1896 MORPURGO Olimpia Morato in Archeografo Triestino

7/31/2019 1896 MORPURGO Olimpia Morato in Archeografo Triestino

1/37

Olympia MoOlympia MoOlympia MoOlympia Mo1526152615261526----1555155515551555


2/37

MORATO (Morata), Olimpia Fulvia Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 76 (2012)

di Lisa Saracco

MORATO (Morata), Olimpia Fulvia. Primogenita di Fulvio Pellegrino Morato e di Lucrezia Gozi, nacque a Ferrara fra la fine del

1526 e il principio del 1527.Dopo un periodo trascorso a Vicenza, dove la famiglia si era trasferita nel 1532, fece ritorno nella citt natale nel 1539, entrando a farparte lanno successivo della corte estense come damigella al servizio delle figlie di Ercole II e di Renata di Francia. Qui, gi istruitadal padre, grazie alla scuola femminile promossa dalla duchessa sotto la guida dellumanista tedesco Kilian Senf (1506-63) ebbe lapossibilit di studiare grammatica, retorica, geografia, le lingue classiche, ma soprattutto di approfondire la conoscenza dellAntico eNuovo Testamento con laiuto di sussidi e commentari, anche di provenienza eterodossa, acquistati in quegli anni espressamente perleducazione delle fanciulle di corte. Tra il 1540 e il 1548 visse cos un intenso periodo di operosit intellettuale e di scambio dirapporti amicali, affettivi, culturali e religiosi, in un ambiente aperto alle influenze della Riforma protestante, come era quellodellentourage della duchessa, una piccola cellula protestante dove si dava rifugio a personaggi dalle idee eterodosse, si leggeva e sistudiava la Bibbia, si celebrava la Cena alla maniera riformata. Puella supra sexum ingeniosa la defin Lilio Gregorio Giraldi neisuoi Dialogi duo de poetis nostrorum temporum esaltando le rare capacit intellettuali e la cultura della giovane donna (1999, p. 234).La sua prima prova letteraria a corte fu, nel 1540-41, la composizione di una Defensio pro Cicerone, andata perduta. Precedenti al1542 sono anche i tre Proemi a un commento dei Paradoxa stoicorum di Cicerone e di poco successiva la Laus Q. Mutii Scevolae. Di

datazione meno certa sono invece le traduzioni latine delle prime due novelle del Decameron di Boccaccio, risalenti probabilmente al1543-45. Otto carmi, cinque latini e tre greci (uno di questi redatto in occasione della morte di Pietro Bembo) furono composti dopo il1540.Nel 1548, in seguito alla malattia e alla morte del pa........dre, i rapporti con la corte estense si raffreddarono a causa di alcune non benprecisate maldicenze. Lallontanamento fu causato non solo dal nuovo clima di controllo inaugurato dal duca Ercole II ma anche daun vero e proprio mutamento interiore di Morato nei confronti della vita cortigiana, che la port a dedicarsi a uno studio piindividuale e autonomo, incentrato su argomenti religiosi e biblici piuttosto che finalizzato allesibizione di unerudizione classicafine a se stessa.Fra la fine del 1549 e il principio del 1550 spos il medico tedesco Andreas Grunthler (1518-55), il quale pochi mesi dopo feceritorno in Germania, poich per lui, cos come per gli altri stranieri fino ad allora ospiti a Ferrara, non era possibile accettare il climadi crescente intolleranza religiosa, culminato con limpiccagione e il rogo del fornaio Fanino Fanini (22 agosto 1550), evento chesegn linizio della disfatta dellinfluenza di Renata di Francia a corte. Nei mesi di lontananza del marito, Morato compose il dialogolatino Lavinia Ruverensis Ursina et Olympia Morata colloquntuur, che vede come sua interlocutrice lamica Lavinia Della Rovere

