Filomena Delli Castelli

Delli Castelli was born in Città Sant'Angelo, Abruzzi e Molise, in 1916.^[1] After her father emigrated to America, she was raised by her mother.^[2] She studied literature and philosophy at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, and then worked as a teacher. Having become a member of the youth movement of Azione Cattolica, she served as its president while studying for a master's degree, also joining the Italian Catholic Federation of University Students in 1940. During World War II, she became an instructor at the teaching seminary where she had trained.^[2] She served as a nurse in the Red Cross and was part of the anti-German resistance, looking after refugees in Pescara province.^[2]

After joining the Christian Democracy party, Delli Castelli became provincial secretary of its women's section.^[2] In 1945 she moved to Rome to work in the press office of the Prime Minister.^[2] In the 1946 general elections, she was a Christian Democracy candidate in L'Aquila, and was one of 21 women elected to the Constituent Assembly. She was re-elected in 1948, and in 1951 became mayor of Montesilvano, a role she held until 1955.^[2] Although she lost her seat in parliament the June 1953 elections, she returned to the Chamber of Deputies in December 1953 when she replaced Giuseppe Castelli Avolio [it], who had resigned after being appointed to the judiciary.^[2] She lost her seat again in the 1958 elections.

Delli Castelli subsequently worked for RAI until 1975, focussing on children's television, after which she moved to Pescara.^[2] She died in the city in 2010.^[2] In 2019, one of the bridges between Città Sant'Angelo and Montesilvano was named after her.