Aurora Sanseverino
Aurora Sanseverino | |
---|---|
Duchess of Laurenzana | |
Piedimonte d'Alife, Kingdom of Naples | |
Noble family | Sanseverino |
Spouse(s) | Girolamo Acquaviva Nicola Gaetani dell'Aquila d'Aragona |
Father | Carlo Maria Sanseverino |
Mother | Maria Fardella |
Occupation | Poet, singer, actress |
Aurora Sanseverino (28 April 1669 – 2 July 1726) was an Italian noblewoman, salon-holder, patron and poet. One of the most celebrated women in the highest rank of the Neapolitan aristocracy,
Remembered as a "very beautiful, kind and lively lady",[3] she also contributed much to giving women a dignified place in the cultural circles of Neapolitan society of the time.[3]
Biography
Born in Saponara (the actual Grumento Nova, province of Potenza), she was the daughter of Carlo Maria Sanseverino, Prince of Bisignano and Count of Saponara, and Maria Fardella, Countess of Paceco. At the age of 11, she married Girolamo Acquaviva, Count of Conversano, but she was widowed after few years and later remarried Nicola Gaetani dell'Aquila d'Aragona, Count of Alife, Duke of Laurenzana and Prince of Piedimonte, who would become his lifelong companion.
She moved with her husband to
Many artists worked under her tutelage including painters
She is best known for her collaboration with
Her later life was marked by sadness for the loss her children Pasquale and Cecilia. Cecilia, who died in 1710, had recently given birth to Raimondo di Sangro, future inventor and alchemist.
Aurora died in Piedimonte d'Alife (today known as Piedimonte Matese, province of Caserta), aged 57.
References
- ^ Willette, p.77
- ^ Landgraf, Vickers, p.566
- ^ a b Gérard Labrot, Carol Togneri Dowd, Anna Cera Sones, Collections of paintings in Naples: 1600-1780, K. G. Saur Verlag GmbH, 1992, p. 409
- ^ Willette, p.91
- ^ Paula Findlen, Wendy Wassyng Roworth, Catherine M. Sama, Italy’s Eighteenth Century: Gender and Culture in the Age of the Grand Tour, Stanford University Press, 2009, p.109
- ^ Willette, p.86-87
- ^ Willette, p.89-90
- ^ a b Landgraf, Vickers, p.2
- ^ Iskrena Yordanova, Paologiovanni Maione, Serenata and Festa Teatrale in 18th Century Europe, Hollitzer Wissenschaftsverlag, 2018
Bibliography
- Thomas C. Willette, Massimo Stanzione and Bernardo De Dominici: The Life and Work of a Neapolitan Painter, Johns Hopkins University, 1988
- Annette Landgraf, David Vickers, The Cambridge Handel Encyclopedia, Cambridge University Press, 2009