New bridge over river Arno will link Bellariva with Anconellla Park.The citizens of Florence are invited to name a new bridge in the Italian city by choosing one of four names of women who left their mark on the Tuscan capital and Italy.Connecting the Bellariva district with the Anconella Park, the infrastructure will be a centrepiece of the new tram line toward Bagno a Ripoli and represents the first major road bridge built in Florence in nearly 50 years. The structural framework of the new bridge spanning the Arno river was successfully positioned on Friday in a ceremony described by centre-left mayor Sara Funaro as a "historic day". Funaro, the first female mayor of Florence, used the occasion to launch a naming competition, via social media, aimed at addressing the historical underrepresentation of women in urban toponymy. Each of the four women proposed for the naming of the new bridge, which is set to be operational by June, represent a vital pillar of Italian history, from scientific achievement to the courageous defence of democratic values. Rita Levi-Montalcini (1909–2012): A world-renowned neurologist and Nobel Prize winner in Physiology or Medicine (1986) for her discovery of nerve growth factor. A symbol of scientific excellence and resilience, she continued her groundbreaking research in secret during world war two while facing persecution under Italy's racial laws. She was a lifelong advocate for education, establishing a foundation to support the schooling of African women. In her later years, she served as a Senator for Life in the Italian Parliament, where she remained a fierce defender of funding for scientific research until her death at age 103. Caterina and Nadia Nencioni: These two sisters, aged 50 days and nine years, were killed in the Via dei Georgofili bombing by the Sicilian Mafia on the night of 26-27 May 1993. Their deaths became a catalyst for Italy’s collective conscience against the brutality of organised crime. Their memory is preserved through the poem "The Firefly," written by Nadia shortly before the car bombing, which killed five people, injured another 48 people and caused extensive structural damage to the Uffizi Galleries. Tina Anselmi (1927–2016): Anselmi joined the Italian Resistance movement as a 17-year-old schoolgirl in 1944 when Nazi soldiers forced her and a group of other students to witness the hanging of 31 young partisans or partigiani. Later, as the first female minister of health - and the first woman to hold a ministerial position in an Italian government - she established Italy’s Universal National Health Service, ensuring free healthcare as a right for all citizens. In 1998 she was awarded the Knight's Great Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. Gilda Larocca (1911–2003): A key operative for the clandestine "Radio CORA," she played a perilous role in transmitting Allied intelligence during the Nazi occupation of Florence. Even after being captured and subjected to interrogation by the Villa Triste torturers, she managed a daring escape from a hospital and continued her resistance efforts until the city was finally liberated. Her bravery remains a cornerstone of the city’s anti-fascist heritage. "For the new bridge over the Arno, we want to choose together a name that has a profound meaning for Florence" - Funaro said - "We proposed female figures who have marked the life of our country and the city. A bridge unites the city and its people. The name it will bear will be a shared choice." Photo Sara Funaro

The citizens of Florence are invited to name a new bridge in the Italian city by choosing one of four names of women who left their mark on the Tuscan capital and Italy. Connecting the Bellariva district with the Anconella Park, the infrastructure will be a centrepiece of the new tram line toward Bagno a Ripoli and represents the first major road bridge built in Florence in nearly 50 years. The structural framework of the new bridge spanning the Arno river was successfully positioned on Friday in a ceremony described by centre-left mayor Sara Funaro as a "historic day". Funaro, th, used the occasion to launch a naming competition, via social media, aimed at addressing the historical underrepresentation of women in urban toponymy. Each of the four women proposed for the naming of the new bridge, which is set to be operational by June, represent a vital pillar of Italian history, from scientific achievement to the courageous defence of democratic values. Rita Levi-Montalcini (1909–2012): A world-renowned neurologist and Nobel Prize winner in Physiology or Medicine (1986) for her discovery of nerve growth factor. A symbol of scientific excellence and resilience, she continued her groundbreaking research in secret during world war two while facing persecution under Italy's racial laws. She was a lifelong advocate for education, establishing a foundation to support the schooling of African women. In her later years, she served as a Senator for Life in the Italian Parliament, where she remained a fierce defender of funding for scientific research until her death at age 103. Caterina and Nadia Nencioni: These two sisters, aged 50 days and nine years, were killed in the Via dei Georgofili bombing by the Sicilian Mafia on the night of 26-27 May 1993. Their deaths became a catalyst for Italy’s collective conscience against the brutality of organised crime. Their memory is preserved through the poem "The Firefly," written by Nadia shortly before the car bombing, which killed five people, injured another 48 people and caused extensive structural damage to the Uffizi Galleries. Tina Anselmi (1927–2016): Anselmi joined the Italian Resistance movement as a 17-year-old schoolgirl in 1944 when Nazi soldiers forced her and a group of other students to witness the hanging of 31 young partisans or partigiani. Later, as the first female minister of health - and the first woman to hold a ministerial position in an Italian government - she established Italy’s Universal National Health Service, ensuring free healthcare as a right for all citizens. In 1998 she was awarded the Knight's Great Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. Gilda Larocca (1911–2003): A key operative for the clandestine "Radio CORA," she played a perilous role in transmitting Allied intelligence during the Nazi occupation of Florence. Even after being captured and subjected to interrogation by the Villa Triste torturers, she managed a daring escape from a hospital and continued her resistance efforts until the city was finally liberated. Her bravery remains a cornerstone of the city’s anti-fascist heritage. "For the new bridge over the Arno, we want to choose together a name that has a profound meaning for Florence" - Funaro said - "We proposed female figures who have marked the life of our country and the city. A bridge unites the city and its people. The name it will bear will be a shared choice." Photo Sara Funaro