Modesta Pozzo

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Modesta Pozzo (pseudonym: Moderata Fonte ; * 1555 in Venice ; † 1592 ibid) was a Venetian writer and poet. In addition to poems, Fonte wrote the dialogues Giustizia delle donne , published posthumously in 1600, and the " proto-feminist polemic " Il merito delle donne (German title: The merit of women ).

Moderata Fonte

Live and act

Pozzo's parents, Girolamo da Pozzo and Marietta da Pozzo (née Moro), died of the plague in 1556 when she was only one year old. She and her older brother Leonardo came into the care of their maternal grandmother. She spent several years in the Santa Marta Monastery, where she was considered a child prodigy thanks to her extraordinary ability to remember. At the age of nine she returned to her grandmother's family, where she was supported by her grandfather Prospero Saraceni and her brother u. a. was taught Latin and music (singing, lute, harpsichord).

Extract from I tredici canti del Floridoro

On February 15, 1582, Pozzo married Filippo de Zorzi (1558–1598), who was a few years younger than herself, at the very late age of 27 for the time. An official document from October 1583 says that de Zorzi returned her dowry one and a half years after their marriage "because of his kindness and great love and goodwill that he felt and feels for Pozzo". This is interpreted as a sign that it could have been an exceptionally good marriage.

One of the first known works by Pozzo is the piece Le Feste, which was performed in front of the Doge Da Ponte on the occasion of the celebrations for St. Stephen's Day in 1581. Le Feste comprises around 350 stanzas and is composed for several voices. Also in 1581 Fonte published her epic knight poem I tredici canti del Floridoro , in which a female knight figure named Risamante occurs. The work is dedicated to Bianca Cappello and her new husband Francesco I de 'Medici, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, and probably represents the second knight poem - after Tullia d'Aragonas Il Meschino , which appeared in 1560 - that was ever written by an Italian writer .

Pozzo wrote two long religious poems, La Passione di Cristo (The Passion of Christ) and La Resurrezione di Gesù Cristo nostro Signore (The Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ). In the works, Fonte describes in detail the emotional reactions of the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene to the death and resurrection of Christ and illustrates their deep conviction about the active participation of women in the events of the Passion and Resurrection of Christ.

Il Merito delle donne (Eng. The Merit of Women), Fonte's best-known work, is a "proto-feminist polemic," published posthumously in 1600. In it, she criticizes the treatment of women by men, advocates the recognition of the virtues and intelligence of women, and argues that women are superior to men.

Fonte died in 1592 at the age of 37 giving birth to their fourth child. Her husband donated a marble epitaph for her grave, which Fonte remembers as "femina doctissima", as a "very educated woman".

The merit of women (Original title: Il Merito delle donne)

In the merit of women (original title: Il Merito delle donne) seven women gather for a debate about the worth of men and women. The meeting point is Venice, a palazzo on the Grand Canal in the last decade of the 16th century. The spirited and ironic debate about the human condition of women is conducted with all available arguments: the theological ones of the creation story, the latest medical knowledge, historical examples and the very own experiences of the assembled women with the opposite sex. The lifelike dialogue offers insights into the Venice of the late Renaissance. It provides proof that the relationships between women and men are changeable and have to be negotiated anew in every epoch.

Works

Under Modesta Pozzo:

  • Amor disarmato In: Poemetti italiani Vol. X. Publisher: Michel Angelo Morano, Torino 1797.

Published in Venice under the pseudonym Moderata Fonte :

  • Tredici canti del Floridoro 1581, OCLC 644263124 . Modena 1995.
  • Le festivals. Rappresentazione avanti al Serenissimo Prencipe di Venetia Nicolò da Ponte il giorno di S. Stefano , 1581. 1582.
  • La Passione di Christo descritta in ottava rima […] 1582.
  • La Resurrettione di Giesu Christo nostro Signore […] 1592.
  • Il Merito delle donne. Ove chiaramente si scuopre quanto siano elle degne e più perfette de gli huomini . 1600 (posthumously).

German editions

literature

  • Paola Malpezzi Price: Moderata Fonte: Women and Life in Sixteenth-Century Venice. Madison and Teaneck: Fairleigh Dickinson Press, Madison / NJ 2003. ISBN 0-8386-3998-4
  • Irene Tischler: History and criticism of science in the philosophy of the Renaissance: theories of the gender difference in de Pizan , Cereta and da Pozzo. Innsbruck Univ. Press, Innsbruck 2011, ISBN 978-3-902719-96-6 .

Web links

Commons : Modesta Pozzo  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Daniela Hacke: Moderata Fonte: The merit of women. Why women are more worthy and perfect than men. After the Italian edition of 1600. Verlag CH Beck, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-406-48098-5 .
  2. ↑ Cox, Virginia .: The worth of women: wherein is clearly revealed their nobility and their superiority to men . University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Ill. 1997, ISBN 0-226-25683-9 , pp. 31-42 .
  3. ↑ Paola Malpezzi Price. Moderata Fonte: Women and Life in Sixteenth-century Venice (Madison (NJ): Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2003), 28.
  4. ↑ Malpezzi Price, "Pozzo, Modesto," vol. 10, 79-80, editorial notes, 571; and Malpezzi Price. Moderata Fonte , 149.
  5. ↑ Fonte, Moderata (1555–1592) on lib.uchicago.edu
  6. ↑ Malpezzi Price. Moderata Fonte , 33.
  7. ^ New Library acquisition: Tredici canti del Floridoro at italianstudies.nd.edu, accessed June 14, 2013.
  8. ↑ Malpezzi Price.  Moderata Fonte , 35.
  9. ^ Spencer, Anna Garlin in Kennerley, Mitchell (ed.) (1912). "The Drama of the Woman of Genius". The Forum . New York: Forum Pub. Co. 47 : 41
  10. ^ Spencer, Anna Garlin in Kennerley, Mitchell (ed.) (1912). The Drama of the Woman of Genius. The Forum . New York: Forum Pub. Co. 47 : 41
  11. ↑ quoted from Daniela Hacke (Ed.) 2002, p. 322.
  12. ↑ the German edition .
personal data
SURNAME Pozzo, Modesta
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Fonte, Moderata (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Venetian writer
DATE OF BIRTH 1555
PLACE OF BIRTH Venice
DATE OF DEATH 1592
Place of death Venice