(1521- 1601) ed fonte preziosa per i numerosi spunti autobiografici e come testimonianza del sorgere di una nuova coscienza aseguito alle esperienze dolorose vissute. Dopo avere trovato una sistemazione adeguata a Kaufberen, nei pressi di Augusta (comemedico di famiglia del consigliere del re Ferdinando di Boemia Ungheria, Georg Hrmann), Grunthler torn in Italia a prendere lamoglie. Il 12 giugno 1550 i coniugi giunsero in Germania insieme con il fratello pi piccolo di lei, Emilio; forse gi nellestate 1551 sispostarono a Schweinfurt, libera citt imperiale.In questi anni Morato si dedic totalmente allo studio della Bibbia (tradusse in greco sei Salmi, che il marito poi mise in musica) edella teologia, motivi principali per cui ella stessa affermava di essersi convinta ad abbandonare lItalia. Si occup anchedelleducazione di Theodora, figlia di Johannes Senf (Sinapius), che venne inviata a Schweinfurt nel 1552. Fu un periodo dientusiasmo per la nuova libert intellettuale vissuta pienamente in un ambiente che suscit in Morato stupore e ammirazione, nonchdi intensi rapporti epistolari sia con gli affetti rimasti in Italia sia con alcuni dei maggiori teologi protestanti del tempo, come MattiaFlacio Illirico (al quale chiese di tradurre in italiano alcune opere di Martin Lutero da inviare in Italia), Pietro Paolo Vergerio, FilippoMelantone e Joachim Camerarius.Nel dialogo Teophila et Philotima colloquuntur (Opera omnia, Basilea, P. Perna, 1580, pp. 42-52), composto nel 1551, approfondulteriormente il tema del passaggio dal vecchio, rappresentato dalla pena di Filotima, che rimpiange una vita vissuta con serenitvicino ai propri familiari, al nuovo, in cui le mortificazioni e i dolori possono essere accettati attraverso la speranza cristiana e la forzadella fede che aiuta in tutte le prove.La raccolta delle epistole (in volgare e in latino), curata post mortem dallamico Celio Secondo Curione, rappresenta un documento diinestimabile valore per comprendere il viaggio concreto e spirituale compiuto dalla giovane umanista. Alla prima edizione, chepresenta solo 14 delle 50 lettere (Basilea, P. Perna, 1558) ne seguirono altre due (edite ancora a Basilea da P. Perna nel 1562 e 1570,questultima ristampata nel 1580), arricchite e ampliate nel contenuto grazie a un attento lavoro di recupero. I temi dellepistolariospaziano dalla dignit femminile, alla fuga religionis causa, allelogio della vera Chiesa martirizzata (con implicita condanna delnicodemismo), alla necessit della predicazione della veritas insita nel Vangelo, allAnticristo, la cui figura identificata non solo conil papa ma anche con tutti coloro che ne imitano la malvagit in altri luoghi dEuropa. Le lettere inviate in Italia ad amici e familiarirappresentano un vero e proprio sermo theologicus, in cui la sapienza stilistica modellata sulleloquenza ciceroniana si coniuga con lastruttura del discorso omiletico secondo lo schema agostiniano (insegnamento dottrinale, edificazione, parenesi). Dallepistolarioemerge cos un nuovo modello femminile di responsabilit, che Morato incarna con orgoglio e profonda convinzione, certa dellabont della propria scelta religiosa e dellabbandono volontario di una vita di lusso e ricchezza in nome della libert di coscienza.Nel 1553 la situazione di Schweinfurt divenne molto pericolosa a motivo delle guerre che devastavano la Germania. Attaccata dalletruppe di Alberto Alcibiade, duca di Brandeburgo-Kulmbach, e in seguito da quelle dei vescovi di Bamberga, Wrzburg eNorimberga, la citt sub un devastante incendio nel quale andarono persi tutti i beni della famiglia, compresa la biblioteca di Moratoe i suoi scritti originali. Insieme con il marito fugg, rifugiandosi in un primo momento ad Hamelburg, da dove furono cacciati, e nel


3/37

1554 a Heidelberg, dove il marito ottenne la cattedra di medicina presso lUniversit. Fu probabilmente nel corso di queste tragichevicende che Morato si ammal di tubercolosi, malattia che min la sua salute fino a condurla alla morte il 26 ottobre del 1555 aHeidelberg.Fu seppellita nella chiesa di S. Pietro; nello stesso sepolcro la raggiunsero poco dopo il marito e il fratello, uccisi dalla peste chedilagava in citt.In edizioni critiche moderne sono disponibili: Opere, a cura di L. Caretti, Ferrara 1954 (I, Epistolae; II, Orationes, Dialogi etCarmina); Briefe, a cura di R. Kbling et al., Leipzig 1991; Olympia Morata. The complete writings of an Italian heretic, a cura diH.N. Parker, Chicago 2003.

