Albrizzi, Isabella Teotochi, Contessa d' (1770–1836)

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Albrizzi, Isabella Teotochi, Contessa d' (1770–1836)

Italian writer and patron of the arts. Pronunciation: ahl-BREET-tsee. Name variations: Isabella Teotochi-Albrizzi. Born on the Greek island of Corfu in 1770; died in Venice, Italy, on September 27, 1836; daughter of a Greek father and Venetian mother; married a Venetian at 16 (annulled); married a noble of Venice.

A Venetian patron of literature and art, Isabella Albrizzi was also an articulate memorialist. She authored a study of the works of Canova (Descrizione delle opere di Canova, 1821–25), wrote essays on celebrated contemporaries, which were published as Ritratti (Portraits), and completed a biography of Vittoria Colonna (1836). Her home was a gathering place for the literati, including the dramatist Vittorio Alfieri, the writer Ugo Foscolo, and the poet Lord Byron who dubbed her "the Madame de Staël of Venice."

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