Faustina Pignatelli Carafa, princess of Colubrano (9 December 1705-30 December 1769), was an Italian mathematician and scientist from Naples. She became the second woman (after the Bolognese physicist

Laura Bassi Laura Maria Caterina Bassi Veratti (29 October 1711 – 20 February 1778) was an Italian physicist and academic. Recognized and depicted as "Minerva" (goddess of wisdom), she was the first woman to have a doctorate in science, and the second wo ...

) to be elected to the Academy of Sciences of Bologna on 20 November 1732. In 1734, Faustina published a paper titled ''Problemata Mathematica'' using the name "anonima napolitana" (a Latin phrase meaning "anonymous female from Naples"), in the German scientific journal '' Nova Acta Eruditorum'', which was published entirely in Latin. Alongside her brother Peter, she was educated by Nicola De Martino and was instrumental in introducing the theories of

Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the grea ...

to Naples. She was an important participator in the scientific debate in Italy and corresponded with the French Academy of Sciences. Upon her marriage to the poet Francesco Domenico

Carafa Carafa is a surname held by: * Tony Carafa, Australian rules footballer * Members of the house of Carafa The House of Carafa or Caraffa is the name of an old and influential Neapolitan aristocratic family of Italian nobles, clergy, and men of a ...

in 1724, she was given the principality Colubrano in southern Italy as a dowry by her father.

Francesco Maria Zanotti Francesco Maria Zanotti Cavazzoni (Bologna, 6 January 1692 – Bologna, 25 December 1777) was an Italian philosopher and writer. Besides being a writer, he was also a commentator on works of art. He was considered an authoritative source on ...

, secretary of the Academy of Sciences of Bologna from 1723 to 1766, mentioned her as a gifted mathematician in 1745. She was a Dame of the

Order of the Starry Cross The Order of the Starry Cross (or Order of the Star Cross/Star Cross Order; German: ''Sternkreuz-Orden'') is an imperial Austrian dynastic order for Catholic noble ladies, founded in 1668. The order still exists under the House of Habsburg-Lorrain ...

from 3 May 1732.

References

* A. Brigaglia, P. Nastasi, Bologna e il Regno delle due Sicilie: aspetti di un dialogo scientifico (1730-1760), «Giornale critico della filosofia italiana», LXIII, 2, 1984, pp. 145–178. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pignatelli, Faustian 1705 births 1785 deaths 18th-century Italian physicists Italian women physicists 18th-century Neapolitan people 18th-century Italian women scientists Women mathematicians Italian mathematicians Faustina