Isabella di Morra

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Alleged portrait of Isabella di Morra

Isabella di Morra (* around 1520; † 1545 or 1546) was an Italian poet of the Renaissance . Unknown in her lifetime, her brothers forced her to live in isolation, alienating her from courtyards and literary salons. While she lived in solitude in a castle, she created a work that never circulated in the literary milieu of his time. Her short and melancholy life ended when her brothers murdered her over a suspected affair.

Only thirteen poems by her have survived to this day. Despite their small size, their oeuvre is considered one of the most impressive and original poems in Italian literature of the 16th century. The style and subjects with which she was engaged made her a pioneer of romantic poetry, and her verses are often the subject of feminist literary criticism.

biography

childhood

Isabella di Morra was born into a noble family in Favale (now Valsinni in the province of Matera ), which at that time belonged to the Kingdom of Naples . She was the daughter of Giovanni Michele di Morra, Baron de Favale, and Luisa Brancaccio, a noblewoman who belonged to a Neapolitan family. Isabella's date of birth is not known for certain: mostly reference is made to an investigation by Benedetto Croce which dates it to around 1520, although she could have been born earlier, around 1515 or 1516.

As a child, Isabella was taught literature and poetry by her father. She, her mother and her siblings (five brothers: Marcantonio, Scipione, Decio, Cesare and Fabio, and one sister: Porzia) were abandoned by Giovanni Michele in 1528 when he was forced to flee to France after fighting the invading French army conquest of the Kingdom of Naples against the Spanish King Charles V . had supported. He could have returned to Favale, as his crime against the Spanish Crown was pardoned, but he stayed in France and served in both the army and as an advisor to Francis I and attended court festivities. The youngest child, Camillo, was born after he fled.

Scipione followed his father shortly afterwards and the eldest sibling Marcantonio then took power in Favale. Isabella grew up in a hostile family environment with a helpless mother and brothers who were rude, unruly, and brutal. She was deeply affected by her father's sudden departure, which tormented her for the rest of her life. She received a tutor to guide her in the study of Francesco Petrarca and Latin poets, and who was probably the only person in her life with whom she could talk about literature.

youth

Castle of Isabella di Morra in Favale (now Valsinni)

From the beginning, Isabella and her three younger brothers Cesare, Decio and Fabio had a hostile relationship. Perhaps the brothers envied their talented sister and the attention she was brought up.

They forced her to live in complete isolation in the family castle in Favale, which towers over the Ionian Sea on a steep cliff . In the castle Isabelle devoted herself to writing poetry, finding the only consolation for her loneliness in poetry.

Nevertheless, she had the opportunity to make friends with her educated neighbors: with Diego Sandoval de Castro, Baron de Bollita (now Nova Siri ) and castellan of Cosenza, and his wife Antonia Caracciolo. The Spanish-born Diego has been described as a handsome and brave soldier who fought for Charles V's army on the Algiers expedition. He was a published poet, member of the Florentine Accademia and, as the protégé of Viceroy Pedro de Toledo, well connected to the power structure of Naples. Possibly encouraged and assisted by their tutor, Isabella and Diego began a secret correspondence when he wrote her letters on behalf of his wife that contained some poetry and that Isabella may have replied to.

Rumors of a secret love affair surfaced, although their relationship remains a mystery to this day and it is unclear whether or not they were more than just friends. With the exception of a brief mention of marriage, Isabella's surviving work does not contain a love poem to a man, while Diego's verses describe his feelings for his beloved (possibly related to a specific woman) or simply represent conventional laments in keeping with the poetic style of the time . However, upon learning of the letters, Isabella's brothers suspected an extramarital affair and prepared a gruesome punishment plan to restore the family's honor.

death

The first victim was their tutor, who passed the letters between them. They next confronted Isabella, and she was later found with the letters in her hands, according to contemporary accounts. She was stabbed. Two of the brothers escaped to France, but they soon returned with the obvious intention of finishing their revenge on Diego, who hired a bodyguard for fear of his life. The three murderers killed him a few months later with the help of two uncles and probably driven by their hatred of Spaniards in the woods near Noja (now known as Noepoli ).

Isabella's death went almost unnoticed and was even endorsed by society under the code of honor of the 16th century - the murder of Diego Sandoval was barely investigated. The year of her death is unknown for certain, but it is likely to be 1545 or 1546, although other studies suggest that she died in 1547 or 1548.

It is believed that she was buried in the local church of San Fabiano, but no grave or trace of her has been found. During a visit to Valsinne, historian Croce Isabella's grave was attempted, but renovation work in the church had destroyed all traces of the di Morra family graves and his investigations behind an underground wall revealed piles of bones.

aftermath

Forced to flee the Kingdom of Naples, the killers escaped the wrath of Viceroy Pedro de Toledo , who ordered the entire province to be searched. They moved to France to live with their father, who allegedly died shortly after the tragedy, although he was still alive in 1549 and receiving a pension. The brothers were found guilty in absentia. Scipione gave in and helped his brothers, despite being shocked and disgusted by the murders.

