Isabella di Morra
Isabella di Morra | |
---|---|
Born | c. 1520 Favale, Kingdom of Naples |
Died | 1545/1546 Favale, Kingdom of Naples |
Occupation | Poet |
Subject | Sorrow, loneliness |
Literary movement | Petrarchism |
Isabella di Morra (c. 1520 – 1545/1546) was an Italian poet of the Renaissance. An unknown figure in her lifetime, she was forced by her brothers to live in isolation, which estranged her from courts and literary salons. While living in solitude in her castle, she produced a body of work which did not circulate in the literary milieu of the time. Her brothers eventually murdered her for her suspected secret romance.
Thirteen poems by her have survived to this day. This work is considered among the most powerful and original poetic expressions of Italian literature from the 16th century,[1] employing topics and techniques which make her, according to some scholars, a forerunner of Romantic poetry.[1]
Biography
Early life
Isabella di Morra was born into a noble family in Favale (now Valsinni, in the province of Matera), at the time part of the Kingdom of Naples. She was the daughter of Giovanni Michele di Morra, baron of Favale, and Luisa Brancaccio, a noblewoman belonging to a Neapolitan family. Her birthdate is uncertain: generally, reference is made to the study by Benedetto Croce which puts it around 1520,[2] although she could have been born earlier, about 1515 or 1516.[3][4]
As a child, Isabella was educated in literature and poetry by her father. She, her mother and her siblings (five brothers: Marcantonio, Scipione, Decio, Cesare, Fabio, and one sister: Porzia) were abandoned by Giovanni Michele in 1528, when he was forced to seek refuge in France after having supported the invading French army against the Spanish monarch Charles V for the conquest of the Kingdom of Naples. He could have returned to Favale as his crime against the Spanish crown was pardoned, but he remained in France serving in the army and as a counsellor of Francis I as well as attending court festivities.[5] The youngest child, Camillo, was born after he left.
Scipione followed his father shortly afterwards and the eldest sibling Marcantonio then took over power in Favale.[6] Isabella grew up in a hostile family environment, with a helpless mother and brothers who were uncouth, unruly and brutish.[7] She was deeply affected by the sudden departure of her father, which tormented her for the rest of her life. She was given a tutor who guided her in the study of Petrarch and Latin poets, and was probably the only person with whom she could talk about literature.[8]
Youth
From the beginning, animosity marked the relationship between Isabella and her three younger brothers Cesare, Decio and Fabio, who perhaps envied their gifted sister and the attention lavished on her education.
Nonetheless, she had the opportunity to befriend her learned neighbours: Diego Sandoval de Castro, baron of Bollita (the present-day
Rumours about a hidden liaison began to emerge, although their relationship remains a mystery and it is unclear whether or not they were more than just friends. Except for a brief reference to marriage, the surviving work of Isabella includes no love poem addressed to a man, while Diego's lyrics described his feelings towards his beloved, possibly referring to a specific woman, or simply conventional laments, following the poetic style of the era.
Death
The first victim was her tutor, who carried the letters between them. Next they confronted Isabella, and she was found with the letters in her hands according to the reports of the time.[9] She was stabbed to death.[6] Two of the brothers escaped to France but they soon returned with the evident intention of concluding their revenge against Diego who, fearing for his life, hired a bodyguard. The three assassins, with the help of two uncles and probably fuelled by hatred against Spaniards, killed him in the woods near Noja (today known as Noepoli) several months later.
