The Dolce Vita Lifestyle

Over a decade ago I was contacted by a PR firm, who asked me to prepare content for a major  pasta company. Apparently, this company was aware of my work highlighting Italian cultural traditions and lifestyle; and countering negative cultural stereotypes. The company wanted to pick my brain for ideas on the best way to market and promote their new product and then film me demonstrating ways to prepare it. 

About a week or so after sending my marketing insights and ideas, the PR firm representative apologetically got back to me and told me that the pasta company decided I was “too old” to be on camera, but that I was welcome to go and greet the younger woman they chose to be their on-camera representative. 

What does society have against women over 50?  Why are we expected to slip into the shadows and become invisible?  Moreover, what must “anti-aging” advertising messages do to the morale of mature women, or to their motivation to stay relevant, confident, and feel beautiful at whichever decade they find themselves in life?

Ageism is everywhere you turn, but a study out of Yale University found that if we reject the negative stereotyping of ageism and internalize a more positive attitude toward growing older, we may actually be able to add years to our lives.

Sorry “Dear Ageist Society”, but beauty is independent of the year we were born. It is not solely reserved for youth or for those with perfect physical features. Rather, as the stunning 67-year-old Italian film theater and TV actor Monica Guerritore has said in various interviews, the confidence of a woman comes from her ability to make friends with herself and to really like who she is.

Self-esteem is captivating. Self-confidence is alluring. Self-care is key.

There is such a richness and depth of ageless beauty when I see a photo of Isabella Rossellini with natural expression lines around her eyes. Or when I read the edgy poetry of Alda Merini which strikes a universal chord in every human heart. Or when I watch a recent clip of Sophia Loren, who of course was stunning in her 20’s , but to me is ever so much more exquisite now, as she brings dignity and grace to her 90’s. 

Like my Sicilian grandmother (in photo above with my mother), the Italian women I  mentioned radiate ageless beauty that stems from an authentic acceptance of who they are, not what others tell them they have to be. This way of relating to both oneself and to the world is part of the Italian cultural tradition of the “bella figura”.

The women in my Italian family exuded beauty in a way that broke age barriers and went beyond just taking pride in their physical appearance.  Perhaps it is time for those of us “of a certain age” to reaffirm our inner strength, resilience, confidence, creativity, wisdom—and yes—beauty.  Time to come out of the shadows and live each day proudly, and with agency for wherever we are on the age spectrum, for the hurdles we’ve overcome, and for what we still have in us to contribute to the world.  

Stay tuned for my upcoming book; out this fall. Based on my research and personal observations, it will offer no shortage of ideas on how women over 50 can regain their “gioia di vivere”—Italian-style.

©2025 Raeleen D’Agostino Mautner, Ph.D.