Fonti e Bibl .: L.G. Giraldi, Dialogi duo de poetis nostrorum temporum, a cura di C. Pandolfi, Ferrara 1999, p. 234; J. Bonnet, ViedOlympia Morata. Episode de la Renaissance et de Rforme en Italie, Paris 1850; G. Weiss-Stlin, Per una biografia di O. M, in

Miscellanea di studi in memoria di Cesare Bolognesi, a cura di L. Puttin, Schio 1976, pp. 79-107; M. Cignoni, Il pensiero di O. M.nellambito della Riforma protestante, in Atti dellAccademia delle scienze di Ferrara, LXLXI (1982-84), pp. 191-204; N. Holzberg,Olympia Morata und die Anfnge des Griechischen an der Universitt Heidelberg, in Heidelberger Jahrbcher, XXXI (1987), pp. 77-93; R.H. Bainton, Donne della Riforma, I, Torino 1992, pp. 307-324; D. Pirovano, Le edizioni cinquecentine degli scritti di O.F. M.,in Le varie fila. Studi di letteratura italiana in onore di Emilio Bigi, a cura di F. Danelon et al., Milano 1997, pp. 96- 111; OlympiaFulvia Morata. Stationen ihres Lebens: Ferrara-Schweinfurt-Heidelberg. Katalog zur Ausstellung im Universittsmuseum Heidelberg1998, Ubstadt-Weiher 1998; D. Pirovano, Olimpia Morata e la traduzione latina delle prime due novelle del Decameron, in Annalidella facolt di lettere e filosofia dellUniversit di Milano, LI (1998), pp. 73-109; F. Daenens, Olimpia Morata. Storie parallele, inLe donne delle minoranze, a cura di C. Honess et al., Torino 1999, pp. 101-112; C. Franceschini, La Corte di Renata di Francia(1526-1560), in Storia di Ferrara. Il Rinascimento. Situazioni e personaggi, VI, Ferrara 2000, pp. 198-201; S. Peyronel Rambaldi,Olimpia Morata e Celio Secondo Curione: un dialogo dellumanesimo cristiano, in La formazione storica dellalterit. Studi di storiadella tolleranza nellet moderna offerti a Antonio Rotond, I, Firenze 2001, pp. 93-133; L. Saracco, E le vostre figlie profeteranno:vocazione alla parola e riflessione teologica nellepistolario di O.F. Morata (1526- 1555), in Rivista di storia e letteratura religiosa,

XL (2004), pp. 333-349; A. Drner, Vom Selbstbild zum Vorbild: Olympia Fulvia Morata und die Konstruktion einesprotestantischen Frauenmodells im 16. Jahrhundert, in Vorbild- Inbild-Abbild. Religise Lebensmodelle ingeschlechtergeschichtlicher Perspektive, a cura di P. Burschel et al., Freiburg i.B. 2003, pp. 53-81; Olimpia Morata: culturaumanistica e Riforma protestante tra Ferrara e lEuropa, Atti del Convegno, Ferrara, Palazzo Bonacossi, 18-20 novembre 2004, a curadi G. Fragnito et al., in Schifanoia. Notizie dellistituto di studi rinascimentali di Ferrara, 2005, 28-29, pp. 131-354.Lisa Saracco

Frontispiece from vol. 2 of Virginia Mulazzi's Olimpia Morato: scene della riforma(Milano: L. Bortolotti, 1875).Statue of Olympia Morata at Schweinfurt, by www.waymarking.com


