Veronica Gambara
Encyclopedia
Veronica Gambara was an Italian poet, stateswoman and political leader.
(now in the Province of Brescia
), in Lombardy
, Italy
, Gambara came from a distinguished family , one of the seven children of Count Gianfrancesco da Gambara and Alda Pio da Carpi. Her family contained a number of distinguished intellectuals as members , including her grandmother Ginevra and great-aunt, Isotta Nogarola
.. Veronica was also a niece of Emilia Pia.
She was educated in literature, philosophy, and languages from an early age. She learned to compose in classical Latin and read Latin poetry. When she was 17 she corresponded with the leading neo-Petrarchan
, Pietro Bembo
, who later became her mentor. By 1530 her poetry was known throughout Italy.
In 1508 she was betrothed to a cousin, Giberto X, Count of Correggio. He was a 50 year old widower, she was 23. She married him in 1509 in Amalfi. Although an arranged marriage she developed real feeling for her husband and wrote poems of their love. They had two sons, Ippolito was born in 1510 and Girolamo in 1511. After Giberto's death in 1518 she expressed her grief in her poetry. She took charge of his estates as well as the education of her two sons.
She took an active role in the military defence of Correggio in wars between the Emperor Charles V
and the French king, Francis I
. She addressed poems to various leaders on the necessity of peace that were by turns flattering and stern.
Se died in 1550 in Correggio, Italy.
Approximately 80 of her poems and 150 of her letters are extant, although there is no full English translation of her work. Most of her poems are sonnets, although she also wrote madrigals, ballads, and stanze in ottava rima. Besides her political poems, she wrote poems of love, religious devotion, and pastoral praise of Brescia and Correggio.
Family
Born in PralboinoPralboino
Pralboino is a comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy.As of 2007 Pralboino had an estimated population of 2,792....
(now in the Province of Brescia
Province of Brescia
The Province of Brescia is a Province in Lombardy, Italy. It borders with the province of Sondrio in the N and NW, the province of Bergamo in the W, province of Cremona in the SW and S, the province of Mantova to the S, and to the east, the province of Verona and Trentino .Source for statistical...
), in Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
, Italy
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...
, Gambara came from a distinguished family , one of the seven children of Count Gianfrancesco da Gambara and Alda Pio da Carpi. Her family contained a number of distinguished intellectuals as members , including her grandmother Ginevra and great-aunt, Isotta Nogarola
Isotta Nogarola
Isotta Nogarola was an Italian writer and intellectual. She was passionate about her education, and became one of the most famous female humanists of the Italian Renaissance, inspiring generations of female artists and writers...
.. Veronica was also a niece of Emilia Pia.
She was educated in literature, philosophy, and languages from an early age. She learned to compose in classical Latin and read Latin poetry. When she was 17 she corresponded with the leading neo-Petrarchan
Petrarchan
The Petrarchan sonnet is a verse form that typically refers to a concept of unattainable love. It was first developed by the Italian humanist and writer, Francesco Petrarca. Conventionally Petrarchan sonnets depict the addressed lady in hyperbolic terms and present her as a model of perfection and...
, Pietro Bembo
Pietro Bembo
Pietro Bembo was an Italian scholar, poet, literary theorist, and cardinal. He was an influential figure in the development of the Italian language, specifically Tuscan, as a literary medium, and his writings assisted in the 16th-century revival of interest in the works of Petrarch...
, who later became her mentor. By 1530 her poetry was known throughout Italy.
In 1508 she was betrothed to a cousin, Giberto X, Count of Correggio. He was a 50 year old widower, she was 23. She married him in 1509 in Amalfi. Although an arranged marriage she developed real feeling for her husband and wrote poems of their love. They had two sons, Ippolito was born in 1510 and Girolamo in 1511. After Giberto's death in 1518 she expressed her grief in her poetry. She took charge of his estates as well as the education of her two sons.
She took an active role in the military defence of Correggio in wars between the Emperor Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
and the French king, Francis I
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
. She addressed poems to various leaders on the necessity of peace that were by turns flattering and stern.
Se died in 1550 in Correggio, Italy.
Approximately 80 of her poems and 150 of her letters are extant, although there is no full English translation of her work. Most of her poems are sonnets, although she also wrote madrigals, ballads, and stanze in ottava rima. Besides her political poems, she wrote poems of love, religious devotion, and pastoral praise of Brescia and Correggio.