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Lucrezia Galletta (1520s – 1580), (also Lucretia Galletta), known as "la Luparella", was a wealthy courtesan and banker in 16th century Rome.[1][2][3]
Lucrezia Galletta was born in the city of Bologne, somewhere between the years of 1520-1525.[2] By the 1540s, she had become a celebrated courtesan in Rome.[4] She was able to retire with a fortune in 1559, and thereafter had herself erased from the list of courtesans and engaged in business as a banker. This undertaking may have been aided by the fact that her lover, Francesco Spinelli, was a banker, though later on he fled, stealing money from his employers, and left her in a tight spot.[4]
As a banker, she was quite successful, boasting international clients. Lucrezia Galletta was the only female banker who, alongside several Cardinals and members of the noblefamilies of Rome, co-signed the "grand parti de Lyon" on 18 January 1560, in which the king of France was granted a large credit.[2]
At some point in time, Lucrezia appears to have become fairly well-educated, as the eventual inventory of her estate noted she had a collection of books.[3] In 1566, Lucrezia faced a new challenge, in the form of a new Pope, Pius V. He decreed that all wealthy or well-known courtesans must leave Rome, except for those who either married or joined a convent. Quickly, Lucrezia married one of her banking employees, Niccoló Turini. This marriage was only on paper, and they had no relationship, but it protected her from expulsion while Turini enjoyed a hefty dowry payment.[2]
During her later life, Lucrezia adopted a daughter, a girl named Lucrezia da Tivoli. The young girl eventually became a nun, and lived in the convent of S. Marta - which happened to be right across the street from Lucrezia Galletta's home. Upon Lucrezia Galletta's death in 1580, her fortune went to her adopted daughter, and the monastery.[5] Her will included donations and provisions to assist poor young women in need of dowries. [2]
References
edit- ^ GALLETTA, Lucrezia, di Monica Kurze Runtscheiner - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 51 (1998)
- ^ a b c d e Runtscheiner, Monica Kurze (1988). "Galletta, Lucrezia". Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 51. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana.
- ^ a b Auhagen, Ulrike (2009), "Ausblick", Die Hetäre in der griechischen und römischen Komödie, Zetemata (in German), München: C.H.Beck, pp. 285–309, ISBN 978-2-8218-4638-8, retrieved 2024-07-12
- ^ a b Budin, Stephanie Lynn (2021-05-30). Freewomen, Patriarchal Authority, and the Accusation of Prostitution. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-51667-2.
- ^ City), Arciconfraternità della Carità (ROME, The (1603). Constitutiones Archiconfraternitatis, etc. [With a preface by C. de Gettis.] (in Latin).
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