60 WOMAN IN SCIENCE 



prodigy of learning ; for, besides a knowledge of Latin and 

 Greek, philosophy and theology, she was well acquainted 

 with Hebrew. Donna Felice Rasponi, of Ravenna, devoted 

 herself to the study of Plato and Aristotle, of Scripture 

 and the Fathers. But, for the extent and variety of her 

 attainments, Tarquinia Molza seems to have eclipsed all 

 her contemporaries. She had as teachers the ablest schol- 

 ars of an age of distinguished scholars. Not only did she 

 excel in poetry and the fine arts, but she also had a rare 

 knowledge of astronomy and mathematics, Latin, Greek 

 and Hebrew. And so great was the esteem in which she 

 was held that the senate of Rome conferred on her the 

 singular honor of Roman citizenship, transmissible in per- 

 petuity to her descendants. The Sovereign Pontiff and 

 the flower of the Roman prelacy begged her to take up her 

 residence in the Eternal City, but she could not be pre- 

 vailed upon to leave the land of her birth. 



In the arts of sculpture and painting the women of Italy, 

 during the Renaissance, were no less illustrious than they 

 were in science, literature and philosophy. Indeed, many 

 of the treasures in the Italian churches and art galleries 

 that still delight all lovers of the beautiful are from the 

 chisel and the brush of women who achieved distinction 

 between three and four centuries ago. 1 



Probably the most famous sculptress was Properzia de 

 Rossi, whose ability was so remarkable that she excited 

 the envy of the men who were her competitors. 2 Among 

 painters there was Suor Plantilla Nelli, who was a nun 

 and prioress in the convent of Santa Catarina in Florence. 

 Both Lanzi and Vasari bestow high praise on her work 

 and declare some of her productions to be of rare excel- 



1 Among them are the pictures of Caterina Vigri, which are pre- 

 served in the Pinacoteca of Bologna and in the Academia of Venice. 



2 No less an authority than the illustrious sculptor, Canova, de- 

 clared that her early death was one of the greatest losses ever suf- 

 fered by Italian art. 



