A historical exhibition of women artists opened in Rome in February 1977: installed in a rivate gallery, this first retrospective devoted to Italian artists of the twentieth century was organized on the occasion of the publication of the book Il complesso di Michelangelo (The complex of Michelangelo), written by the artist Simona Weller. This book, the first attempt to record the presence of women in contemporary art in Italy, mentioned 270 artists throughout the century, most of them forgotten or unknown; only professional artists were taken into consideration.