Filomena Delli Castelli

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Filomena Delli Castelli (28 September 1916 – 22 December 2010) was an Italian politician. She was among the first group of women elected to Italy’s parliament, joining the Constituent Assembly in 1946. She then served in the Chamber of Deputies from 1948 to 1958, with a six‑month break in 1953. She was mayor of Montesilvano from 1951 to 1955.

Delli Castelli was born in Città Sant'Angelo. After her father moved to America, her mother raised her. She studied literature and philosophy at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan and worked as a teacher. She was active in Catholic associations, serving as president of the youth section of Azione Cattolica and joining the Italian Catholic Federation of University Students in 1940. During World War II she taught at a seminary, served as a Red Cross nurse, and helped refugees as part of the anti-German resistance in the Pescara area.

She joined the Christian Democracy party and became provincial secretary of its women’s section. In 1945 she moved to Rome to work in the prime minister’s press office. In 1946 she was elected to the Constituent Assembly from L’Aquila, one of 21 women elected. She was re‑elected in 1948. In December 1953 she returned to Parliament, replacing Giuseppe Castelli Avolio, who had resigned after a judiciary appointment. She lost her seat in 1958.

After politics she worked for the national broadcaster RAI until 1975, mainly focusing on children’s television, before moving to Pescara. She died in Pescara in 2010. In 2019 a bridge between Città Sant’Angelo and Montesilvano was named in her honor.