Stella is an Italian woman from the town of Lodi in the Lombardy region of Italy, but she does not currently live in Lodi. She is interested in the history of the Lombard people who are her ancestors. She is married to Camillo da Milano, who is very cute. ^_^
That much I'm sure of - I'm still considering the following points: 16th century? What would her exact year of birth be? - Italy was kind of a mess during the 16th century because of the Italian Wars involving various Italian political units, France, Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire.
- I have a rough timeline on my Italian History page to help me figure this out
- I decided on 1444 as my birth year. Camillo and I decided to go with the 15th century instead of the 16th.
- Live in the Venetian Republic?
- The Republic was a player in the Italian Wars but survived them intact.
- Venice's trade enterprises might work well with my husband's persona, who he thinks will be a trader.
- Venice was still a republic when most of the other Italian republics had fallen. I have to say, as an American, this appeals to me. :) (But I need to do a lot more research on how the Venetian Republic worked before I decide I like it too much ...)
- I'm also interested in Eastern Europe, and I know even less about them than I do about Italy. Venice is geographically near the Balkans and so I hope to learn more about that part of the world in the process of getting to know Stella's neighbors. I'm actually thinking that an estate on the Dalmatian coast might be cool, pending further investigation.
- What can I realistically expect a female 15th century Italian minor noble's education to be like?
- I'm hoping knowledge of Latin is a pretty sure thing
- What roles could Stella have other than a housewife and mother?
- I'd really like for her to be an author and a herbalist.
- According to the British Library's Database of Italian Academies, there was at least one 16th century woman who belonged to an academy. She was Laura Terracina of Naples.
- Well, the academy she belonged to (Accademia degli Incogniti) seems to have mostly written about the history of Naples and poetry.
- I have this idea that it would be neat for Stella to learn about other cultures that her husband trades with by corresponding with women related to traders from those cultures. Is this remotely feasible?
- Well, hmm. See Italian Academies above. :)
- Ah. "Letters from the Cloister: Defending the Literary Self in Arcangela Tarabotti's Lettere familiari e di complimento" looks like it might have something to say about that. (JSTOR link: http://www.jstor.org/pss/27668873)
- Reading that article inspired me to check out the Council of Trent and the Counter-Reformation. Apparently the lives of monks and nuns became more restricted as a result of those two related things.
- The author of the article points out that writing a lot and especially publishing it was thought of as un-ladylike during Tarabotti's time at the beginning of the 17th century.
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