Maria Rosaria Manieri (Nardò 1943) is an associate professor at the University of Salento. Author of research and critical essays on the themes of humanism, of the relationship between politics and morality, of women and the family in modern philosophy. She worked as a politician in the ranks of the Socialist Party, was a senator of the Republic until 2006. She received numerous prizes and awards, including the Mediterranean Woman Award and the 2006 Arward Award.