Vanna
Encyclopedia
Vanna is a female first name that first appeared in recorded history circa 1294. The Italian medieval name originated in Tuscany
, and is particular to Florence
, Italy. Though similar in pronunciation to the name Giovanna
, and conjectured to be derived from it, Vanna is neither a nickname nor a derivation. It is similar to the first name Ivanna.
, a thirteenth century book of verse written by Dante Alighieri
, an Italian
Florentine poet. In one verse, Dante writes that personified Love
proclaims Vanna is 'Primavera' (Springtime), and declares that Beatrice
's name is Love itself.
is July 23, in memory of the Blessed Vanna of Orvieto
, who died in 1306.
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
, and is particular to Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, Italy. Though similar in pronunciation to the name Giovanna
Giovanna
Giovanna is an Italian feminine first name, the equivalent of Joanna, Jane, etc. in English.Diminutive forms include Gianna, Vanna, Giovannina, Nina. People known by this name name include:...
, and conjectured to be derived from it, Vanna is neither a nickname nor a derivation. It is similar to the first name Ivanna.
History
The name Vanna first appeared in recorded history in La Vita NuovaLa Vita Nuova
La Vita Nuova is a medieval text written by Dante Alighieri in 1295. It is an expression of the medieval genre of courtly love in a prosimetrum style, a combination of both prose and verse...
, a thirteenth century book of verse written by Dante Alighieri
Dante Alighieri
Durante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...
, an Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Florentine poet. In one verse, Dante writes that personified Love
Love
Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
proclaims Vanna is 'Primavera' (Springtime), and declares that Beatrice
Beatrice
Beatrice is a name derived from the Latin name Beatrix. It is a feminine form of the late Latin name Viator which meant "voyager, traveler". It was also a common name amongst early Christians, though the spelling was altered by association with the Latin beatus, meaning "blessed". The French form...
's name is Love itself.
Italian
The Italian origin of the name is thought to be derived from the Latin vanno (vaglia), meaning "she who sifts" (or assesses). It is also considered a feminine form of the name Van, short for Evan, meaning Youth.Name day
The Italian Name dayName day
A name day is a tradition in many countries in Europe and Latin America that consists of celebrating the day of the year associated with one's given name....
is July 23, in memory of the Blessed Vanna of Orvieto
Orvieto
Orvieto is a city and comune in Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff...
, who died in 1306.
People with the given name Vanna
- Monna (Lady) Vanna, thirteenth century citizen of Florence, Italy, muse and love of Florentine poet Guido CavalcantiGuido CavalcantiGuido Cavalcanti was a Florentine poet, as well as an intellectual influence on his best friend, Dante. His poems in their original Italian are available on Wikisource .-Historical background:...
. - Vanna BontaVanna BontaVanna Bonta is a novelist, poet and film actress best known as the author of Flight: A Quantum Fiction Novel the story about parallel dimensions featuring an amnesiac girl with no navel...
American novelist, poet and actress, named from Dante's La Vita Nuova by her grandfather and godfather, Italian writerWriterA writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
Luigi UgoliniLuigi UgoliniLuigi Ugolini was an Italian writer. He is best known for his series of fictionalized biographies of Italian leaders in art and science, and for a volume of work that immortalizes traditions, values and ways of life of Tuscany and Florence...
, who christened her where the poet Dante himself was baptized in the 13th century, at the Battistero di San Giovanni of Florence. - Vanna WhiteVanna WhiteVanna White is an American television personality and film actress best known as the hostess of Wheel of Fortune since 1982.-Early life:...
(alternate pronunciation) American game show hostess - Vanna (band)Vanna (band)Vanna is an American post-hardcore band from Boston, MA. Their first full length album, Curses, was released on April 24, 2007.-Early years :...
(alternate pronunciation)
In fiction
- Monna Vanna play by Belgian Dramatist Maurice Maeterlinck
- Monna Vanna movie at IMDb (story by Niccolò MachiavelliNiccolò MachiavelliNiccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli was an Italian historian, philosopher, humanist, and writer based in Florence during the Renaissance. He is one of the main founders of modern political science. He was a diplomat, political philosopher, playwright, and a civil servant of the Florentine Republic...
