Giovanna d'Aragona (1502– September 11, 1575) was a patron of the arts, printers and religious reform in

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 ...

during the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

Family

She was the oldest daughter of Duke Ferdinando of Malteno and Castellana de Cardona. Her father was a younger, illegitimate son of

Ferdinand I of Naples Ferdinand I (2 June 1424 – 25 January 1494), also known as Ferrante, was king of Naples from 1458 to 1494. The only son, albeit illegitimate, of Alfonso the Magnanimous, he was one of the most influential and feared monarchs in Europe at the ...

by Diana Guardato. Giovanna was a celebrated beauty of her time. She was described as "beautiful, but cold"."Giovanna D’Aragona soggiorna lungo tempo sul Castello Aragonese di Ischia", Isola Ischia
/ref> In 1518, the year of her engagement to Ascanio Colonna, Constable of Naples, Cardinal Bibbiena, papal ambassador to the French court, commissioned a portrait of her from the workshop of his friend

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...

as a gift for the King.

Life

Her parents had fled to the island

Ischia Ischia ( , , ) is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It lies at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples, about from the city of Naples. It is the largest of the Phlegrean Islands. Although inhabited since the Bronze Age, as a Ancient G ...

after French troops had overrun Naples. Constanza d'Avalos resided here as well and gathered a literary circle around her. Amongst them was her sister-in-law, the poet

Vittoria Colonna Vittoria Colonna (April 149225 February 1547), marchioness of Pescara, was an Italian noblewoman and poet. As an educated and married noblewoman whose husband was in captivity, Colonna was able to develop relationships within the intellectual ci ...

, wife of Constanza's nephew,

Fernando d'Ávalos Fernando Francesco d'Ávalos d'Aquino, 5th Marquess of Pescara (in Italian Ferrante Francesco d'Ávalos), (11 November 1489 – 3 December 1525), was an Italian (Neapolitan) military leader and nobleman of Spanish ( Aragonese) origin. He was an i ...

. In 1521, Giovanna married Vittoria's brother Ascanio. Upon marriage they became Duke and Duchess of

Tagliacozzo Tagliacozzo (Neapolitan language, Marsicano: ') is a town and ''comune'' in the province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo, central Italy. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). History Tagliacozzo lies in an ar ...

. The marriage was unhappy, and after giving birth to six children, Giovanna asked

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) ...

for the means to live apart from her husband. He granted her 3,000 scudi a year. Ascanio left for Lombardy, and she, pretending to go to the baths of

Pozzuoli Pozzuoli (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) of the Metropolitan City of Naples, in the Italian region of Campania. It is the main city of the Phlegrean Peninsula. History Antiquity Pozzuoli began as the Greek colony of ''Dicaearchia ...

, with all Ascanio's possessions, and her children, went to Ischia. The emperor then directed her to the

Castel dell'Ovo Castel dell'Ovo ("Egg Castle") is a seafront castle in Naples, located on the former island of Megaride, now a peninsula, on the Gulf of Naples in Italy. The castle's name comes from a legend about the Roman Republic, Roman poet Virgil, who had a ...

. Given the rank of the parties involved, the matter stirred up controversy among the Italo-Spanish nobility and in the papal court.

Ignatius of Loyola Ignatius of Loyola ( ; ; ; ; born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola; – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Basque Spaniard Catholic priest and theologian, who, with six companions, founded the religious order of the S ...

sent

Nicholas Bobadilla Nicholas Bobadilla, SJ (c.1509 – 23 September 1590) was one of the first Jesuits. A native of Spain, he spent most of his career in Germany. Biography Nicholas Bobadilla was born in Spain in about 1509 and was educated at Alcalá de Henare ...

to attempt to persuade her to return to her husband. When this failed, he, himself visited her in Alvita, but to no avail. In this she was supported by her son, Marcantonio. Nonetheless, she donated to the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

land on the

Quirinal Hill The Quirinal Hill (; ; ) is one of the Seven Hills of Rome, at the north-east of the city center. It is the location of the official residence of the Italian head of state, who resides in the Quirinal Palace; by metonymy "the Quirinal" has c ...

to build their first seminary; now the site of

Sant'Andrea al Quirinale The Church of Saint Andrew on the Quirinal (, ) is a Roman Catholic titular church in Rome, Italy, built for the Jesuit seminary on the Quirinal Hill. The church of Sant'Andrea, an important example of Roman Baroque architecture, was designed by ...

. Despite all this, she remained close to Vittoria and together with Giovanna's sister Maria and Constanza d'Avalos, they supported the religious writer

Juan de Valdés Juan de Valdés (c.1490 – August 1541) was a Spanish religious writer and Catholic reformer. He was the younger of twin sons of Fernando de Valdés, hereditary ''regidor'' of Cuenca in Castile, where Valdés was born. He has been confused ...

. In 1541, when

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III (; ; born Alessandro Farnese; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death, in November 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era follo ...

raised the price of salt, she tried to intercede for her husband, who refused to pay the "salt tax". She also gathered arms and men, and sold jewels for the defense of

Paliano Paliano is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Frosinone, in the Lazio region of central Italy. History Paliano was the seat of a branch of the powerful Colonna family whose head was Lord, then Duke, then Prince of Paliano. Their fortres ...

. In spite of her mediation, the pope's forces attacked Ascanio's lands and he was imprisoned by an envoy of

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

. Like Pope Paul III,

Pope Paul IV Pope Paul IV (; ; 28 June 1476 – 18 August 1559), born Gian Pietro Carafa, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 May 1555 to his death, in August 1559. While serving as papal nuncio in Spain, he developed ...

was an enemy of the Colonna family. In 1556, he held Giovanna under house arrest in Rome and forbade her to arrange marriages for her daughters, perhaps intending them for his nephews. His treatment of Giovanna drew negative comment from Venice because she had long been a patron of artists and writers. She escaped by wearing servants' clothes and fled to Tagliacozzo with her children and servants. In 1560, after the death of Paul IV, she returned to

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, ...

and became a prominent figure in Italy's political and religious life. The poet

Girolamo Ruscelli Girolamo Ruscelli (1518–1566) was an Italian mathematician and Cartography, cartographer active in Venice during the early 16th century. He was also an alchemist, writing pseudonymously as Alessio Piemontese. Biography Girolamo Ruscelli w ...

paid tribute to her in an anthology with work from many contemporary

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

poets. Giovanna d'Aragona died in Rome on 11 September 1575.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aragona, Giovanna D' 1502 births 1575 deaths 16th-century Italian nobility

Giovanna Giovanna is an Italian feminine first name. It is the feminine counterpart of the masculine Giovanni (name), Giovanni, which in turn is the Italian form of John (given name), John; it is thus the Italian equivalent of Joan (given name), Joan, etc. ...

Italian art patrons Italian patrons of literature 16th-century Neapolitan people Nobility from Naples 16th-century Italian women