Decio became a priest and Cesare married a French noblewoman, but there is no reliable information about Fabio. Scipione, who was Queen Caterina de 'Medici's minister , was later fatally poisoned by other court members who were jealous of him. Meanwhile the other brothers were brought to justice. Marcantonio, who did not participate in the conspiracy, was imprisoned for a few months and then released. The youngest brother (Camillo), who also had nothing to do with the murders, was acquitted of complicity.

Poetry

Isabelle's poems were discovered when officers went to her property to investigate the murders. There are ten sonnets and three poems published posthumously. She is associated with the literary movement of the 1500s known as Petrarkism , a revival of Francesco Petrarca's model by Pietro Bembo . Although its shape, choice of words and phrases follow the Petrarkic fashion of the time, it stands out for its dramatic tone, which can also be found in medieval poets such as Dante Alighieri and Iacopone da Todi .

Her poetry is very personal, influenced by her own family situation and her enforced isolation; she wrote impulsively to vent her frustration, without any literary embellishment or formal elegance. Unlike poems by other female poets, who are often based on exultation over idealized love, Isabella's works only have room for existential pain, resentment and loneliness, which makes her an unmistakable figure among Petrarkic poets of the time. Marriage is the only way to love that would not only satisfy her social and feminine position, but would also be the only way to escape the oppressive environment in which she lived. Her poetry describes the grief over her isolation, the isolation from other writers and the longing for her father.

Isabella herself described her style as “bitter, harsh and painful” (amaro, aspro e dolente) or “rough and fragile” (ruvido e frale). Fate personified is the main antagonist in their texts. She accuses him of denying her happiness and freedom. Fate (Fortune) is her personification of the cruelty of people against “every benign heart” (ogni ben nato core), implicitly condemning a world in which tyranny and violence triumph over virtue.

The Sinni River at sunset

She expresses her disgust for her homeland, which she describes as the “hellish valley” (valle inferna) and “cursed place” (denigrato sito), surrounded by “lonely and dark forests” (selve erme ed oscure) inhabited by "Irrational people, without understanding" (gente irrazional, priva d'ingegno), and crossed by the "murky Siri" (torbido Siri - now known as Sinni), the river in the valley below their castle, whose constant murmuring on its way to the sea increased her sense of isolation and despair. She imagined that she symbolically threw herself into her beloved and hated river, perhaps alluding to suicide . This led to the lonely theory that in truth her sister Porzia and Diego Sandoval corresponded and then became murder victims; as a result, Isabella threw herself in the river in the face of the tragedy, as there is no indication of where she might have been buried.

She looks out at sea and waits for a ship to bring her news of her exiled father (who actually lived comfortably in France and ignored her dire fate) in the vain hope that her situation would improve upon his return. Charles V (called “Caesar” in her verses) is accused of “preventing a father from helping his daughter” (privar il padre di giovar la figlia) and Francis I is the “great king” (gran re) which all hopes rest on their own liberation. Hope was dashed when the French king was finally defeated by his rival, making Isabella even more depressed.

Her mother is portrayed as an old and unhappy woman unable to control her children; their brothers are “extremely and disgustingly indolent” (in estrema ed orrida fiacchezza) - they accuse fortune of depriving them of the kind nature of their ancestors and they explain their uncouth and despotic manners with the words: “of whom the , for ignorance of not understanding me, I am unfortunately rebuked ”(da chi non son per ignoranza intesa i 'son, lassa, ripresa).

It also paid tribute to the poet Luigi Alamanni , who sought refuge in France after the conspiracy against Cardinal Giulio de 'Medici, later Pope Clement VII . She writes about her "miserando fine" and "now that I feel my bitter end at hand" (or ch'io sento da presso il fine amaro), which suggests that she was aware of her impending murder or perhaps waited for the natural course of their sad existence.

In the last few texts she finds solace in Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary , through whom she finally seems to accept her painful existence and tries to find peace, seemingly reconciling herself with the land she previously detested. Your last hope is to “see yourself completely freed from the stormy earthly clouds and among the holy souls” (sgombrata tutta dal terrestre nembo, e fra l'alme beate).

legacy

Statue of Isabella di Morra in Valsinni

A few years after her death, Isabella di Morra's verses began to circulate in Naples and were read with pity and admiration, and then sent to Venice, where some of her poems were in the third volume of Lodovico Dolce's anthology in 1552, “ Rime di diversi illustri signori napoletani e d'altri nobilissimi intelletti ” (“ Verses of several respected Neapolitan gentlemen and other noblest intellects ”) appeared. The entire work was taken over in Lodovico Domenichi's “ Rime diverse d'alcune nobilissime, et virtuosissime donne” (“Various verses of some of the noblest and most virtuous women”) in 1559 . In 1629 her nephew Marcantonio, Camillo's son, published a family biography entitled “ Familiae nobilissimae de Morra historia” (“History of the noblest family di Morra”), which contains details of their life and death that were unknown until this publication.

