Catterina Vizzani
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Catterina Vizzani, known as Giovanni Bordoni (1719–1743), was an Italian person who became famous after death for living life as a man, despite being known as a woman early in life and after death.[1]
Life
Vizzani was born to a carpenter in Rome. At some point, Vizzani ran away from home to Viterbo, and adopted male clothing and the male identity of Giovanni Bordoni.[2][3]
Vizzani worked for a vicar in
On Vizzani’s deathbed, Vizzani allegedly confessed to a
Giovanni Battista Bianchi, an Italian surgeon, examined Vizzani's remains to establish if there were any physical explanation of Vizzani’s sexual orientation. Vizzani's funeral was widely attended, as the public regarded the deceased as a woman who died for virginity.[4]
Legacy
Bianchi later published a biography of Vizzani titled Breve storia della vita di Catterina Vizzani romana che per ott'anni vesti abito da uomo in qualita di servidore, la quale dopo varj casi essendo in fine stata uccisa fu trovata pulcella nella sezzione del suo cadavero di Giovanni Bianchi professore di Notomi in Siena (Venezia: Occhi, Simone, 1744), making Vizzani famous. It was later translated to English as The True History and Adventures of Catharine Vizzani (1751).
See also
References
- ISBN 978-1-315-50597-8, retrieved 2024-04-05
- ISSN 1936-1637.
- ISSN 1089-4160.
- ISBN 978-1-64453-338-3.
- http://rictornorton.co.uk/eighteen/vizzani.htm
- Robert Aldrich, Garry Wotherspoon: Who's who in Gay and Lesbian History: From Antiquity to World War II (2001)
- Rudolf Dekker & Lotte van de Pol (1995). Kvinnor i manskläder. En avvikande tradition. Europa 1500-1800. Stockholm: Östlings Bokförlag Symposion. ISBN 91-7139-245-9(In Swedish)