This evening, Tuesday 10 March, at 9.30 pm the series debuts on Rai 1 The free womendirected by Michele Soavi and starring Lino Guanciale, Grace Kicaj, Gaia Messerklinger and Fabrizio Biggio. The drama, co-produced by Rai Fiction and Endemol Shine Italy, is freely based on the book The free women of Magliano by the psychiatrist and writer Mario Tobino, and tells a little-known page of Italian history: the world of women’s mental hospitals during the Second World War. The series, divided into three evenings for a total of six episodes, will also be available as a boxset on RaiPlay.
The plot
The protagonist, Mario Tobino (played by Lino Guanciale), is a non-conformist doctor who works in the Magliano mental hospital, adopting an innovative and profoundly human approach. Having returned from the Libyan front, Tobino tries to protect the dignity of his patients, challenging coercive practices such as electroshock and the violent therapies widespread at the time. Among these, he meets Margherita Lenzi (Grace Kicaj), a young woman interned by her husband against her will. Tobino suspects that violence and abuse are hidden behind his apparent madness, and decides to investigate.
Passion, morality and rights denied
The bond between Tobino and Margherita develops between moral dilemmas and conflicting feelings, putting the doctor’s career at risk. In the meantime, old bonds return to his life, such as the one with Paola Levi (Gaia Messerklinger), a Jewish woman and partisan relay, which rekindles dormant emotions. Alongside Tobino, his colleague Guido Anselmi (Fabrizio Biggio) becomes a precious ally, balancing empathy and pragmatism, and helping to create a portrait of life in the asylum suspended between war and oppressive social norms.
The series also recounts the most dramatic moments of the war period: from food shortages to the fear of Nazi raids, up to episodes of civil resistance. Events such as the masquerade ball organized in the mental hospital become moments of tension and personal revelations, where love, jealousy and courage come to the fore. Soavi wanted to show how, in that era, women were deprived of autonomy and fundamental rights, and how some individuals dared to challenge an oppressive system to guarantee dignity and freedom.
A story between history and social reflection
The free women it is not just a historical-sentimental drama, but an opportunity to reflect on the female condition of yesterday and today. The series explores the thin line between passion and madness, highlighting the contrast between conformism and individuality. Thanks to the work of screenwriters Peter Exacoustos and Laura Nuti, the story becomes an engaging experience that combines history, emotion and social commentary.
The production collaborated with the Municipality of Lucca and the Mario Tobino ETS Foundation, ensuring an accurate historical representation and particular attention to environmental and cultural details, thus offering the public an intense and authentic vision of life in the asylum and the courage of its protagonists.
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