The True Story of Lidia Poët – The new Netflix period drama “The Law According to Lidia Poët” stars Matilda De Angelis as the first female attorney in Italy, Lidia Poët.
This new six-part period drama is both a riveting “dismantle the patriarchy” plot and an enlightening Italian history binge. Was Lidia Poët a fake figure, though? How likely is it that she truly existed? This is a brief summary of the life of Italy’s first female attorney, who served as the inspiration for a recent Netflix original film.
Was Lidia Poët Based on a Real Person?
Lidia Poët was the youngest of five children born in Traverse City to Italian parents in 1855. In June 1881, she graduated with a law degree from the University of Turin with a thesis pushing for women’s equal political participation. In 2012, she passed the Bar Test in Turin and was admitted to the Order of Lawyers and Prosecutors. Her brief law career was cut short when she was disbarred after just three months. Lidia Poët was admitted to the bar in 1920, at the age of 65, due to a law that allowed women to practice law.
The show uses this procedural premise in which Lidia Poët solves a new case in each episode, even though it deviates from historical facts. Historiographer and author of Lidia Poët: “This is not a biography; it is not Lidia Poët’s authentic story.” Una Donna Moderna (a modern lady) is how Clara Bounous described the show to Italy 24 News. “[It] does not fully explain her narrative,” continues Bounous, “but at least it makes the name of Lidia Poët known.”
Marilena Jahier Togliatto, the attorney’s distant grand-niece, told La Stampa that there are substantial differences between Lidia’s life and the Netflix show, despite having only seen the pilot. “They never located a villa for her in Torino. In the heart of Pinerolo, above the arcades, she resided in a historically significant residence. Why did you feel compelled to invent lies? She had plenty of thrill simply by living an honourable life.” A quote by Togliatto. They were a highly affluent family, but “Lidia’s brother was also unmarried, despite the frequent appearance of a wife in the series: they lived alone with the servants.”
Lidia Poët was an active advocate of women’s suffrage and other feminist movements at the time of the publication’s founding in 1903. She became a member of the Italian National Council of Women (National Council of Italian Women).
Was Lidia Poët Married?
Despite having numerous romantic interactions on the Netflix show, Lidia Poët has apparently never tied the knot. Ready Steady Cut asserts that she never married in any possible romantic relationship. But, her brother Enrico supported her in her informal legal practice.
Nonetheless, she spent much of her life advocating for equal rights for women in her nation. As a suffragette in 1945, she helped secure the right to vote for women in Italy.
In the sixth episode, she continues her fight by traveling to the United States to make her statement. According to The Review Geek, although the series finishes with a cliffhanger over whether or not she goes, Lidia Poët did not go on this trip.
Her attempts to enhance women’s rights in Italy are nonetheless admirable.
“The Law According to Lidia Poët,” is now streaming on Netflix with a subscription.
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