Born: 1 April 1492, Italy
Died: 25 February 1547
Country most active: Italy
Also known as: NA
From Famous Women: An Outline of Feminine Achievement Through the Ages With Life Stories of Five Hundred Noted Women. Written by Joseph Adelman, published 1926 by Ellis M Lonow Company:
Vittoria Colonna (1490-1547), an Italian poet, daughter of Fabrizio Colonna, a celebrated military commander. She was born near Rome, her youth was passed among the great literary spirits of Italy, and in that atmosphere she composed her first poems. At 17 she married Francisco, Marquis of Pescara, to whom she had been betrothed since childhood, but in 1525 this happy union was broken by the death of the marquis, while absent on a military campaign.
The shock of her husband’s premature death crushed Vittoria for a time and she sought a retreat in the convent of San Silvestro. There she remained for a year, after which she returned to her country home on the island of Ischia, and appears for the first time to have devoted herself seriously to the writing of poetry. Her poems consist almost entirely of sonnets, and of these some hundred and thirty-four are inspired by grief at the loss of her husband, to whom she invariably alludes as “”mio bel sole, “my fair sun.”
When Vittoria came to Rome in 1530 she was received with the highest honors, and many wooers sought the hand of the wealthy, beautiful, and noble widow,—but she remained true to the memory of her husband.
It was in the year 1537 that her friendship with Michelangelo began; the great master was at this time in his sixty-third year, Vittoria in her forty-seventh. A strong sympathy existed between the two, alike honorable to both, and it lasted uninterruptedly until her death. She obtained great influence over his mind, inspired him in his work, and led him to inscribe many of his poems to her. In one of these he says that she has perfected his character as a sculptor perfects his clay model, by carving it in the hard living stone. And in another he says: “Let me address my verse to you, who have guided my life towards heaven by the most beauteous paths.”
The latter years of Vittoria’s life were clouded by sorrow, the fortunes of her family were no longer flourishing, and the death of her adopted son, the Marchese del Vasto, was a grievous blow. She died in Rome in February, 1547, and in her last moments was visited by her devoted and affectionate friend, Michelangelo.
With meekness and humility she desired to be buried without pomp or ceremony, and directed only that her “funeral should be after the manner of those who die in convents.”” Her wishes were acceded to, and she was laid in the common burial-ground of the nuns of Sant’ Anna. So passed Vittoria Colonna, Marchesa di Pescara, whose intellect and unblemished purity of character, make her a beautiful figure worthy of all reverence in the gallery of Italian women of letters.
The following is excerpted from “400 Outstanding Women of the World and the Costumology of Their Time” by Minna Moscherosch Schmidt, published in 1933.
Born in Rome, a daughter of Fabrizio Colonna, one of the greatest captains of his time, she was promised, at the age of seventeen, to Ferdinando d’Avalos, Marquis of Pescara, whom she married two years after. He soon died in Milan (1525) and Vittoria, profoundly affected by his death, went to live in the monastery of St. Silvester, where she wrote admirable poetry in his memory. During the war between the Colonna family and Pope Clement VII, she returned to her castle near Marino (by Rome).
After this she traveled through the principal towns of Italy, making elevating and ennobling friendships with many artists; among these was Michelangelo, of whom she became the counselor and worthy inspirer. In the last years of her life, her mystical vein induced her to retire again in convents and monasteries, near Rome, where she died in 1547. Her Lyrics are elevated and melancholy, all pervaded by Nature’s aspects and human sorrows, ending in peaceful religious thoughts. The beauty, the virtue and the talent of Vittoria Colonna were highly praised by her contemporaries, and particularly by Michelangelo who loved her greatly, and by Ariosto in the 37th Canto of Orlando Furioso.
Vittoria Collona was called: “the model Italian matron.”
The following is excerpted from A Cyclopædia of Female Biography, published 1857 by Groomsbridge and Sons and edited by Henry Gardiner Adams.
COLONNA, VITTORIA, Daughter of Fabricio, Duke of Paliano, was born at Marino, in 1490, and married in 1507, Francesco, Marquis of Pescara. Her poems have often been published, and are highly and deservedly admired. Her husband died in 1525, and she determined to spend the remainder of her life in religious seclusion, although various proposals of marriage were made to her. Her beauty, talents, and virtue, were extolled by her contemporaries, among others by Michael Angelo and Ariosto. She died in 1547, at Rome. She was affianced to the Marquis of Pescara in childhood, and as they grew up, a very tender affection increased with their years. Congenial in tastes, of the same age, their union was the model of a happy marriage. Circumstances shewed whose mind was of the firmer texture and higher tone. Francesco having exhibited extraordinary valour and generalship at the battle of Pavia, was thought of importance enough to be bribed; a negociation was set on foot to offer him the crown of Naples, if he would betray the sovereign to whom he had sworn fealty. The lure was powerful, and Francesco lent a willing ear to these propositions, when Vittoria came to the aid of his yielding virtue. She sent him that remarkable letter, where, among other things, she says, “Your virtue may raise you above the glory of being king. The sort of honour that goes down to our children with real lustre is derived from our deeds and qualities, not from power or titles. For myself, I do not wish to be the wife of a king, but of a general who can make himself superior to the greatest king, not only by courage, but by magnanimity, and superiority to any less elevated motive than duty.”