The death of Isabella went almost unnoticed and even approved by society according to the
Aftermath
The murderers were forced to flee the
Meanwhile, the remaining brothers were taken to trial. Marcantonio, who did not take part in the conspiracy, was imprisoned for some months and then released. The youngest brother, Camillo, who also had nothing to do with the murders, was absolved of complicity.[5]
Poetry
The poems of Isabella were discovered when the authorities entered her estate to investigate the murder. There are ten
Unlike other women's
Isabella herself defined her style as "bitter, harsh and sorrowful" (amaro, aspro e dolente)[19] or "unmannered and frail" (ruvido e frale).[20] Fortune is the main antagonist of her work, blamed for depriving her of happiness and freedom. Fortune is her personification of mankind's cruelty towards "every good-natured heart" (ogni ben nato core),[21] implicitly condemning a world in which tyranny and violence prevail over virtue.[22]
She expresses repugnance towards her homeland, described as an "infernal valley" (valle inferna) and "cursed place" (denigrato sito), surrounded by "lonely and dark woods" (selve erme ed oscure), inhabited by "irrational people, without intelligence" (gente irrazional, priva d'ingegno), and crossed by the "turbid Siri" (torbido Siri, today known as Sinni) the river running in the valley below her castle, whose continuous murmur as it flowed downstream into the sea increases her sense of isolation and despair. She imagines throwing herself symbolically into her loved and hated river, perhaps alluding to suicide.[23] This has led to the singular theory that her sister Porzia and Diego Sandoval were corresponding and then became victims of the murderers; accordingly Isabella, affected by the tragedy, threw herself into the river, since there is no clue as to where she might have been buried.[11]
She scans the sea waiting for a ship to bring good news about her exiled father (who lived comfortably in France, ignoring her fate),
She also paid tribute to the poet
Legacy
A few years after her death, the verses began to circulate in Naples and were read with pity and admiration,[14] and then sent to Venice, where some of her poetry appeared in Book 3 of Lodovico Dolce's anthology, Rime di diversi illustri signori napoletani e d'altri nobilissimi intelletti (Verses of several esteemed Neapolitan gentlemen and other most noble intellects) in 1552. The entire production was later included in Lodovico Domenichi's Rime diverse d’alcune nobilissime, et virtuosissime donne ( Verses by some most noble and virtuous women) in 1559. In 1629, her nephew Marcantonio, son of Camillo, published a family biography entitled Familiae nobilissimae de Morra historia (History of the most noble di Morra family), giving details regarding her life and death which were unknown until its release.
Despite her work being later included in other anthologies, Isabella was almost forgotten and ignored by critics over the centuries. After a long period of silence, which lasted until the beginning of the 20th century, she was rediscovered by
According to Paul F. Grendler's Encyclopedia of the Renaissance in association with
In popular culture
Isabella has been portrayed by Anny Duperey in the eponymous drama performed at the Théâtre d'Orsay, Paris, on 23 April 1974. It was written by André Pieyre de Mandiargues and directed by Jean-Louis Barrault.[32]
A literary site named after her was established in her hometown of Valsinni in 1993, where theatrical and musical performances take place.[33]
The theatrical work Storia di Isabella di Morra raccontata da Benedetto Croce (The story of Isabella di Morra as told by Benedetto Croce) by Dacia Maraini was staged in Valsinni (1999) and Rome (2000).[34]
The Io Isabella International Film Week festival is dedicated to her memory.
Works
Sonnets
- I fieri assalti di crudel fortuna (The fierce assaults of cruel Fortune)
- Sacra Giunone, se i volgari cuori (Sacred Juno, if vulgar hearts)
- D'un alto monte onde si scorge il mare (From a high mountain revealing the sea)
- Quanto pregiar ti puoi, Siri mio amato (Take, my beloved Siri, great pride)
- Non solo il ciel vi fu largo e cortese (Not only was heaven generous and courteous to you)
- Fortuna che sollevi in alto stato (Fortune, you who raise to high condition)
- Ecco ch'una altra volta, o valle inferna (Yet one more time, O infernal valley)
- Torbido Siri, del mio mal superbo (Turbid Siri, proud of my ills)
- Se alla propinqua speme nuovo impaccio (If to the approaching hope a new obstacle)
- Scrissi con stile amaro, aspro e dolente (I wrote with a bitter, harsh and sorrowful style)
Songs
- Poscia ch'al bel desir troncate hai l'ale (Since you clipped the wings of fine desire)
- Signore, che insino a qui, tua gran mercede (Lord, who up to now, your great mercy)
- Quel che gli giorni a dietro (What in days past)
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c Marrone & Puppa 2007, p. 1242.
- ^ Jaffe & Colombardo 2002, p. 139.
- ^ Jaffe & Colombardo 2002, p. 148.
- ^ a b c Giovanni Caserta. "Isabella Morra". aptbasilicata.it. Archived from the original on 7 November 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
- ^ a b c Jaffe & Colombardo 2002, p. 150.
