.
I experience all the emotions, but they are for me, not to show them. Here, I have to be authoritative and provide them with a sense of security.
A: What do you think was a turning point at Casa della Mamma?
L: I think one example was introducing male educators, for these young women who had always had terrible male figures in their lives, who better than a male educator to help heal their perception of men?
A: How do you express your womanhood?
L: My womanhood is being Lucia through the experiences I’ve had and how I’ve faced them, through what has happened in my life, and through who I remember. I was fortunate to have two parents who loved each other deeply, we children came second, perhaps. My mother was the queen of the house, even though my father was a very strict man, she was respected. My mother spoke very little; she was a discreet and quiet woman, but when she said something, it carried weight. It was undoubtedly a patriarchal household, but at the time, that was normal. It was normal that I could do fewer things than my brothers, but when I left my hometown, I left that mindset behind.