Virdimura () was a Sicilian Jewish doctor, the first woman officially certified to practice medicine in Sicily.

Biography

Though few biographical details of Virdimura are known, she was a Jewish woman living in

Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

, Sicily, in the 14th century. She was trained in the practice of Jewish medicine, perhaps by her husband, Pasquale de Medico of Catania, who was also thought to be a physician. It is not known if Pasquale was Jewish or not. She obtained a royal license to practice medicine across the island of Sicily on November 7, 1376, with the approval of the doctors of King Frederick's royal court. Virdimura was asked to complete exams for the certification. Her patients also testified on her behalf, and the licensing documentation notes that the examiners took into consideration the "praise universally given her." With this, she became the first woman physician with this designation on the island. She subsequently traveled throughout Sicily treating patients. Virdimura particularly focused on treating poor and disabled patients, charging them less for her services than her male contemporaries. This also likely meant that she treated both female and male patients, and both Jews and

gentile ''Gentile'' () is a word that today usually means someone who is not Jewish. Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, have historically used the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is used as a synony ...

Legacy

The International Virdimura Award, which recognizes doctors with a humanitarian mission, is named for her. A square in Catania, in the district, was also named in her honor in 2020. In 2024, a biography of the doctor, titled ''Virdimura'', was published by the Syracusean writer Lo Iacono Simona.

References

{{reflist 14th-century Italian physicians 14th-century Italian Jews 14th-century Italian women Physicians from Sicily People from Catania Medieval women physicians Jewish physicians 14th-century Sicilian people