Aurora Sanseverino (28 April 1669 – 2 July 1726) was an Italian noblewoman, salon-holder, patron and poet. One of the most celebrated women in the highest rank of the Neapolitan aristocracy, she was known for her great cultural activity as a patron and mecenat of art and for her famous cultural

salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

in Naples, and correspondent of several contemporary culture personalities that made her a central figure in baroque Italy. Remembered as a "very beautiful, kind and lively lady",Gérard Labrot, Carol Togneri Dowd, Anna Cera Sones, ''Collections of paintings in Naples: 1600-1780'', K. G. Saur Verlag GmbH, 1992, p. 409 she also contributed much to giving women a dignified place in the cultural circles of Neapolitan society of the time.

Biography

Born in Saponara (the actual Grumento Nova,

province of Potenza The province of Potenza (; Potentino: ) is a province in the Basilicata region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Potenza. Geography It has an area of and a total population of 369,538 (as of 2017). There are 100 ''comuni'' (singular: ''com ...

), she was the daughter of Carlo Maria Sanseverino, Prince of

Bisignano Bisignano ( Calabrian: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Cosenza, part of the Calabria region of southern Italy. It is situated on hills in the Crati valley, between the Pollino and Sila National Parks. The town has historically bee ...

and Count of Saponara, and Maria Fardella, Countess of

Paceco Paceco ( Sicilian: ''Paceca'') is a town and ''comune'' in Western Sicily, Italy, administratively part of the province of Trapani, located nearby the Trapani city area, a distance of . Paceco is a small rural centre: among its agricultural pro ...

. At the age of 11, she married Girolamo Acquaviva, Count of

Conversano Conversano (Bari dialect, Barese: ) is an ancient town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, south-eastern Italy. It is southeast of Bari and from the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic coast, at above sea level. The counts of Conversan ...

, but she was widowed after few years and later remarried Nicola Gaetani dell'Aquila d'Aragona, Count of Alife, Duke of

Laurenzana Laurenzana (Neapolitan language, Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the region of Basilicata (southern Italy). It rises on a spur between the torre Camastro and the wood surrounding the Serrapotamo valley. History L ...

and Prince of Piedimonte, who would become his lifelong companion. She moved with her husband to

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, opening an important salon. Her circle included some of the kingdom's most prominent scholars and thinkers, most notably

Giambattista Vico Giambattista Vico (born Giovan Battista Vico ; ; 23 June 1668 – 23 January 1744) was an Italian philosopher, rhetorician, historian, and jurist during the Italian Enlightenment. He criticized the expansion and development of modern rationali ...

Gian Vincenzo Gravina Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina (20 January 1664 – 6 January 1718) was an Italian man of letters and jurist. He was born at Roggiano Gravina, a small town near Cosenza, in Calabria. He was the adoptive father of the poet Metastasio. Biography ...

and Giuseppe Valletta. In 1691 she joined the

Accademia degli Arcadi The Accademia degli Arcadi or Accademia dell'Arcadia, "Academy of Arcadia" or "Academy of the Arcadians", is an Italian literary academy founded in Rome in 1690. The full Italian official name was Pontificia Accademia degli Arcadi. History Found ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, under the name of ''Lucinda Coritesia'', being one of the first women to be accepted to the academy. She was one of the first members of the Colonia Sebezia in Naples and also belonged to the Accademia degli Spensierati in

Rossano Rossano is a town and ''frazione'' of Corigliano-Rossano in the province of Cosenza, Calabria, southern Italy. The city is situated on an eminence from the Gulf of Taranto. The town is known for its marble and alabaster quarry, quarries. The to ...

. Most of her production has been lost and only a few sonnets survived. Many artists worked under her tutelage including painters

Francesco Solimena Francesco Solimena (4 October 1657 – 3 April 1747) was a prolific Italian Baroque painter, one of an established family of painters and draughtsmen. Biography Francesco Solimena was born in Canale di Serino in the province of Avellino. H ...

Paolo de Matteis Paolo de Matteis (also known as ''Paolo de' Matteis''; 9 February 1662 – 26 January 1728) was an List of Italian painters, Italian painter. Biography He was born in Piano Vetrale, a hamlet of Orria, in the current Province of Salerno, and died ...

, Bernardo de' Dominici, Giovanni Battista Ruoppolo, Giacinto and Domenico Brandi, Teresa del Pò, Giacomo Nani, Nicola Maria Rossi, Michele Pagano (whose son Nicola played

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

in her musical performances) and composers Nicola Fago,

Nicola Porpora Nicola (or Niccolò) Antonio Giacinto Porpora (17 August 16863 March 1768) was an Italian composer and teacher of singing of the Baroque era, whose most famous singing students were the castrati Farinelli and Caffarelli. Other students include ...

Giacomo Antonio Perti Giacomo Antonio Perti (6 June 1661 – 10 April 1756) was an Italian composer of the Baroque era. He was mainly active at Bologna, where he was '' Maestro di Cappella'' for sixty years. He was the teacher of Giuseppe Torelli and Giovanni ...

, Francesco Mancini, Domenico Sarro.Landgraf, Vickers, p.2 She is best known for her collaboration with

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

, commissioning the serenata '' Aci, Galatea e Polifemo'' for the wedding of her niece Princess Beatrice di Montemiletto and Tolomeo Saverio Gallo, Duke of Alvito, which took place in Naples on 19 July 1708. In 1716, Aurora and her husband commissioned

Alessandro Scarlatti Pietro Alessandro Gaspare Scarlatti (2 May 1660 – 22 October 1725) was an Italian Baroque music, Baroque composer, known especially for his operas and chamber cantatas. He is considered the most important representative of the Neapolitan sch ...

's ''La Gloria di Primavera'', on a text by her private secretary Niccolò Giuvo, on the occasion of the birth of Archduke Leopold, son of Charles VI and Elisabeth Christine, although the child was destined to live only 7 months. Iskrena Yordanova, Paologiovanni Maione,
Serenata and Festa Teatrale in 18th Century Europe
', Hollitzer Wissenschaftsverlag, 2018 Her later life was marked by sadness for the loss her children Pasquale and Cecilia. Cecilia, who died in 1710, had recently given birth to

Raimondo di Sangro Raimondo di Sangro, Prince of Sansevero (30 January 1710 – 22 March 1771) was an Italian nobleman, inventor, soldier, writer, scientist, alchemist and freemason best remembered for his reconstruction of the Sansevero Chapel in Naples. Early ...

, future inventor and alchemist. Aurora died in Piedimonte d'Alife (today known as Piedimonte Matese,

province of Caserta The province of Caserta () is a province in the Campania region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Caserta, situated about by road north of Naples. The province has an area of , and a population of 907,442. The Palace of Caserta is located nea ...

), aged 57.

References

Bibliography

*Thomas C. Willette, ''Massimo Stanzione and Bernardo De Dominici: The Life and Work of a Neapolitan Painter'', Johns Hopkins University, 1988 *Annette Landgraf, David Vickers, ''The Cambridge Handel Encyclopedia'', Cambridge University Press, 2009

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanseverino, Aurora 1669 births 1726 deaths Aurora Sanseverino People from the Province of Potenza Italian salon-holders Italian art patrons Italian patrons of music 17th-century Italian women 18th-century Italian women writers Noblewomen in the Kingdom of Naples