Isotta nogarola biography examples and pictures

The Italian scholar Isotta Nogarola — is considered the first major female humanist.

Italian scholar and writer.

The humanist movement originated in Florence, Italy, in the mids and was introduced into other European countries shortly before Humanist scholars believed that a body of learning called studia humanitatis humanistic studies , which was based on the literary masterpieces from the classical period of ancient Greece and Rome, could bring about a cultural rebirth, or renaissance.

The texts included not only classical literature but also the Bible the Christian holy book and the works of early Christian thinkers. Humanists were committed to the revival of ancient works as a way to end the "barbarism" lack of refinement or culture of the Middle Ages also called the medieval period , the thousand-year era that followed the downfall of the Roman Empire in the fourth and fifth centuries.

Humanistic studies were nearly always developed with the education of boys and the careers of men in mind. Nonetheless, a few educators promoted classical education for women. During the fifteenth century humanism spread rapidly from Florence to the elite social classes in other Italian cities, such as Venice, Padua, Verona, Bologna, Milan, and Genoa, then extended south to Rome and Naples.

Isotta Nogarola (–) was an Italian writer and intellectual who is said to be the first major female humanist and one of the most important humanists of the Italian Renaissance.

Many scholars, writers, intellectuals, and patrons contributed to the development of humanism. Women were active in the earliest stages of the movement, which created an environment for the free expression of their ideas. The first to emerge was Isotta Nogarola. Born into a literary family in Verona, she received a humanist education along with her sister Ginevra.

During an intellectual career that spanned more than thirty years, Isotta wrote Latin prose and poetry and participated in learned conferences and debates. She is most famous for her extensive correspondence with humanist friends. These letters demonstrate Nogarola's knowledge of early Christian and classical authors, as well as her awareness of current political events and the historical tradition of heroic women.

The letters also show that she had close relationships with the intellectual and political leaders of northern Italy.