Although her work was later included in other anthologies, Isabella has been almost forgotten and ignored by critics over the centuries. After a long period of silence that lasted until the beginning of the 20th century, she was rediscovered by Angelo De Gubernatis in 1901 when he attended a literary conference in Bologna . In 1907 De Gubernatis published “ Isabella Morra. Le rime ” (“ Isabella Morra. The Verses ”), including notes and an introductory biography of Isabella taken from her nephew's monograph. But it was only Benedetto Croce who published her first historically documented biography and contributed a critical article that reevaluated her place in Italian literature. Croce praised her poetry for its “passionate immediacy” and “immersion in emotion”, very different from the prevailing style of the time, which he considered “precious and artificial”.

According to Paul F. Grendler's “Encyclopedia of the Renaissance” in collaboration with “ The Renaissance Society of America ” her work is “an impressive anticipation of Romanticism ”. He states: "No other poet before Isabella di Morra allowed such personal depth to flow into his poetry, which gives the poetry a new drama, precisely because it thematizes the tragic circumstances of her life so closely". This contributes "to the development of a new sensitivity in poetic language, one that is anchored in a kind of life-writing that elevates the biography, the political, the family and the personal to a truly lyrical format". Isabella di Morra is cited as Giacomo Leopardi's predecessor , as she describes similar topics, feelings and life experiences. Your poetry could also have influenced Torquato Tasso , as it is eerily taken up in his poem " Canzone al Metauro" ("A poem for Metauro", 1578).

Isabella di Morra was portrayed in a drama of the same name on April 23, 1974 at the Théâtre d'Orsay (Paris) by Anny Duperey . The play was written by André Piery de Mandiargues and directed by Jean-Louis Barrault . A literary center was opened in her hometown of Valsinni in 1993, where theater and musical performances take place.

The play “ Storia di Isabella di Morra raccontata da Benedetto Croce” (“The story of Isabella di Morra as told by Benedetto Croce”) by Dacia Maraini was performed in Valsinni (1999) and Rome (2000).

The “ Io Isabella International Film Week ” festival is dedicated to her.

Works

Sonnets

  • I fieri assalti di crudel fortuna (The bitter attacks of cruel fate)
  • Sacra Giunone, se i volgari cuori (Holy Juno, if ordinary hearts)
  • D'un alto monte onde si scorge il mare (Revealing the sea from a high mountain)
  • Quanto pregiar ti puoi, Siri mio amato (No matter how much you beg, my beloved Siri)
  • Non solo il ciel vi fu largo e cortese (Not only was heaven generous and courteous to you)
  • Fortuna che sollevi in ​​alto stato (fate, you who rise to a high state)
  • Ecco ch'una altra volta, o valle inferna (Once again, oh hellish valley)
  • Torbido Siri, del mio mal superbo (sad Siri, proud of my grievances)
  • Se alla propinqua speme nuovo impaccio (When a new obstacle to the approaching hope)
  • Scrissi con stile amaro, aspro e dolente (I wrote with a bitter, harsh and painful style)

Songs

  • Poscia ch'al bel desir troncate hai l'ale (Since you clipped your wings of good desire)
  • Signore, che insino a qui, tua gran mercede (Lord, until now, your great grace)
  • Quel che gli giorni a dietro (What in days gone by)

See also

Literature (english)

Web links

Commons : Isabella di Morra  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. a b c Marrone, Puppa, 2007, p. 1242
  2. Schiesari, 1992, p. 189
  3. Jaffe, Colombardo, 2002, p. 139
  4. Jaffe, Colombardo, 2002, p. 148
  5. ^ A b c Giovanni Caserta: Isabella Morra . aptbasilicata.it. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  6. a b c Jaffe, Colombardo, 2002, p. 150
  7. a b c Robin, Larsen, Levin, 2007, p. 274
  8. Jaffe, Colombardo, 2002, p. 141
  9. Musillo Mitchell, 1998, p 5
  10. a b Robin, 2007, p. 73
  11. Jaffe, Colombardo, 2002, p. 149
  12. a b Jaffe, Colombardo, 2002, p. 153
  13. Musillo Mitchell, 1998, p 2
  14. a b Musillo Mitchell, 1998, p. 6
  15. Musillo Mitchell, 1998, p 14
  16. ^ Russell, 1997, pp. 254, 275
  17. ^ Russell, 1994, p. 281
  18. ^ Robin, Larsen, Levin, 2007, p. 275
  19. Russell, 1994, p. 282
  20. Musillo Mitchell, 1998, p 15
  21. Musillo Mitchell, 1998, p. 31
  22. Hatzantonis, Mastri, 1997, p 151
  23. Jaffe, Colombardo, 2002, p. 145
  24. a b Musillo Mitchell, 1998, p. 7
  25. Musillo Mitchell, 1998, p. 39
  26. Musillo Mitchell, 1998, p 59
  27. Musillo Mitchell, 1998, p. 1
  28. Hatzantonis, Mastri, 1997, p 148
  29. a b c Grendler, 1999, p. 193
  30. Cervigni, 1992, p. 372
  31. ^ Isabella Morra d'André Pieyre de Mandiargues . lesarchivesduspectacle.net. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  32. ^ Valsinni - Literary Park 'Isabella Morra' . aptbasilicata.it. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  33. Vena, 2013, p. 313