- ^ a b c Robin, Larsen & Levin 2007, p. 274.
- ^ Jaffe & Colombardo 2002, p. 141.
- ^ Musillo Mitchell 1998, p. 5.
- ^ a b Robin 2007, p. 73
- ^ Jaffe & Colombardo 2002, p. 149.
- ^ a b Jaffe & Colombardo 2002, p. 153.
- ^ Musillo Mitchell 1998, p. 2.
- ^ a b Musillo Mitchell 1998, p. 6.
- ^ a b Musillo Mitchell 1998, p. 14.
- ^ Russell 1997, pp. 254, 275
- ^ Scarlatta 2017, pp. 168
- ^ Russell 1994, p. 281.
- ^ Robin, Larsen & Levin 2007, p. 275
- ^ Russell 1994, p. 282.
- ^ Musillo Mitchell 1998, p. 15.
- ^ Musillo Mitchell 1998, p. 31.
- ^ Hatzantonis & Mastri 1997, p. 151.
- ^ Jaffe & Colombardo 2002, p. 145.
- ^ Schiesari 1992, p. 177
- ^ Musillo Mitchell 1998, p. 7.
- ^ Musillo Mitchell 1998, p. 39.
- ^ Musillo Mitchell 1998, p. 59.
- ^ Musillo Mitchell 1998, p. 1.
- ^ Hatzantonis & Mastri 1997, p. 148.
- ^ a b c Grendler 1999, p. 193
- ^ Cervigni 1992, p. 372.
- ^ "Isabella Morra d'André Pieyre de Mandiargues". lesarchivesduspectacle.net. 23 April 1974. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
- ^ "Valsinni - Literary Park 'Isabella Morra'". aptbasilicata.it. Archived from the original on 1 September 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
- ^ Vena 2013, p. 313.
Bibliography
- Grendler, Paul F. (1999). Encyclopedia of the Renaissance: Machiavelli-Petrarchism. Scribner. ISBN 9780684805115.
Encyclopedia of the Renaissance: Machiavelli-Petrarchism.
- Marrone, Gaetana; Puppa, Paolo (2007). Encyclopedia of Italian Literary Studies: A-J. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781579583903.
- Jaffe, Irma B.; Colombardo, Gernando (2002). Shining Eyes, Cruel Fortune: The Lives and Loves of Italian Renaissance Women Poets. Fordham University Press. ISBN 9780823221806.
- Robin, Diana; Larsen, Anne R.; Levin, Carole (2007). Encyclopedia of Women in the Renaissance: Italy, France, and England. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781851097722.
- Musillo Mitchell, Isabella (1998). Canzoniere: A Bilingual Edition. Bordighera. ISBN 9781884419188.
- Robin, Diana (2007). Publishing Women: Salons, the Presses, and the Counter-Reformation in Sixteenth-Century Italy. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226721569.
- Russell, Rinaldina (1994). Italian Women Writers: A Bio-bibliographical Sourcebook. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780313283475.
- Schiesari, Juliana (1992). The Gendering of Melancholia: Feminism, Psychoanalysis, and the Symbolics of Loss in Renaissance Literature. Cornell University Press. ISBN 0801499712.
- Russell, Rinaldina (1997). The Feminist Encyclopedia of Italian Literature. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780313294358.
- Cervigni, Dino S. (1992). Images of America and Columbus in Italian Literature. Annali d'Italianistica.
- Scarlatta, Gabriella (2017). The Disperata, from Medieval Italy to Renaissance France. ISD LLC. ISBN 9781580442657.
- Hatzantonis, Emmanuel; Mastri, Augustus A. (1997). The flight of Ulysses: studies in memory of Emmanuel Hatzantonis. Annali d'Italianistica. ISBN 9780965795609.
- Vena, Michael (2013). Italian Playwrights from the Twentieth Century: A Companion Text. Xlibris Corporation. ISBN 9781483633527.
External links
- Isabella di Morra at the University of Chicago Library
- Isabella di Morra at the Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana(in Italian)
- Isabella di Morra and the Roots of Romanticism at The Mezzo Cammin Women Poets Timeline Project
- Works by Isabella di Morra at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)