The Venetian Courtesan of the Renaissance - Kristin Gleeson

Home

News

NOVELS In Praise of the Bees Highland Ballad Series > The Hostage of Glenorchy The Mists of Glenstrae The Braes of Huntly The Celtic Knot Series > Along the Far Shores Raven Brought the Light Selkie Dreams > Songs/Music Resources Renaissance Sojourner Series > A Trick of Fate The Imp of Eye The Sea of Travail The Quest of Hope

In Praise of the Bees

Highland Ballad Series > The Hostage of Glenorchy The Mists of Glenstrae The Braes of Huntly

The Hostage of Glenorchy

The Mists of Glenstrae

The Braes of Huntly

The Celtic Knot Series > Along the Far Shores Raven Brought the Light Selkie Dreams > Songs/Music Resources

Along the Far Shores

Raven Brought the Light

Selkie Dreams > Songs/Music Resources

Songs/Music

Resources

Renaissance Sojourner Series > A Trick of Fate The Imp of Eye The Sea of Travail The Quest of Hope

A Trick of Fate

The Imp of Eye

The Sea of Travail

The Quest of Hope

Anahareo

Blog

Irish Country Observer Irish Country Observer 1 Irish Country Observer 2 Irish Country Observer 3 Irish Country Observer 4 Irish Country Observer 5 Irish Country Observer 6

