The Wulz sisters: photography as defiance in fascist Italy

A Guardian feature has brought renewed international attention to the Wulz sisters, Wanda and Marion, whose photography studio in Trieste became an unlikely site of resistance during the fascist era. The article, published this week, describes how the sisters defied the 'unbridled patriarchy' of Mussolini's Italy by photographing dancers, fencers and other famous women of the period.

According to the Guardian's profile, the sisters' work, including portraits of their cat Mucincina, represented a subtle but significant challenge to the regime's vision of women as 'mothers and homemakers'. Federica Muzzarelli, an academic quoted in the piece, notes that 'in those fascist times, women were not free', making the sisters' artistic choices all the more remarkable.

The Wulz sisters operated their studio in Trieste, a city that was itself a contested borderland during the period. Their decision to focus on athletic, artistic and independent women stood in contrast to the regime's propaganda, which emphasised traditional feminine roles.

The Guardian's feature places the Wulz sisters within a broader context of artistic resistance in fascist Italy, a period when cultural production was heavily policed. While the sisters did not engage in overt political activism, their choice of subjects — fencers, dancers, and other women pursuing physical and artistic excellence — implicitly challenged the regime's gender ideology.

For readers in Rome, the story resonates with the capital's own complex relationship with the fascist era. Rome's EUR district, built for the never-held 1942 World's Fair, remains a monument to Mussolini's architectural ambitions, while the city's museums and galleries continue to grapple with how to present art produced under the regime.

The Wulz sisters' work has been the subject of renewed scholarly interest in recent years, as art historians reassess the contributions of women photographers in the early twentieth century. The Guardian's feature is likely to introduce their work to a wider international audience, potentially leading to new exhibitions and publications.

The sisters' story also highlights the role of Trieste as a cultural crossroads, where Italian, Austrian and Slavic influences converged. Their photography, which combined technical mastery with a modern sensibility, reflected this cosmopolitan environment, even as fascism sought to impose a narrow national identity.