Imperia Cognati (also called Imperia La Divina, meaning ''Imperia The Divine'', or ''The Queen of Courtesans'', 3 August 1486 – 15 August 1512
), was a
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
courtesan
Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress (lover), mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the Royal cour ...
. She has been considered the first celebrity of the class of courtesans, which was created in Rome in the late 15th century.
Historical background
In the 15th century, the courtiers of the Papal court begun with the habit of hiring female escorts to accompany them in court life. As the Papal courtiers were clerics who were banned from marrying, the women they consorted with could not be marriageable, but at the same time, they must be educated and know their etiquette to be able to converse and participate in formal court life. This was the development of a new class of prostitutes in Christian Europe: the courtesan, which then spread from Rome to other parts of Europe, and Imperia was to become the first famous representative of this new type of prostitute. Courtesans by custom kept a main client as a steady supporter, while in addition openly entertaining others as temporary clients.
Name and origin
Imperia was born the daughter of Diana di Pietro Cognati
(other sources: ''Cugnati,
[Antonius Lux: ''Große Frauen der Weltgeschichte. Tausend Biographien in Wort und Bild''. Sebastian Lux Verlag, Munich 1963, page 239 (german)][Duncan Salkeld]
Shakespeare Among the Courtesans: Prostitution, Literature and Drama, 1500–1650
2012 Corgnati
(italian)''), a Roman prostitute. Her father was called Paris, either by given name or "De
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
" as a
toponymic surname
A toponymic surname or topographic surname is a surname derived from a place name. .
It has thus been speculated that
Paris de Grassis
Paris de Grassis (also Paride de' Grassi, c. 1470 – 10 June 1528) was the master of ceremonies to Pope Julius II and Pope Leo X. He joined the Office of Ceremonies in May 1504 as a participating ceremonialist, progressed to role of president ...
, the later master of ceremonies of Pope
Julius II
Pope Julius II ( la, Iulius II; it, Giulio II; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or the ...
, could have been her father when he was young.
Imperia called herself in documents Imperia (di Pietro) Cognati, while in her will she referred to herself as Imperia de Paris. She has been later referred to by the name of Lucrezia, which was the name of her daughter and probably not her own given name.
There are further uncertainties about the year and place of her birth. Besides 1486, there are sources claiming her being born on 3 August 1481, five years earlier.
The place of her birth is commonly claimed to be Rome, or more specific the Via Alessandrina in the district of
Borgo.
However, it is also said she hailed from
Ferrara
Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...
.
Career
She either chose the name of Imperia early on as her business name
or only started offering her body after the birth of her daughter.
Either way, soon after her entrance into the business, she was considered the archetype of a courtesan. Contemporary sources praised her charm and intelligence. The banker Agostino Chigi was the regular and main client of Imperia, at this point called the richest banker in the world. He financed Imperia to maintain what was called a royal standard of living, and she kept both a palace in Rome and a country villa outside the city.
As was the custom for courtesans, she spent her days by the window, where she displayed her appearance to passers by. She was known to be courted by the men of the Papal court, but her tactic was to remain exclusive and accept only few clients, while she still surrounded herself with courtiers from noble families. Those friends included
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...
, for whose paintings Imperia acted as a model more than once. Several anecdotes survived showing her salacious wit: Above her doorstep was an inscription inviting only those who would bring esprit, wit and good mood and who would leave money or a considerable present when leaving. There was also the saying that Rome was blessed by the Gods twice:
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...
gave them the
Imperium Romanum while
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...
gave them the Imperia.
Known lovers
*
Filippo Beroaldo the younger, poet and librarian
*
Angelo di Bufalo, banker
*
Agostino Chigi
Agostino Andrea Chigi (29 November 1466 – April 11, 1520) was an Italian banker and patron of the Renaissance.
Born in Siena, he was the son of the prominent banker Mariano Chigi, a member of the ancient and illustrious Chigi family. He moved ...
, banker
*
Angelo Colocci
Angelo Colocci (1467 at Iesi, Marche – 1549) of Rome, papal secretary of Pope Leo X, romance philologist and a Renaissance humanist at the collegial center of literary and artistic classicism, assembled a collection of antiquities in his vi ...
, papal secretary under
Leo X
Pope Leo X ( it, Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521.
Born into the prominent political an ...
*
Tommaso Inghirami, papal librarian
*
Blosio Palladio, poet and architect
*
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...
, painter
*
Jacopo Sadoleto
Jacopo Sadoleto (July 12, 1477 – October 18, 1547) was an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal and counterreformer noted for his correspondence with and opposition to John Calvin.
Life
He was born at Modena in 1477, the son of a noted jurist, he a ...
, later a cardinal
Death
Legends surround Imperia's death. It was said she poisoned herself on 13 August 1512,
prepared her will and died two days later, despite Chigi bringing the most skilled physicians to her deathbed. Several reasons for her committing suicide are rumored: She had been genuinely in love with Angelo del Bufalo, her longtime client with whom her contact had ended. Another states she felt replaced by Chigi's younger mistress,
yet others allude to an affair of honor involving Pope Julius II demanding her death.
Author
Pietro Aretino
Pietro Aretino (, ; 19 or 20 April 1492 – 21 October 1556) was an Italian author, playwright, poet, satirist and blackmailer, who wielded influence on contemporary art and politics. He was one of the most influential writers of his time and a ...
, her contemporary, claimed however that Imperia died ''rich, venerated and dignified in her own house''.
Agostino Chigi financed a stately funeral in Rome, which was sensational for a prostitute. Her monument in
San Gregorio al Celio
San Gregorio Magno al Celio, also known as San Gregorio al Celio or simply San Gregorio, is a church in Rome, Italy, which is part of a monastery of monks of the Camaldolese branch of the Benedictine Order. On 10 March 2012, the 1,000th anni ...
didn't survive to the present day.