4/37

Morata, Olympia (1526-1555)

by Jennifer Haraguchi 2003

Olympia Morata was born in Ferrara in 1526 to Fulvio Pellegrino Morato and a certain Lucrezia (possibly Gozi). In her early years,she was educated by her father, a well-known humanist and university professor. She learned her subjects so well that at the age of twelve or thirteen she was invited to the court of Ferrara as a companion of study to Anna d'Este, the daughter of Duke Ercole II andDuchess Rene of France. There she continued her classical studies with Anna under the guidance of her father and two Germanbrothers, John and Chilian Sinapi. She was considered a "fanciulla prodigio," and won the praise of many intellectuals for her fluencyin Latin and Greek. It is highly probable that her sympathies for the Reformation began at the court of Ferrara since the Duchessherself supported the efforts of the reformers. Morata's formal studies came to an end in 1548 when she was called home to care forher dying father. After her father's death, she made a request to return to the court, but it was denied. Many of her reformist friendshad already left the court and Anna now resided in France with her new husband Francis de Guise.

In 1549 or 1550, Morata married Andreas Grunthler, a German protestant who came to Ferrara to study medicine. Shortly after theirmarriage, the couple moved to Germany to evade the Roman Inquisition. They took Morata's eight-year-old brother, Emilio, withthem, never to return to Italy. While they were in Germany, Morata tutored Emilio in the classics. Grunthler accepted a position asmedical doctor for the Imperial Spanish troops who were stationed in his native city Schweinfurt. From 1553-54, they were caught inthe middle of war. Schweinfurt was occupied by the soldiers of Albert Alciabides, and Morata, Grunthler, and Emilio lived indangerous and difficult conditions, at one point taking refuge in a wine cellar. Ultimately, the city was sacked and burned by Albert'senemies. In a letter to Cherubina Orsini, written on August 8, 1554 from Heidelberg, Morata describes her arduous escape fromSchweinfurt:

Vorrei che aveste visto come io era scapigliata, coperta di straccie, ch ci tolsero le veste d'attorno, e fuggendo io perdetti le scarpe, naveva calze in piede, s che mi bisognava fuggire sopra le pietre e sassi, che io non so come arrivasse. (quoted in Costa-Zalessow 103)

Shortly after arriving in Heidelberg, Grunthler accepted a position as professor of medicine at the university and Morata tutoredstudents in Greek and Latin. However, the fever that Morata caught in Schweinfurt never subsided, and a few months later she died.She was not quite 29 years old. Less than two months later, Grunthler and Emilio also died, most likely of the plague that had takenhold of the residents of Heidelberg.

While much of Morata's writing was lost in the siege on Scheiwnfurt, Grunthler managed to salvage some and sent it to CelioSecondo Curione, a professor at the University of Basel and close friend of Morata's father, who published three editions of her work (1558, 1562, 1570). Another edition followed in 1580. Morata's extant writings consist of fifty-two letters (most written in Latin), twodialogues (in Latin), a declamation on Cicero's Stoic Paradoxesand another In Praise of Mutius Scaevola(the latter in both Greek andLatin), eleven poems (eight in Greek and three in Latin), as well as translations of seven Psalms (in Greek) and the first two stories of Boccaccio's Decameron (in Latin). The Psalms that Morata translated were set to music by her husband.

Works by Olympia Morata:

Olympiae Fulviae Moratae Foeminae Doctissimae ac plane Divinae Orationes, Dialogi, Epistolae, Carmina, tam Latinaquam Graeca. Edited by Celio Secondo Curione. Basel, 1558, 1562, 1570, 1580 (the first edition was dedicated to IsabellaBresegna; the second edition, to Queen Elizabeth I of England).

Olympia Morata: The Complete Writings of an Italian Heretic.Edited and translated by Holt Parker. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003.

Olimpia Morata Epistolario (1540-1555).Edited by Lanfranco Caretti. Ferrara: R. Deputazione di Storia Patria per l'Emilia ela Romagna, 1940.

Olimpia Morata Lettere.Edited by Giuseppe Paladino. In Opuscoli e lettere di riformatori italiani del Cinquecento.Bari:Laterza, 1913-1927, pp. 169-227, 265-79.


5/37

Olimpia Morata Lettere.Edited by Giuseppe Guido Ferrero. In Lettere del Cinquecento.Turin: Unione tipiografico-editricetorinese, 1967, pp. 551-64.

Opere, vol. I. Epistolae, vol. II. Orationes, Dialogi et Carmina.Edited by Lanfranco Caretti. Ferrara: DeputazioneProvinciale Ferrarese di Storia Patria, 1954.

Studies on Olympia Morata:

Archivio biografico italiano(microform). Edited by Tommaso Nappo. Munich and New York: Saur, 1987-98. Bainton, Roland H. "Olympia Morata (1526-1555)." Women of the Reformation in Germany and Italy. Minneapolis:

Augsburg, 1971, pp. 253-68.

Bonnet, Jules. Vie d'Olympia Morata, pisode de la renaissance et de la rforme en Italie.Paris: Charles Meyruels, 1856. Caretti, Lanfranco. "Gli scritti di Olimpia Morata." Studi e ricerche di letteratura italiana.Firenze: La Nuova Italia, 1951,pp. 37-64.

Cignoni, Mario. "Il pensiero di Olimpia Morato nell'ambito della Riforma protestante." Atti dellAccademia delle Scienze diFerrara 60-61 (1982-83, 1983-84), pp. 191-204.

Costa-Zalessow, Natalia. "Olimpia Morato." Scrittrici italiane dal XIII al XX secolo: testi e critica.Ravenna: Longo editore,1982, pp. 99-103.

Dizionario biografico delle donne lombarde:568-1968. Edited by Rachele Farina. Milan: Baldini & Castoldi, 1995. Dizionario enciclopedico della letteratura italianaIV, p. 62. Bari: LaTerza, 1967. Dizionario enciclopedico italianoVIII, p. 78. Roma: Istituto Poligrafico dello Stato, 1958. Enciclopedia italianaXXIII, p. 798. Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia italiana, 1934. King, Margaret L.. "Book-Lined Cells: Women and Humanism in the Early Italian Renaissance." Beyond Their Sex: Learned

Women of the European Past.New York: New York University Press, 1980, pp. 66-90. --. Women of the Renaissance.Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991. Mulazzi, Virginia. Olimpia Morato, scene della riforma: racconto storico del secolo XVI . Milan: Tipografia di Lodovico

Bortolotti E. C., 1875. Pirovano, Donato. "Le edizioni cinquecentine degli scritti di Olimpia Fulvia Morata." Le varie fila. Studi di letteratura

italiana in onore di Emilio Bigi.Edited by Fabio Danelon, Hermann Grosser, Cristina Zampese. Milano: Principato, 1997,pp. 96-111.

--. "Olimpia Morata e la traduzione latina delle prime due novelle del Decameron." Acme: Annali della Facolt di Lettere eFilosofia dell'Universit degli Studi di MilanoLI (Gennaio - Aprile 1998), pp. 73-109.

Rabil, Albert Jr. "Olympia Morata (1526-1555)." Italian Women Writers: A Bio-Bibliographical Sourcebook.Edited byRinaldina Russell. Westport, Connecticut and London: Greenwood Press, 1994, pp. 269-78.

Weiss, Gertrud. "Per una biografia di Olimpia Morato." Miscellanea di studi in memoria di Cesare Bolognesi neltrentacinquesimo della scomparsa.Edited by Lucio Puttin. Edizioni Ascledum, 1976, pp. 79-107.

3 Editions

1. Morata, Olympia, 1526-1555; Parker, Holt N., transl., The Complete Writings of an Italian Heretic (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003) [ Bibliographic Details ] [Alternate Editions ] [Author Information ]

2. Morata, Olympia, 1526-1555; Caretti, Lanfranco, ed., Opere (Ferrara: Deputazione Provinciale Ferrarese di Storia Patria, 1954)[Bibliographic Details ] [Alternate Editions ] [Author Information ]

3. Morata, Olympia, 1526-1555; Castiglione, Ippolita Torelli, 1499-1520; Curione, Celio Secondo, 1503-1569, ed., Orationes, dialogi, epistolae, carmina, tam latina quam graeca: cum eruditoru de ea testimonijs & laudibus. Hippolytae Taurellae elegiaelegantissima. Ad Sereniss. Angliae reginam D. Elisabetam (Basileae: P. Pernam, 1562) [ Bibliographic Details ] [ Alternate Editions ]

[Offsite Digitized Text ] [Author Information ]

Submitted by Jennifer Haraguchi, The University of Chicago, 2003.


6/37

Photo: Prison cell in the castle of Ferrara, by Massimo Baraldi, wikimedia

As promised, I am beginning to write a list of what is historically true and what is a fruit of my imagination in every chapter of my book,Weight of a Flame, the Passion of Olympia Morata . I will start with the first chapter. Your comments are welcome!

1. Cover - Olympia's looks on the cover are the fruit of the artist's imagination of Robert Papp. There is only one portrait availablethat depicts Olympia Morata. There she is much older, and we don't know for sure if it's an accurate portrait, so our artist has takenthe liberty to take those basic features and come up with a younger Olympia.2. Map - the map is quite accurate, between my knowledge of Italy and my map artist's (Tom Carroll) knowledge of Germany. Funfact - we used mapquest for much of the route, including an approximate time of their trip (I chose "on foot" because the wagonprobably traveled quite slowly). BTW, Tom Carroll did not get credit for the map, which was a sad oversight. We will remedy inthe next edition. For the time being, please know that he has been very accurate and patient. It's not easy to find 16th century mapsand retrace someone's steps.3. Chapter OneWhat's true - In 1539, Olympia went to live at the court of Duke Ercole and Duchess/Princess Rene of France. It's true that herparents were Fulvio Pellegrino Morato and Lucrezia Morata. The tailor's conversation about the duchess is based on reported facts.It's also true that Fulvio had to leave Ferrara for a while and had just returned. He was a teacher at the University and a tutor at theducal court. And it's true that he wrote a book on colors and flowers (the quote is from the book) and taught Calvin's Institutes tohis students on some occasions.What's imagined - We don't know any of their personalities. We know nothing about Lucrezia. I deduced something of Fulvio'spersonality by his writings (letters and his treatise on colors and flowers). He seemed a little extravagant and pedantic, but in aletter to Celio Curione he manifested a great excitement for the Gospel. Did I capture who he was? Who knows? The tailor and hiswife are a product of my imagination.One note about clothes. Oddly, in Olympia's letter there is a recurrent interest in clothes. When she had to leave the ducal court, shewas particularly upset that she was not allowed to take one of her dresses. In Germany, she describes a dress she received as a gift,even guessing its value. Even when she escaped the city, she took care to describe the ragged clothes she was wearing. I thought itwas interesting, so clothes are mentioned here and there at key times in my book. You will find them here at the start and again atthe close of the book. I am continuing the explanation of what is truth and what is fiction in my book, Weight of a Flame - thePassion of Olympia Morata.


7/37

Chapter 2What's true - the description of the castle of Ferrara and the background information about Rene, Ercole, and the Duchy of Este.Fun fact - some people asked me how to pronounce Ercole. Italians don't have a separate "er" sound, so you just pronounce theinitial "e" as a short English "e". The accent goes on that "e". And of course you pronounce the last "e". Don't worry about rollingthe "r". If you are totally frustrated, you can call him Hercules, because that's what the name means in Italian. But then, don't beoffended if I translate your name into Italian next time I see you. All the names of Ercole's children and tutors are real.What's fiction- the whole scene. I don't know how Olympia spent the first few hours at the castle.

Chapter 3

What's true - Everything the teachers said about Olympia and her talents. The poem is true. It's also true that some women weresaying she needed to forget the pen and pick up some bed sheets. Fulvio's suggestions on speech are from a letter to Olympia,including the Tite Tute Tati tongue-twister. By the way, my father taught me the same tongue-twister when I was a child, so I felt astrong connection there. Olympia's speech on Cicero's Paradoxes is recorded and what I have quoted is taken from her actualwords.What's fiction- Again, the scene and her feelings. We do know that she was sick just before giving the speech, so possibly thetension was there.

Chapter fourWhat's true- The background story and the quote of the letter from Calvin to Rene.What's fiction- How the events progressed. We have no indication of a conversation between Rene and Ercole that was overheardby Olympia, of a discussion between Olympia and Anne, nor of one between Olympia and Rene on the Mass.

