Gabriella Zarri – författare

Feminist thought has wrestled with the question of whether religion has been principally responsible for the oppression of women or instead has provided access to culture, public life, and--sometimes--power. This study of Italian women and Catholicism from the fourth through the twentieth century reflects this conflict and the tension between the masculine character of divinity in the Catholic Church and the potential for equality in the gospels and early writings ("neither male nor female, but one in Jesus").The various chapters in this book consider the institutions within which religious women lived, many of which they themselves founded or reorganized. In addition to overviews of women and the religious life throughout the periods under study, specific chapters focus on mystical marriage, religious writings by women, secular writings by nuns, women in sacred images, women in the nineteenth-century Christian family, Marian pilgrimages, and depictions of sisters and saints in film. The authors, leading American, Italian, and French scholars, have drawn on rich resources to provide a panorama of sixteen centuries of Italian history, religious history, and women's history.

This book offers a vivid account of women’s religiosity in Italy between 1400 and 1550, a crucial period of spiritual ferment and ecclesiastical change. Rather than focusing solely on institutions, this book brings to light the many ways in which women sought religious authority, pursued holiness, and contributed to broader hopes for renewal within the Church.It examines the relationship between prophetic and political power in Italian Renaissance courts. Starting from an examination of the “living saints,” charismatic figures venerated by the people for their abstinence and by princes for their prophetic virtues, it considers figures including Elena Duglioli, Margherita da Russi, and Gentile da Ravenna who were perceived as “divine mothers.” It emphasizes women’s active role in spiritual and cultural circles focused on scriptural study and Church reform, often guided by charismatic figures considered saints. The case of the “divine mother” Paola Antonia Negri is not discussed here, since it has already been examined by others, but the intense anger she faced from ecclesiastical and civil authorities exemplifies the change that took place in Italian religious life in the mid-16th century. "Living saints" and "divine mothers" became suspect, and the Council of Trent promoted a new model of holiness and initiated a process of disciplining cults. The volume also paves the way for a European comparative approach, building on the work of Spanish scholars and an initial transalpine perspective proposed by Alessandra Bartolomei Romagnoli.Clear, engaging, and richly documented, this volume will appeal to scholars and students of early modern history, religious studies, women’s and gender studies, and Italian cultural history, as well as to readers interested in the long history of women’s religious agency.

This book offers a vivid account of women's religiosity in Italy between 1400 and 1550, a crucial period of spiritual ferment and ecclesiastical change. Rather than focusing solely on institutions, this book brings to light the many ways in which women sought religious authority, pursued holiness, and contributed to broader hopes for renewal within the Church.It examines the relationship between prophetic and political power in Italian Renaissance courts. Starting from an examination of the "e;living saints,"e; charismatic figures venerated by the people for their abstinence and by princes for their prophetic virtues, it considers figures including Elena Duglioli, Margherita da Russi, and Gentile da Ravenna who were perceived as "e;divine mothers."e; It emphasizes women's active role in spiritual and cultural circles focused on scriptural study and Church reform, often guided by charismatic figures considered saints. The case of the "e;divine mother"e; Paola Antonia Negri is not discussed here, since it has already been examined by others, but the intense anger she faced from ecclesiastical and civil authorities exemplifies the change that took place in Italian religious life in the mid-16th century. "e;Living saints"e; and "e;divine mothers"e; became suspect, and the Council of Trent promoted a new model of holiness and initiated a process of disciplining cults. The volume also paves the way for a European comparative approach, building on the work of Spanish scholars and an initial transalpine perspective proposed by Alessandra Bartolomei Romagnoli.Clear, engaging, and richly documented, this volume will appeal to scholars and students of early modern history, religious studies, women's and gender studies, and Italian cultural history, as well as to readers interested in the long history of women's religious agency.