Cristina da Pizzano (1360-1430) was an Italian humanist and scholar who is known for her work in preserving and promoting the knowledge of classical literature and philosophy during the Renaissance period.
Born in Pizzano, Italy, Cristina da Pizzano was educated by her father, who was a scholar and an expert in classical Greek and Latin literature. She became fluent in these languages, as well as in Italian and French, and was well-versed in the works of ancient Greek and Roman philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle.
Cristina da Pizzano’s most famous work is “The Treasure of the City of Ladies,” which was written in 1405 and is considered to be one of the earliest works of feminist literature. The book is a dialogue between three women who discuss the virtues and accomplishments of women throughout history, and it argues against the negative stereotypes and prejudices that were commonly held about women during the Renaissance period.
In addition to her work as a writer, Cristina da Pizzano was also a patron of the arts and a supporter of other scholars and humanists. She corresponded with many of the leading intellectuals of her time, including the philosopher Giovanni Pico della Mirandola and the humanist Leonardo Bruni.
Cristina da Pizzano’s contributions to the Renaissance period were significant, as she helped to preserve and promote the knowledge of classical literature and philosophy that had been largely lost during the Middle Ages. Her work in promoting women’s rights and advocating for gender equality was also ahead of its time, and it continues to inspire feminists and scholars today.
Although for a widow barely 25 years old with three dependent children in the late 14th century, this was the almost obligatory choice, she, stubborn and independent as she was, decided otherwise and went against the tide once again, “becoming a man” herself in a world where mistrust of the female gender was so widespread and ingrained that it often turned into open misogyny.
Cristina da Pizzano was born in Venice around 1365 to Tommaso, a well-known physician and astronomer who held the position of foreign affairs adviser for the Serenissima.
A man of extraordinary open-mindedness, for his only female daughter Tommaso wanted a first-rate education, equal to that provided for her male siblings, based on history, medicine and philosophy, quite different from that reserved for the majority of her female peers who, if it went well, barely learned to read and write.
Christina’s happy childhood continued in Paris, where the de Pizzano family soon moved because Thomas was invited there by the King of France Charles V, who, estimating his worth, wanted him in his service.
In the French capital, the “de Pizan” enjoyed prestige and economic well-being for years, so much so that Christine (that’s what everyone began to call her) was allowed to cultivate her passion for letters and the composition of esteemed sonnets and ballads, greatly appreciated by the entire court.
In 1380, when she was just 15 years old, her father gave her in marriage to Etienne du Castel, a wealthy notary who, being the meek and understanding man that he was, was the perfect husband for that young girl … with an extra edge.
Theirs was a happy union gladdened by the birth of three children, but unfortunately short-lived because after only ten years Etienne died, leaving on Christine’s shoulders, in the meantime also fatherless, the burden of supporting the entire family.
Without losing heart, the latter invented entrepreneurship by starting the most important Parisian “Scriptorium” at which she employed at her service the best copyists, calligraphers, miniaturists and bookbinders of the time with the task of disseminating not only the classical texts, but also those of their “Domina” who thus, in a short time, became the first truly international writer in Europe.
If the “Livre de cent Ballades” was her first “best-seller,” it was only with “la Cité des Dames” that Christine dealt a powerful jolt to the retrograde and obscurantist mentality of the time, which still considered women as incomplete beings, fit only to satisfy the sexual instincts of males and ensure the continuity of the species.
According to this pioneer of women’s emancipation, in fact, women’s asserted inferiority was not natural in nature, but only cultural and social because if women had been allowed to educate themselves on a par with men and get out of the home, they would have been able to compete on equal terms with them.
So here it is that in the very ideal city she imagined, populated exclusively by women poets, queens or mythological figures such as Sappho, Dido, Semiramis and Lucretia, these heroines come together to demonstrate how male oppression is the sole cause of common misfortunes.
Christine passed away in 1430 after retiring to private life, but still having had time to dedicate a poem to Joan of Arc.
Nice to remember her with this reflection of hers, “Not all men share the opinion that it is bad to educate women. But it is true that only the stupidest continue to hold it, because they do not like women to know more than they do.”
More than six centuries later, it is hard to argue with her.
Accompanying this writing is a medieval miniature depicting Christine de Pizan at her writing desk.