Irish Country Observer 1

Irish Country Observer 2

Irish Country Observer 3

Irish Country Observer 4

Irish Country Observer 5

Irish Country Observer 6

Events

The Venetian Courtesan of the Renaissance 10/1/2017 3 Comments Travelers who visited in Venice in the 15th, 16th and 17th century never failed to marvel at the number of courtesans in the city. Thomas Coryat writing in 1608 was astonished to note that there were as many as twenty thousand courtesans operating in Venice and said that “many are esteemed so loose that they are said to open their quivers to every arrow.” Venetian Courtesans The courtesans often dressed in clothing that had revealing cleavage to point even where the breasts were completely exposed. Travelers on occasion mistakenly thought these were the ordinary female citizens of Venice. But just as much as they might condemn the numbers and their behavior, the travelers’ descriptions of Venetian daily life in which the courtesan featured prominently the city is praised as an example of civic and social harmony. Two myths lying side by side. Venice in fact was a vibrant and complex city, filled with merchants profiting from expanded trade opportunities and proud of its republic standing. The government was organized around a multitude of magistracies and councils and ruled by a doge, elected by a closed patrician group, called the Great Council. wealthy Venetian woman The people were generally a sober lot and the women of their class and the nobility were seldom seen in public. When they did, they too were somberly dressed, in dark colors. Venice was also crowded with people who worked at the shipyards, at the fisheries, the glassworks and other manufacturers in this blossoming commercial centre. Housing was difficult to find, even among the wealthier classes, and few had the luxury (at least in the 15th and 16th century) of owning their own palazzo. Most had apartments or rooms in buildings, some of the poorer classes shared rooms. These conditions among a booming commercial centre created intense rivalries among the young men of various trades. Such competition often gave rise to faction fighting- sometimes fought desperately over bridges like the Rialto. Enemies of any class could be despatched in a dark alley and tossed in the canal. Venetian Courtesan Poised between these two sides of Venice were the courtesans. There were two classes of courtesans that existed in Venice. The first, cortigna onesta , honest courtesan or intellectual courtesan and the cortigna lume , the lower class prostitutes who lived near and frequented the Rialto Bridge. The women from the first class of courtesan, the honest courtesan, were often born into patrician or merchant family they were raised as educated and cultured women. But in a society that dictated exorbitant dowries that could often bankrupt a family, extra daughters were often given no opportunity to marry. They could go into a convent and become a nun, but that still required a dowry, though not as large. They could remain in the household an ageing spinster tending to family member, forever dependent and submissive perhaps to a new mistress of the household if it should pass to a brother and his wife. Or circumstances, like poverty from funding a dowry to an older sister, or failed commercial activities could encourage a young woman to consider the life of a courtesan. Often, in these situations, a courtesan could end up being the sole support of their family. Venetian Courtesan Among the Venetian men generally, courtesans were seen as cultured women who provided entertainment for wealthy noblemen and merchants. In Venice, a man wouldn’t be expected to marry until well into his thirties and courtesans could provide these young men pleasure and culture and hopefully disease free. An older man might take a courtesan as his mistress and enjoy a less inhibited sexual experience than he would from a wife who had most likely been raised in a convent-like atmosphere. Successful courtesans could enjoy a luxurious life filled with parties and salons. They often moved in influential circles and had access to artists, poets, politicians and the thinkers of the day. In such circles a courtesan had the opportunity to wield influence if she was skilled enough to do so. Aside from the potential for power and influence the honest courtesan still faced the possibility of contracting a sexually transmitted disease, something that observed no class barriers. Veronica Franco One of the most celebrated and well known Venetian courtesans was Veronica Franco, born in 1546. Born to the courtesan, Paola Fracassa and the merchant, Francesco Franco she also had three brothers. Her intellectual life began with sharing her brothers' education by private tutors in the family home and while still in her teens she married the physician Paolo Panizza. Probably an arranged marriage, it ended badly shortly afterwards and Veronica was forced to support herself. Franco became a cortigiana onesta (honest courtesan) in the mid to late 1560s and soon became famed for the intellectual and culture entertainments she provided. She continued her education by frequenting literary gatherings of writers and painters in Venice during the 1570s and 1580s and mingled with politicians, poets, artists and thinkers. She captured the interest of Domenico Venier (1517-1582), a Venetian poet and the head of the most renowned vernacular literary academy in Venice, who became her reader and protector. A frequent visitor to his private literary salon at Ca' Venier (the Venier palace), Franco composed sonnets and capitoli in terza rima for exchange with male poets. By her mid-twenties, Franco was requesting sonnets for publication from male poets for anthologies that she assembled to commemorate men of the Venetian elite. One such volume, the Rime di diversi eccellentissimi autori nella morte dell'Illustre Sign. Estor Marteninengo Conte di Malapaga, in honor of the Count Martinengo, was published in 1575; she was not only the editor but also included nine sonnets she herself had written. In 1575, during the epidemic of plague that ravaged the city, Veronica Franco was forced to leave Venice and lost much of her wealth when her house and possessions were looted. On her return in 1577, she defended herself with dignity before the Inquisition on charges of witchcraft (a common complaint lodged against courtesans in those days). The charges were dropped. She died in 1591. I weave courtesans into the novels, The Sea of Travail and The Quest of Hope, part of the Renaissance Sojourner Series. Amazon Apple Kobo 3 Comments harley 10/1/2018 07:47:13 pm Why have you not cited your sources? I am a student of art history and I would like to see where you found the original information of this post. Please just email me back. Reply Kristin Gleeson 10/2/2018 05:36:11 am I'm sorry you were disappointed about the lack of source citation. I didn't cite my sources because this is a general blog, not meant to be for historians per say, but for enjoyment. I am happy to let you know my sources, though. My main source was Margaret Rosenthal, The Honest Courtesan, a well known respected scholarly source. Other sources include Venice, by Peter Ackroyd. Reply Janet Gamel link 11/11/2018 02:01:21 am You state in this blog that Veronica Franco " married in her teens to the physician Paola Fracassa" I understood that Paola Fracassa was the name of her mother. Is this a typo, or did her husband have the same name as her mother.? Thank you for rthe telling of her wonderful story. Reply Leave a Reply.

10/1/2017

3 Comments

Amazon Apple Kobo

Why have you not cited your sources? I am a student of art history and I would like to see where you found the original information of this post. Please just email me back.

I'm sorry you were disappointed about the lack of source citation. I didn't cite my sources because this is a general blog, not meant to be for historians per say, but for enjoyment. I am happy to let you know my sources, though. My main source was Margaret Rosenthal, The Honest Courtesan, a well known respected scholarly source. Other sources include Venice, by Peter Ackroyd.

