Isabella’s Letters

Lettere d’Isabella Andreini (1607) is a collection of fictional anonymous letters on love and other pertinent subjects written by Isabella Andreini (1562-1604), famed commedia dell’arte actress and manager of the Compagnia dei Gelosi, with her husband Francesco. Admired by distinguished patrons like Ferdinando I de’ Medici, grand duke of Tuscany, and Christina of Lorraine, Andreini turned to writing to eternalize her magnificent but ephemeral performances. Her pastoral drama Mirtilla and poetry collection Rime were praised by masters like Tasso and Chiabrera and secured her membership into a literary academy. After her untimely death, her husband curated the publication of her Lettere and a volume of dialogic scenes known as Fragmenti.

Paola De Santo (University of Georgia) and Caterina Mongiat Farina (DePaul University) will discuss their recent edition in translation of Andreini’s Letters (Iter 2023) and Andreini’s significance as a Renaissance author-actor.