19 Facts About Vittoria Colonna

Vittoria Colonna remained a laywoman but experienced a strong spiritual renewal and remained devoutly religious for the rest of her life.

Vittoria Colonna is known to have been a muse to Michelangelo Buonarroti, himself a poet.

Vittoria Colonna was born at Marino in 1492, a fief of the Vittoria Colonna family in the Alban Hills, near Rome.

Vittoria Colonna was the daughter of Fabrizio Colonna, grand constable of the Kingdom of Naples, and of Agnese da Montefeltro, daughter of the Duke of Urbino.

Vittoria Colonna was engaged in 1495 at the age of 3 years old to "Ferrante" Fernando Francesco d'Avalos, son of the marquese di Pescara, at the insistence of Ferdinand, King of Naples.

In Ischia, Vittoria Colonna received a typical humanist education in literature and the arts from Costanza d'Avalos, the aunt of her betrothed, and gave early proof of a love of letters.

In Ischia, Vittoria Colonna became part of the literary circle of Costanza d'Avalos, Duchess of Francavilla, her husband's aunt.

Vittoria Colonna was taken captive in 1512 at the Battle of Ravenna and was conveyed to France.

Joseph Gibaldi has noted that Vittoria Colonna's poem to Ferrante was a direct imitation of Ovid's Heroides in which famous ancient women such as Dido and Medea address complaints to their absent lovers.

Between 1516 and 1522, Vittoria Colonna lost three members of her family.

Vittoria Colonna spent the summer of 1525 at her father's castle in Marino, where she fell ill, and she suffered illness for the rest of her life.

Vittoria Colonna, who was hastening to tend him, received the news of his death at Viterbo She halted and retreated to the church of San Silvestro in Capite, in Rome, where there was a convent in the Order of Santa Chiara.

Abigail Brundin has suggested Clement and Ascanio's motivations for refusing Vittoria Colonna's request were that they hoped for a future marriage to create another desirable political alliance.

In 1529, Vittoria Colonna returned to Rome and spent the next few years between that city, Orvieto, Ischia and other places.

Vittoria Colonna tried to reconcile them, but even though Giovanna refused, both women became close, supported Juan de Valdes and tried to intercede for Ascanio when he refused to pay salt tax to Pope Paul III.

In 1537, Vittoria Colonna was in Ferrara, where she made many friends and helped to establish a Capuchin monastery at the instance of the reforming monk Bernardino Ochino, who later became a Protestant.

Vittoria Colonna created a gift manuscript of spiritual poetry for him.

Vittoria Colonna's friends dissuaded her from travelling to the Holy Land, and she returned to Rome in 1538.

Vittoria Colonna was on intimate terms with many of the members of the Italian reform movement, such as Pietro Carnesecchi and Ochino, but she died before the church crisis in Italy became acute.