You state in this blog that Veronica Franco " married in her teens to the physician Paola Fracassa" I understood that Paola Fracassa was the name of her mother. Is this a typo, or did her husband have the same name as her mother.? Thank you for rthe telling of her wonderful story.

Author Kristin Gleeson is a writer, artist and musician who lives in the west of Ireland in the Gaeltacht. Her historical novels, Selkie Dreams , and Along the Far Shores, and Raven Brought the Light , are available on Amazon. Her biography of a Canadian First Nations woman, Anahareo, A Wilderness Spirit , is published by Fireship Press. Recieve a free novella prequel to Along the Far Shores when you sign up for the mailing list on the homepage homepage Archives February 2018 October 2017 August 2017 December 2016 June 2016 May 2016 August 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 September 2014 August 2014 June 2014 April 2014 March 2014 December 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 December 2012 November 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 Categories All Alaska Anahareo Anam Cara Art Class Assassin's Wife Bee Keeping Blog Hop Breath Of Africa Brehon Laws Catching The Eagle Company Of Liars Conservation Courtesans Cynithia Neale Devil In Deerskins Devil In Deersksin Duchess Of Gloucester Duke Humphrey Of Gloucester Early Writing Eating The Bible Edward IV Estoria De Espanna Falcons Of Fire And Ice Five Points Frances Kay Grey Owl Henry VI Hollywood Stereotypes Of Native Americans Imp Of Eye Ireland Jane Bwye John O'Donohue Karen Charlton Karen Maitland Lalibela Macroom Macroom Cloak Measuring Chains Medieval Ireland Medieval Spain Micka Misspelt Names Moonyeen Blakey Norah NY Prester John Prince Henry The Navigator Princes In The Tower Publishing Book Pumpkin Pie Rena Rosner Richard III Sean Keane Seven Noble Knights Social And Economic Deprivation Sophie McCall St. Aban St. Brigid St. Gobnait St. Patrick's Day Thanksgiving The Vanishing Witch Tim Weed Tlingits Tonto Venice Veronica Franco Witchcraft Witch Of Eye World War Ii Writing Inspirations RSS Feed

Kristin Gleeson is a writer, artist and musician who lives in the west of Ireland in the Gaeltacht. Her historical novels, Selkie Dreams , and Along the Far Shores, and Raven Brought the Light , are available on Amazon. Her biography of a Canadian First Nations woman, Anahareo, A Wilderness Spirit , is published by Fireship Press.

February 2018 October 2017 August 2017 December 2016 June 2016 May 2016 August 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 September 2014 August 2014 June 2014 April 2014 March 2014 December 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 December 2012 November 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011

All Alaska Anahareo Anam Cara Art Class Assassin's Wife Bee Keeping Blog Hop Breath Of Africa Brehon Laws Catching The Eagle Company Of Liars Conservation Courtesans Cynithia Neale Devil In Deerskins Devil In Deersksin Duchess Of Gloucester Duke Humphrey Of Gloucester Early Writing Eating The Bible Edward IV Estoria De Espanna Falcons Of Fire And Ice Five Points Frances Kay Grey Owl Henry VI Hollywood Stereotypes Of Native Americans Imp Of Eye Ireland Jane Bwye John O'Donohue Karen Charlton Karen Maitland Lalibela Macroom Macroom Cloak Measuring Chains Medieval Ireland Medieval Spain Micka Misspelt Names Moonyeen Blakey Norah NY Prester John Prince Henry The Navigator Princes In The Tower Publishing Book Pumpkin Pie Rena Rosner Richard III Sean Keane Seven Noble Knights Social And Economic Deprivation Sophie McCall St. Aban St. Brigid St. Gobnait St. Patrick's Day Thanksgiving The Vanishing Witch Tim Weed Tlingits Tonto Venice Veronica Franco Witchcraft Witch Of Eye World War Ii Writing Inspirations

RSS Feed