Camilla Pisana (probably from Pisa - fl. 1515) was an Italian courtesan, known as a letter writer and poet.

Biography

Camilla Pisana became one of four courtesans installed by

Filippo Strozzi Filippo is an Italian language, Italian male given name, which is the equivalent of the English language, English name Philip (name), Philip, from the Greek language, Greek ''Philippos'', meaning "amante dei cavalli".''Behind the Name''"Given Name ...

in a villa near Porta San Gallo in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, where they served Strozzi and his friends, including Duke Lorenzo d'Urbino (father of

Catherine de' Medici Catherine de' Medici ( it, Caterina de' Medici, ; french: Catherine de Médicis, ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Florentine noblewoman born into the Medici family. She was Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to King ...

). She lived there with her friends and fellow courtesans Alessandra Fiorentina, Brigida, and Beatrice Ferrarese. Among them Camilla seems, from her letters, to have assumed the role of matriarch of this unusual family. Camilla and her companions could nevertheless enjoy a house decorated by the painter

Rosso Fiorentino Giovanni Battista di Jacopo (8 March 1495 in Gregorian style, or 1494 according to the calculation of times in Florence where the year began on 25 March – 14 November 1540), known as Rosso Fiorentino (meaning "Red Florentine" in Italian) ...

. Camilla was renowned for her beauty, musical and literary skills. She wrote letters to her friend Francesco del Nero (1487-1563), who was Filippo Strozzi's brother-in-law and close business associate, complaining about her mistreatment at her lover's hands. “When this pleasant, though somewhat unconventional, household was dissolved after Strozzi lost interest in it, the girls went on to Rome, where from the rank of ''cortigiane oneste'' they soon sank to that of ''cortigiane piacevoli'' and even lower.”Einstein, Alfred. The Italian Madrigal. 3 vols. Translated by Alexander H. Krappe, Roger H. Sessions, and Oliver Strunk. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1949.

Works

She is known in literary history for the 33 letters she sent to Strozzi between 1516 and 1517. Her letters, together with those of

Veronica Franco Veronica Franco (1546–1591) was an Italian poet and courtesan in 16th-century Venice. She is known for her notable clientele, feminist advocacy, literary contributions, and philanthropy. Her humanist education and cultural contributions influe ...

, are among the few and most important non-poetic writings that have come down to us from a courtesan of the

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...

. “Camilla Pisana's letters seek to persuade their readers of the writer's self-worth by employing the culturally designated language of courtly compliment, suitably phrased.” According to

Alfred Einstein Alfred Einstein (December 30, 1880February 13, 1952) was a German-American musicologist and music editor. He was born in Munich and fled Nazi Germany after Hitler's ''Machtergreifung'', arriving in the United States by 1939. He is best known for b ...

, Camilla provided the words to poems set to music by the famous madrigalists Costanzo Festa and Philippe Verdelot. It is also possible that this is the same Camilla Pisana mentioned by

Aretino Pietro Aretino (, ; 19 or 20 April 1492 – 21 October 1556) was an Italian author, playwright, poet, satire, satirist and blackmailer, who wielded influence on contemporary art and politics. He was one of the most influential writers of his tim ...

in ''La cortigiana'' (1534) and in the ''Ragionamento dello Zoppino''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pisana, Camilla 16th-century Italian poets 16th-century Italian women writers Italian courtesans Italian women poets Renaissance women 16th-century letter writers