After Emma Strada, Maria Bongioannini was one of the first women in Italy to work as an independent professional, designing and constructing numerous buildings in Turin and its province.

Graduated in 1911, she worked from 1912 to 1917 at the Porcheddu company in the Study Office, handling designs and calculations in reinforced concrete. One of her first projects as an independent professional involved the redevelopment of buildings in the San Paolo area of Turin (between Via Frejus, Cesana, Moretta, and Revello) owned by Diatto Automobili, where she optimized part of the factory and carried out expansion works.

She designed and executed numerous architectural projects in Turin and across Piedmont, including private residences, schools, and industrial buildings. She also oversaw the expansion of existing structures, including an extension of a building at the Amedeo di Savoia Hospital in Turin, intended for administrative offices. Bongioannini also authored two texts on school construction: according to her, it was urgent to intervene in rural areas to provide learning environments with school buildings that met proper architectural and hygienic standards, as outlined in her 1912 text Per l’edilizia scolastica italiana (“On Italian School Construction”).

Maria Bongioannini was the first woman in Italy to work entirely on her own as an independent professional, setting a unique precedent and contributing significantly to dismantling the systematic invisibilization of women and their projects. For this reason, in September 2025, the City of Turin named a small square adjacent to the former Diatto Automobili building in her honor, recognizing her exceptional professional achievements.