Family
At the age of 17
or 14
she gave birth to the daughter Lucrezia. The paternity of the child is unclear but many historians suppose Chigi to be Lucrezia's father; he also claimed it himself. In Imperia's will of 1512, Lucrezia was named heir
with the cantor of the papal chapel Paolo Trotti as her stepfather.
Imperia made Agostino Chigi, Ulisse Lanciarini da Fano as well as Paolo and Diana di Trevi the executors of her will and asked Chigi to arrange a marriage for her daughter. Lucrezia grew up in
Siena
Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.
The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...
or in the convent of St. Mary in
Campo Marzio
Campo Marzio is the 4th ''rione'' of Rome, identified by the initials R. IV. It belongs to the Municipio I and covers a smaller section of the area of the ancient ''Campus Martius''. The logo of this rione is a silver crescent on a blue backgroun ...
,
leading a sheltered and virtuous life before marrying Arcangelo
Colonna
The House of Colonna, also known as ''Sciarrillo'' or ''Sciarra'', is an Italian noble family, forming part of the papal nobility. It was powerful in medieval and Renaissance Rome, supplying one pope (Martin V) and many other church and politica ...
and having two sons. Until 1521, there was a court battle with her grandmother Diana
who was given only 100
ducat
The ducat () coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages from the 13th to 19th centuries. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained wi ...
s
from the will of Imperia. On 9 January 1522, Lucrezia poisoned herself as the only way of fending off the advances of Cardinal
Raffaele Petrucci
Raffaello Petrucci (1472 in Siena – 11 December 1522, in Rome) was a Cardinal and Roman Catholic bishop.
Biography
He was born in Siena, circa 1472. He was the son of Giacoppo Petrucci. Since 1494, the year of the Medici expulsion from Florenc ...
. She survived the suicide attempt and was considered an even more virtuous woman.
Existence of Imperia's second daughter by Chigi, Margherita,
hasn't been proven in documents and is doubted by historians.
Portrayals in literature and art
* Imperia La Divina is portrayed in contemporary literature, such as a novel of
Matteo Bandello
Matteo Bandello ( 1480 – 1562) was an Italian writer, soldier, monk, and, later, a Bishop mostly known for his novellas. His collection of 214 novellas made him the most popular short-story writer of his day.
Biography
Matteo Bandello wa ...
, and was subject of many legends and stories.
* She was a friend of
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...
and the model of several of his work: as a muse, as Galatea in ''
Triumph of Galatea'' in
Villa Farnesina
The Villa Farnesina is a Renaissance suburban villa in the Via della Lungara, in the district of Trastevere in Rome, central Italy.
Description
The villa was built for Agostino Chigi, a rich Sienese banker and the treasurer of Pope Julius II. Be ...
,
[Gaia Servadio: ''Renaissance Woman.''] as
Sappho
Sappho (; el, Σαπφώ ''Sapphō'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; c. 630 – c. 570 BC) was an Archaic Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her Greek lyric, lyric poetry, written to be sung while ...
in the Vatican Palace, and as a Sibyl on Chigi's designated tomb at
Santa Maria della Pace
Santa Maria della Pace is a church in Rome, central Italy, not far from Piazza Navona. The building lies in rione Ponte.
History
The current building was built on the foundations of the pre-existing church of Sant'Andrea de Aquarizariis in 1482 ...
.
*
Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly , ; born Honoré Balzac;Jean-Louis Dega, La vie prodigieuse de Bernard-François Balssa, père d'Honoré de Balzac : Aux sources historiques de La Comédie humaine, Rodez, Subervie, 1998, 665 p. 20 May 179 ...
described a courtisan called Imperia in his 1832 story ''
La Belle Impéria''. The story plays at the time of the
Council of Konstanz, 100 years before the death of Imperia.
* Balzac's figure of Imperia has been portrayed by the German painter
Lovis Corinth
Lovis Corinth (21 July 1858 – 17 July 1925) was a German artist and writer whose mature work as a painter and printmaker realized a synthesis of impressionism and expressionism.
Corinth studied in Paris and Munich, joined the Berlin Se ...
in 1925, and inspired the 1993 larger-than-life
''Imperia'' statue in the harbour of
Konstanz
Konstanz (, , locally: ; also written as Constance in English) is a university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south of Germany. The city houses the University of Konstanz and was th ...
.
* The historical Imperia has been portrayed in 2005 by the actress
Manuela Arcuri
Manuela Arcuri (born 8 January 1977, in Anagni) is an Italian actress, model and soubrette. She was the protagonist of two successful TV series, '' L'onore e il rispetto'' and '' Il peccato e la vergogna''.
Biography
Arcuri was born in Anagni, ...
in an Italian TV film production.
* Imperia appears as a character in the historical mystery, ''The Wolves of St. Peter's'', by Gina Buonaguro and Janice Kirk.
References
Literature
Melissa Hope Ditmore: Encyclopedia of Prostitution and Sex Work, Volym 1Diana Maury Robin,Anne R. Larsen,Carole Levin: Encyclopedia of Women in the Renaissance: Italy, France, and England * The Courtesan: The Part She Has Played in Classic and Modern Literature and in Life (1926)
Martha Feldman,Bonnie Gordo: The Courtesan's Arts: Cross-Cultural Perspectives Includes CD Gaia Servadio: Renaissance Woman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cognati, Imperia
1486 births
1512 deaths
Italian courtesans
People from Rome
Raphael
15th-century Italian women
16th-century Italian women
Renaissance women
Italian artists' models