Tagliaferri won the Italian National Championships twice in the 100 metres in 1948 and 1949, and was 19 years old when she competed in her first Olympic Games in 1948 in London. There she won her first round heat in the 100 metres running in a time of 12.8 seconds, but in the semi-final Tagliaferri was drawn in the same heat as Fanny Blankers-Koen and Shirley Strickland and could only manage to finish in fifth place, thus failing to qualify for the final. With team mates Mirella Avalle, Anna Maria Cantù and Marcella Jeandeau, Tagliaferri also competed in the 4 x 100 metres relay, but they did not finish the race and thus did not advance to the final.