A novel interweaving the story of a family and a large company

There are businesses that tell the stories of the people who work there, who spend a large part of their lives there,  and there are people that tell the stories of businesses that have shaped the social and economic history of a place, if not an entire country. These are personal and social accounts and narratives that straddle the worlds of economics and everyday life.  This is not merely an exercise in economic history or literature, but also a tool for better understanding the past and present. Such is ‘La ragazza della Stipel’ (The girl from Stipel,) a novel by Pamela Bosi that has just been published.

The story follows Dianella, a girl from Lodi Vecchio who found herself in Milan in the 1930s after her father found work there. Through her experiences, the book recounts the history of Stipel (the Società Telefonica Interregionale Piemontese e Lombarda), the historic Italian telephone company active between 1925 and 1964.

It must be emphasised that this book is not a work of economic, political or social history, nor is it a business management guide. It is simply the story of a little girl who grows into a young woman, moving from the traditional setting of a small Lombardian town in the first half of the twentieth century to the big city – the city that epitomises modernity and progress: Milan.  A city which moves at a rapid pace and, with the economic boom, brings new possibilities and promises. It is an unexpected turn of events that takes on extraordinary significance when Dianella wins a typing and comptometry competition at Stipel. Comptometry involved the rapid calculation using the Comptometer, which was the first mechanical calculator to be operated directly by keys. It is a profession that no longer exists today. It is through Dianella’s various experiences that the social and economic history of the country unfolds, from devastating conflict to an era characterised first by rapid growth and then by an increasingly difficult path. These events are seen through the eyes of the protagonist, from her particular position in the workplace. Pamela Bosi’s story is one of courage and aspiration. It captures the voices of those who built a future from nothing, depicting the industrious and hopeful Milan that remains part of our country’s collective imagination.  The reader is reminded of just how useful literature can be in understanding reality.

La ragazza della Stipel

Pamela Bosi

Piemme, 2026