) - Monna VannaMonna Vanna (opera)Monna Vanna is an unfinished opera by Sergei Rachmaninoff after a play by Maurice Maeterlinck. Rachmaninoff had completed Act I in short vocal score, with piano accompaniment, and then he went to ask for permission to set the text in a full three-act treatment. However, another composer, Henry...
unfinished opera by Sergei Rachmaninov - "The Alchemist", a poem by Ezra PoundEzra PoundEzra Weston Loomis Pound was an American expatriate poet and critic and a major figure in the early modernist movement in poetry...
. In a chant for the transmutation of metals, Pound invokes:"Vanna, Mandetta, Viera, Alodetta, Picarda, Manuela / From the red gleam of copper, [...] O Queen of Cypress, / Out of Erebus, out of the flat waste of air, lying beneath the world; / Out of the brown leaf-brown colourless / Bring the imperceptible cool."
- The CantosThe CantosThe Cantos by Ezra Pound is a long, incomplete poem in 120 sections, each of which is a canto. Most of it was written between 1915 and 1962, although much of the early work was abandoned and the early cantos, as finally published, date from 1922 onwards. It is a book-length work, widely considered...
, by Ezra Pound. The very last line of the Canto 93 describes ("un lume pien' di spiriti") "a light full of the spirits [of love]," and finishes with ("e Monna Vanna . . . tu mi fai rimembrar") "and Monna [Lady] Vanna, you cause me to remember [paradise]." - La Vita NuovaLa Vita NuovaLa Vita Nuova is a medieval text written by Dante Alighieri in 1295. It is an expression of the medieval genre of courtly love in a prosimetrum style, a combination of both prose and verse...
, by Dante AlighieriDante AlighieriDurante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...
" ... when I, to my surprise, / saw lady Vanna and lady Beatrice / coming towards me, where I still was standing - / one bliss pursuing still another bliss. / And - here is what I am reminded of - / Love said "The first is Springtime, but the second / resembles me so much, her name is Love."
See also
- Guido CavalcantiGuido CavalcantiGuido Cavalcanti was a Florentine poet, as well as an intellectual influence on his best friend, Dante. His poems in their original Italian are available on Wikisource .-Historical background:...
- La Vita NuovaLa Vita NuovaLa Vita Nuova is a medieval text written by Dante Alighieri in 1295. It is an expression of the medieval genre of courtly love in a prosimetrum style, a combination of both prose and verse...
- Dante AlighieriDante AlighieriDurante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...
- Italian literatureItalian literatureItalian literature is literature written in the Italian language, particularly within Italy. It may also refer to literature written by Italians or in Italy in other languages spoken in Italy, often languages that are closely related to modern Italian....
- FlorenceFlorenceFlorence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
- unrequited loveUnrequited loveUnrequited love is love that is not openly reciprocated or understood as such, even though reciprocation is usually deeply desired. The beloved may or may not be aware of the admirer's deep affections...
Other
- Monna Vanna the play by Maurice MaeterlinckMaurice MaeterlinckMaurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck, also called Comte Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911. The main themes in his work are death and the meaning of life...
(modern drama, social significance of the new woman as a reborn, regenerated spirit) - Monna Vanna painting by Dante Gabriel RossettiDante Gabriel RossettiDante Gabriel Rossetti was an English poet, illustrator, painter and translator. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 with William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais, and was later to be the main inspiration for a second generation of artists and writers influenced by the movement,...
(Venetian ideal of female beauty) - Henry HolidayHenry HolidayHenry Holiday was an English historical genre and landscape painter, stained glass designer, illustrator and sculptor. He is considered to be a member of the Pre-Raphaelite school of art.-Early years and training:...
; painting "Dante and Beatrice" by Henry Holiday depicting Dante, Beatrice and Vanna.