Fedele, Cassandra Fidelis (1465–1558)

Italian scholar. Born Cassandra Fidelis Fedele in Venice, Italy, in 1465; daughter of Angelo Fedele and Barbara Leoni ; educated at home by her father and by Gasparino Borro; married Giovan Maria Mapelli.

Works:

(still extant) some letters and the following three orations—(1) "In Praise of Literature," (2) "Welcome to Bona Sforza, Queen of Poland," (3) "Oration for Bertuccio Lamberti, Receiving Honors of the Liberal Arts"; (lost) "De Scietiarum ordine" ("On the Order of the Sciences)," "Degressioni morali" ("Moral Digressions"), "Elogi degli uomini illustri" ("Praises of Illustrious Men"), and poetry.

Until the age of 12, Cassandra Fedele was educated in Latin at home by her father, who longed for the social status a woman scholar could give to his family. She was then tutored in theology and sciences by Gasparino Borro. Until the age of 22, she pursued rhetoric, philosophy, and languages on her own—including Greek with which she had difficulty.

By this age, Fedele, who did not wish to marry, was already well-known for her erudition, and she became a local celebrity. The doge of Venice was particularly fond of her as a public "decoration" and forbade her to leave the city to accept the invitations to the courts of Isabella I (1451–1504), queen of Spain, and Louis XII, king of France. Fedele wrote poetry but was particularly known for her public orations. One, on morality, was given in 1487 at the convocation of a relative at the University of Padua: "Oration for Bertuccio Lamberti, Receiving Honors of the Liberal Arts." Fedele was also asked to give the public welcome to Bona Sforza , queen of Poland, when the queen arrived in Venice.

Despite her popularity, Fedele's lifestyle was not grand, and she was forced to marry when the novelty of her public presence faded with her beauty. In 1520, while returning on a ship from several years in Crete with her husband, Giovan Maria Mapelli (a doctor from Vicenza), most of her property was lost in a severe storm. Mapelli died the same year, widowing Fidele at a young age, and she often had to beg for financial assistance from others. At age 80, in 1547, she requested help from Pope Paul III who granted her a position as prioress of the girls' orphanage associated with the Church of S. Domenico di Castello in Venice. She remained there for 11 years before her death in 1558.

sources:

Kersey, Ethel M. Women Philosophers: a Bio-critical Source Book. NY: Greenwood Press, 1989.

Russell, Rinaldina. "Cassandra Fedele," in Katharina Wilson, ed., Encyclopedia of Continental Women Writers. NY: Garland, 1991.

Catherine Hundleby , M.A. Philosophy, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada