Daughters of Alchemy: Women and Scientific Culture in Early Modern Italy

302 Pages·2015·3.19 MB·English

by  Meredith K. Ray

I TATTI STUDIES IN
ITALIAN RENAISSANCE HISTORY
Sponsored by Villa I Tatti
Harvard University Center for Italian Re nais sance Studies
Florence, Italy
K. J. P. Lowe, Series Editor
Series Editorial Board
Melissa Meriam Bullard
James Hankins
Katharine Park
Lino Pertile
Dennis Romano

DAUGHTERS
OF ALCHEMY
Women and Scientifi c Culture
in Early Modern Italy
(cid:2)(cid:3)
Meredith K. Ray
Harvard University Press
Cambridge, Massachusetts
London, En gland
2015
Copyright © 2015 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
First printing
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Ray, Meredith K., 1969–
Daughters of alchemy : women and scientifi c culture
in early modern Italy / Meredith K. Ray.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-674-50423-3 (alk. paper)
1. Women in science— Italy— History. 2. Women scientists— Italy— Biography.
3. Science— Italy— History. I. Title.
Q130.R37 2015
509.2'5220945— dc23 2014035683
For Owen

Contents
Introduction 1
1 Caterina Sforza’s Experiments with Alchemy 14
2 Th e Secrets of Isabella Cortese:
Practical Alchemy and Women Readers 46
3 Scientifi c Culture and the Re nais sance Querelle des Femmes:
Moderata Fonte and Lucrezia Marinella 73
4 Scientifi c Circles in Italy and Abroad:
Camilla Erculiani and Margherita Sarrocchi 111
Epilogue 156
Abbreviations 163
Notes 165
Bibliography 249
Ac know ledg ments 281
Index 283

Daughters of Alchemy