Sky Arte Documentary Explores 1950s-60s Italy Through Women's Letters

A documentary titled 'Sogni, sesso e cuori infranti' (Dreams, Sex and Broken Hearts) airs on Sky Arte on Friday, May 8, 2020. Directed by Gianfranco Giagni, with subject and screenplay by Silvana Mazzocchi and Patrizia Pistagnesi, the film examines Italian society in the 1950s and 1960s through letters sent to women's magazines of the era, including Amica, Annabella, and Harper's Bazaar. These letters reveal the stark gender disparities of the time. Actress Anna Foglietta reads the responses from advice columnists such as Contessa Clara, Donna Letizia, and Brunella Gasperini, who counseled readers on etiquette, beauty, and domesticity, often discouraging rebellion. The set is constructed as a theater stage, exposing the artifice behind the idealized domestic world presented in these columns. The documentary contrasts this polished facade with the real struggles women confided about sex, love, family, and their desire to escape domestic roles.