|
COPYRIGHT 2005 The Spectator Ltd. (UK)
RENAISSANCE WOMAN by Gaia Servadio I. B. Tauris, 19.95 [pounds sterling], pp. 274, ISBN 1850434212 * 17.95 [pounds sterling] (plus 2.25 [pounds sterling] p&p) 0870 800 4848
Lucrezia Borgia was not the fiend history made her out to be. According to Gala Servadio, she was a radiant symbol of Renaissance woman and, moreover, a judicious administrator of her husband the Duke of Ferrara's realm. Lucrezia's ethereal blonde looks had so captivated Lord Byron that, in 1816, he stole a strand of her hair from a cabinet in Milan. Lucrezia's 16-year correspondence with the Venetian poet and future cardinal Pietro Bembo moved Byron almost to tears: 'The prettiest love letters in the world," he declared.
Unusually, Servadio...
Read the full article for free courtesy of your local library.
|
Bookmark this article
Print this article
Link to this article
Email this article
Digg It!
Add to del.icio.us
RSS
