Milan Names Piazza After Photographer Tina Modotti

The city of Milan has named a public square after Tina Modotti (Udine, 1896 – Mexico City, 1942), the Italian photographer, actress, and activist, in the Rogoredo/Santa Giulia district. The naming ceremony took place on September 22, 2021, coinciding with the exhibition 'Tina Modotti. Donne, Messico e libertà' at the Mudec – Museo delle Culture di Milano, which runs until November 7, 2021. The exhibition explores her life, art, and political commitment through silver salt prints, letters, and documents. The square dedication was proposed by curator Biba Giacchetti and supported by Milan's Councillor for Culture Filippo Del Corno. The city's initiative aims to address the gender imbalance in public dedications: currently only 127 places are named after women versus 2,466 named after men. Modotti left Udine at 17 for California, married painter Roubaix de l'Abrie Richey, became an actress, and later a lover and model of photographer Edward Weston. In Mexico, she moved in bohemian circles with Julio Mella, Vittorio Vidali, Diego Rivera, and Frida Kahlo. Accused of involvement in an assassination attempt on the Mexican president and Mella's murder, she was exiled to Europe for twelve years, ending her artistic production. She returned to Mexico with Vidali after Franco's regime and is buried in the Panteón de Dolores in Mexico City.