Vittoria Colonna | |
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Marchioness of Pescara | |
![]() Vittoria Colonna, by Sebastiano del Piombo, c. 1520 | |
Born | April 1490 Marino, Papal States (present-day Italy) |
Died | 25 February 1547 Rome, Papal States (present-day Italy) | (aged 56)
Noble family | Colonna |
Spouse(s) | Fernando Francesco d'Ávalos, Marquis of Pescara |
Issue | Alfonso d'Avalos, Marquis del Vasto (adopted) |
Father | Fabrizio Colonna |
Mother | Agnese da Montefeltro |
Occupation | Poet |
Vittoria Colonna (April 1492[1] – 25 February 1547), marchioness of Pescara, was an Italian noblewoman and poet. As an educated, married noblewoman whose husband was in captivity, Colonna was able to develop relationships within the intellectual circles of Ischia and Naples. Her early poetry began to attract attention in the late 1510s[2] and she ultimately became one of the most popular poets of 16th-century Italy. Upon the early death of her husband, she took refuge at a convent in Rome. She remained a laywoman but experienced a strong spiritual renewal and remained devoutly religious for the rest of her life. Colonna is also known to have been a muse to Michelangelo Buonarroti, himself a poet.