Colonna, Vittoria 1490-1547
Italian poet

Born into an important noble Roman family in Marino, she had an arranged marriage to the Marquis of Pescara but saw little of him. He died in battle at Pavi (1525), and she devoted herself to a religious life and good causes, later lamenting his death and that of her father in Canzoniere (1544). Her religious thinking was profound, as were her objections to corruption in the Church. An inspiration to her friend Michelangelo, she was admired by Ariosto, and became the intimate associate of the reforming party at the papal court. Her poems, which are Petrarchan in style, appeared at Parma in 1538. Other members of the ancient Colonna family, which took its name from a castle in the Alban Hills, include a pope (Martin V), several cardinals, generals, statesmen and noted scholars.

Bibliography: M F Jerrold, Vittoria Colonna (1906, reprinted 1969)