Chapter fiveWhat's true - It's true that Calvin mediated in the marriage between Francoise and John Sinapius. All the facts about Lavinia andPaolo, and about Rene's earlier marriage proposals are true. Olympia's poem about nuns is by her hand. It's true that she translated(probably with Anne) two tales from the Decameron. The whole story Curio tells here is true (according to his account of it). Herquestions about prayer at the end are also true. We know she discussed these doubts with Lavinia but didn't work hard to find ananswer.What's fiction- again, the various scenes. For example, Curio's tale is true, but we don't know if Olympia asked him to repeat it forher and her friends.

Chapter 6What's true - The whole papal visit is true, to the smallest details. Her letter at the end, praising the duke, is also true. This type of letters led me to infer some form of denial about any negative aspects at court.What's fiction- We don't know what the pope said to Olympia (if anything). We also don't know if Olympia saw her mother andbrother in the crowd. Chapters 7-8What is true- once again, the events are true. Olympia returned home, sometimes she met Andreas Grunthler, her father got betterthen worse, John Sinapius took care of him at first and then left for Germany. Finally, Fulvio died, Olympia returned to court andwas rejected.What's fiction- We don't know how any of those events really developed. I was especially trying to find how Andreas and Olympiamet. In one of her later letters (after their wedding) she said, "I still love you. If I didn't, I would tell you, just like I used to tell youthat I couldn't stand you." That gave me a clue. I imagined that during their first meeting she couldn't stand him for some reason.

Chapter 9What's true - Again, the events are true. At some point, Olympia realized that she had lost sight of what is really important - theknowledge of God.What's fiction- No one knows how that realization came to her. The letter she finds in a drawer is really a letter her father wrote toCurio, but there is no indication that she found it at this point. It's just a tool I used to develop the story.

Chapter 10What's true - The main events and what is told about Fanini. The description of the prison is fairly accurate since I have visited theplace, but of course I had to imagine how the same prison looked in the 16th century.What's fiction- How the events developed and how the characters interacted. I also had to invent a way for Andreas to propose. Afriend of mine who is a medieval history major told me that in those days men often proposed in writing, usually to the girls' father.Since Olympia's father had died, I imagined that the letter was addressed to her but Andreas asked for her mother's permission.

Chapter 11What's true - The poem was really written by Olympia. The traveling plans are true, and Rene really gave some money and awedding dress.What's fiction- How the plans were formulated and presented to Olympia. Chapters 12-13What's true- It's true that Andreas went to Germany first, and then returned to take Olympia and Emilio with him. It's also true thatOlympia missed him desperately. All letters are from her. The news Andreas gives are also true. The rendition of Psalm 23 is reallyOlympia's. It's also true that they stayed with Georg Hormann and visited the Fuggers (and the main description of the Fuggers andtheir financial empire is true).


8/37

What's fiction- I had to imagine Olympia's loneliness, Andreas' return, and then their trip. I actually used mapquest for parts of it! Ihad to also contact a Museum in Trento, a city on the border between Italy and Germany, to find how the roads had changed sincethen (I thank Dr. Giovanni Kezich, director at Museo degli Usi e Costumi della Gente Trentina for his kindness in answering mynumerous questions). He was actually the one who suggested Olympia might have met a flock of sheep in transhumance, since itwas summer (see photo). I also read Goethe's Italian Journey, where he talks about his experience crossing the Alps (he went fromGermany to Italy and Olympia went from Italy to Germany, but more or less the experience was similar). About Olympia's meetingwith the Fuggers, I don't know what really happened. I know that she had always wanted to give them her poems, but there is nomention of it after her visit. So I imagined what may have happened...

Simonetta Carr


9/37

estratto da


10/37


11/37


12/37


13/37


14/37


15/37


16/37


17/37


18/37


19/37


20/37


21/37


22/37


23/37


24/37


25/37


26/37


27/37


28/37


29/37


30/37


31/37


32/37


33/37


34/37


35/37


36/37


37/37

1896 MORPURGO Olimpia Morato in Archeografo Triestino

Documents

Transcript of 1896 MORPURGO Olimpia Morato in Archeografo Triestino