A Room for Anita Pittoni – ITS Arcademy Pays Tribute to a Creative Force of Trieste

On the evening of 27 June, something quietly extraordinary took place in Trieste. ITS Arcademy, Italy’s first museum of contemporary fashion, dedicated one of its most vibrant spaces to Anita Pittoni—artist, writer, publisher, and cultural catalyst. The event was far more than a commemoration; it was a heartfelt act of cultural restitution to a woman who shaped the city’s creative spirit in the 20th century.

Titled “For Anita: I Need Affection and the City Is Harsh”, the evening unfolded as a rich tapestry of memories, reflections, and theatre. Journalist and writer Alessandro Mezzena Lona led the event, inviting the audience to rediscover Anita through the words of those who knew her best: poet Claudio Grisancich, painter Ugo Pierri, criminologist and essayist Pierpaolo Martucci, and literary curator Riccardo Cepach of the LETS writers’ museum.

The highlight of the night came with “Anita batte a macchina” (Anita at the Typewriter), a poignant theatrical reading written and directed by Gioia Battista and performed by the extraordinary Ariella Reggio, with Giustina Testa. Their dialogue – between Anita and a hospital nurse, during the final years of Anita’s life – was tender, sharp and luminous, distilling a life lived in fierce dedication to beauty, intellect and freedom. Reggio’s performance moved the audience intensely, bringing many to tears and offering not just a portrait of a unique woman, but a presence.

But perhaps the most symbolic moment came at the end, when ITS Arcademy officially named the multifunctional space where the event was being held after Anita Pittoni herself. More than just a plaque on the wall, this gesture marked a deep connection between Anita’s historical “salotto culturale” – Anita used to live and work from an apartment in the same street as ITS Arcademy – and the museum’s contemporary role as a home for emerging global talent. A bridge between past and present, rooted in creativity.