{"product_id":"twentyfive-women-who-shaped-the-italian-renaissance-9780367533991","title":"TwentyFive Women Who Shaped the Italian","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eTwenty-Five Women Who Shaped the Italian Renaissance\u003c\/i\u003e takes readers on a journey through early modern Italy that places women at the heart of the artistic and cultural developments of this transformative era. Highlighted here are figures like Caterina Sforza, who defended her city against an invading army; Veronica Franco, the Venetian courtesan whose erotic verse enthralled Europe; Sofonisba Anguissola, acclaimed for her arresting portraits; Isabella Andreini, the original prima donna of Italian theater; and Margherita Sarrocchi, the epic poet and mathematics prodigy who corresponded with Galileo Galilei.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThough many of their names have been neglected by history, the artists, writers, performers, leaders, and feminists of \u003ci\u003eTwenty-Five Women Who Shaped the Italian Renaissance \u003c\/i\u003eovercame daunting obstacles to find their own voices. Excluded from the educational opportunities granted to men, often compelled into arranged marriages or confined to the convent, and subjec\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I, though female, have abandoned female things.” So says one of the fascinating twenty-five Italian Renaissance women brought to life thanks to Meredith Ray’s authoritative research. Nobles, writers, painters, musicians, religious rebels, even courtesans, many of whom were relegated to the cracks of history, are now revealed as extraordinary players in their own right. Brought together in one book, the history of the Italian renaissance is infinitely richer for their place in it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSarah Dunant\u003c\/b\u003e, Novelist, broadcaster, and critic\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is a rich and compelling introduction to the extraordinary women in Italy who lived and fought and loved and wrote during the Italian Renaissance, and whose voices have so often been neglected. In her lucid introduction and twenty-five varied and engaging short biographies, Meredith Ray widens our perspective on one of the most important periods in European history.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRamie Targoff\u003c\/b\u003e, Brandeis University\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis pithy and thoroughly engaging volume belongs on the bookshelf of anyone interested in early-modern European history and culture – full stop, no exceptions. Meredith Ray’s expertise in early-modern Italian literature across genres as well as in women’s writing enriches every chapter, as does her careful attention to historical context for each of these twenty-five riveting protagonists.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSarah Gwyneth Ross\u003c\/b\u003e, Boston College\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwenty-Five Women Who Shaped the Italian Renaissance provides a marvelously accessible introduction to the versatile and talented women of Renaissance Italy. Female painters, musicians, actresses, poets, philosophers, nuns, Jews, and heretics all come to life in Ray’s account of their lives.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePaula Findlen\u003c\/b\u003e, Stanford University\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMeredith Ray’s authoritative, engaging, and lucid study makes bold claims for women’s impact on the Italian Renaissance. She persuasively describes these women’s influence not only as individuals but as a collectivity. The easy flow of Ray’s prose belies the labor involved in compressing vast amounts of research on these figures into one succinct volume. And yet this book is much more than a synthesis. Rather, it calls for a reevaluation not only of women’s role in the Renaissance, but of the typically selective, exclusionary practice of history-writing itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eShannon McHugh\u003c\/b\u003e, University of Massachusetts, Boston\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eIntroduction: Hidden Histories\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePart One: Politics and Power Brokers\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e1. Lucrezia Tornabuoni (1427-1482): Medici Matriarch\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e2. Caterina Sforza (c. 1463–1509): Countess, Warrior, Alchemist\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e3. Isabella d’Este (1474-1539): Diplomat and Tastemaker\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e4. Lucrezia Borgia (1480-1519): Entrepreneur from Italy’s Most Controversial Family\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e5. Bona Sforza (1494-1557): Italian Queen of Poland\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePart Two: Poets, Reformers, and Courtesans\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e6. Vittoria Colonna (1490?–1547): Divine Poet, Michelangelo’s Mentor\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e7 Lucrezia Gonzaga (1522–1576): Epistolary Icon and Religious Dissident \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e8 Olimpia Morata (1526–1555): Humanist and Heretic \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e9 Laura Terracina (1519–c.1577): Bestselling Author, Defender of Women\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e10. Veronica Franco (1546-1591): Celebrity Courtesan\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePart Three: Musicians, Composers, and Performers\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e11. Gaspara Stampa (1523-1544): Renaissance Sappho\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e12. Tarquinia Molza (1542-1617): Virtuosa and Philosopher\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e13. Isabella Andreini (1562-1604): Diva of Stage and Page\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e14. Francesca Caccini (1587–post-1641): Opera’s Star at the Medici Court\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e15. Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677): Trailblazing Composer\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePart Four: Artists and Scientists \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e16. Sofonisba Anguissola (c.1532-1625): Portraitist to Kings\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e17. Lavinia Fontana (1552–1614): Pioneering Professional Artist\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e18. Artemisia Gentileschi (1593–1656?): Fearless Painter, Feminist Icon\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e19 Camilla Erculiani (d. post-1584):Pharmacist-Philosopher\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e20 Margherita Sarrocchi (c. 1560–1617): Reader of the Stars, Galileo’s Correspondent\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePart Five: Renaissance Feminists\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e21 Laudomia Forteguerri (1515–1555?): Queer Poet, Civic Hero\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e22. Moderata Fonte (1555-1592): Visionary of Equality for Women\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e23 Lucrezia Marinella (1571?–1653): Champion of Women’s History\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e24 Sarra Copia Sulam (1592–1641): Poet and Polemicist in Venice’s Jewish Ghetto\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e25. Arcangela Tarabotti (1604-1652): Radical Nun, Feminist Force\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNotes and Further Reading\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDates of Reign\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAcknowledgments\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIndex\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Taylor \u0026 Francis Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49401891848535,"sku":"9780367533991","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780367533991.jpg?v=1730478810","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/twentyfive-women-who-shaped-the-italian-renaissance-9780367533991","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}