Born: 1566, Greece
Died: 1619
Country most active: Malta
Also known as: NA
The following is excerpted from Infinite Women creator Allison Tyra’s book Uncredited: Women’s Overlooked, Misattributed, and Stolen Work.
Caterina Vitale was everything the patriarchy has traditionally hated in a woman, both today and in late 1500s/early 1600s Malta. She was rich, independent, a successful businesswoman, had scientific knowledge of chemistry and medicine—the full package. While that would have made her a prime target for witch-burning, she was both a benefactress of the Carmelite nuns and the pharmacist for the Catholic military order Knights Hospitaller, having taken over her husband’s job after his death in 1590 when she was just fourteen. But while she likely had a reasonable degree of protection from the Church, she was still subject to rumours that claimed she was everything from a prostitute to a sadistic torturer of slaves.