Vittoria Colonna | |
|---|---|
| Marchioness of Pescara | |
_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg) Vittoria Colonna, by Sebastiano del Piombo, c. 1520 | |
| Born | April 1490 Marino, Papal States (present-day Italy) |
| Died | 25 February 1547 (aged 56) Rome, Papal States (present-day Italy) |
| Noble family | Colonna |
| Spouse(s) | Fernando Francesco d'Ávalos, Marquis of Pescara |
| Issue | Alfonso d'Avalos, Marquis del Vasto (adopted) |
| Father | Fabrizio Colonna |
| Mother | Agnese da Montefeltro |
| Occupation | Poet |
Vittoria Colonna (April 1492[1] – 25 February 1547), marchioness of Pescara, was an Italian noblewoman and poet. As an educated, married noblewoman whose husband was in captivity, Colonna was able to develop relationships within the intellectual circles of Ischia and Naples. Her early poetry began to attract attention in the late 1510s[2] and she ultimately became one of the most popular poets of 16th-century Italy. Upon the early death of her husband, she took refuge at a convent in Rome. She remained a laywoman but experienced a strong spiritual renewal and remained devoutly religious for the rest of her life. Colonna is also known to have been a muse to Michelangelo Buonarroti, himself a poet.
- ^ Some sources claim Vittoria Colonna was born in 1492. See Brundin, Abigail (2005). "Colonna, Vittoria (1492–1547)". Italian Women Writers. University of Chicago Library. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ^ Gibaldi, Joseph. "Vittoria Colonna: Child, Woman, and Poet." In Women Writers of the Renaissance and Reformation. Ed. Katharina Wilson. Athens, GA, 1987: pp. 23–24.