Photo: Stefania Lucchetti, portrait by Italian art photographer Emma Terenzio
Q: Stefania, you often write about resilience, growth, and transformation. What has been the key to your success?
A: Curiosity and perseverance. I have spent my life studying, working professionally, raising a family, and continuing to learn. Success did not arrive overnight. It was built through thousands of small, consistent efforts and a refusal to stop growing.
Q: You recently wrote that the world underestimates what a woman over 50 can achieve. Why do you believe that?
A: Because many women spend decades investing their energy in others – careers, family, communities, and responsibilities. What people often fail to see is the immense knowledge, discipline, and strength accumulated during those years. When a woman finally gains a little more time and space for herself (and this often happens around mid life when career goals shift and children start to be older and more independent) that experience can become an extraordinary force.
Q: How does this relate to your own story?
A: My achievements as an internationally bestselling Italian poet did not emerge in isolation. They are the result of a lifetime of learning, professional work, motherhood, challenges, and personal growth. The woman I am today carries all those experiences into everything she writes.
Q: What message would you like to share with women over 50?
A: Do not believe that your most meaningful achievements belong to the past. Your experience is not a limitation; it is your greatest asset. Some dreams take decades to mature, and some of the most beautiful chapters of life are written later than society expects.
– Stefania Lucchetti, internationally bestselling Italian poet and essayist
