Luisa collected writings by women authors and was also a playwright, translator, and theater manager.

Giustina was a translator of Shakespeare and also ran a literary salon, which was held in a building in this courtyard.

Famous for her love affairs, Giustiniana should be better known as a groundbreaking writer who developed the anthropological novel.

Maria is still revered today as a competitor who won boat races numerous times.

As a writer, translator, and journalist, Elisabetta promoted women’s rights in her book reviews and editorials.

Writer of literary portraits, Isabella ran a literary salon with well-known patrons while keeping Venetian culture alive.

A salon hostess, Giustina translated Shakespeare into English and was beloved for writing about Venetian festivals.

Marina is immortalized in a famous song about her but in her day was known to be rather sexually liberated and to be a sought-after salon hostess.

Countess Andriana Marcello and Princess Maria Chigi-Giovanelli harnessed the talents of school teacher Anna d’Este and Cencia Scarpariola, the last woman who remembered the lace making stitches, to revive Burano’s lace industry. This postcard shows Cencia making lace.