A Beautiful Woman in Venice

by Kathleen Ann Gonzalez

A stately woman in a brocade gown steps off a golden boat. A mirror merchant in simple white blouse takes action to preserve her republic. An elegant singer poses in a private salon. Standing at a university podium, a woman holds forth in Latin on women s education. A cloistered nun in a walled up convent uses the only power she has her pen. Artists hold in their hands pastels or pens or glass or thread to document or protect or adorn or embellish those around them. A hostess orchestrates the conversation to keep culture alive. All these beautiful women represent Venice, Italy s city of water and light. Venice, associated with Venus, the goddess of love, was a city ruled by men. However, though men wielded the power and made the decisions, Venice was still a city of women who maintained culture, who attracted tourists and lovers, who entertained in both sacred and secular venues, who founded refuges for others or prayed for their wellbeing, who sold or delivered the goods and foods that maintained life. Women who were mothers, wanting the best, fair education for their children. Women who were daughters, dutiful or seeking or devout. Women who were wives, working alongside their husbands or forging their own talented paths. Women who prayed faithfully. Beautiful women, each in her own way. Libraries of books have been written about Venetian history and Venetian men s roles in shaping it. But little is written about the lives of its women. In this book you ll read their stories. It s time to redefine beauty.

Genres: History

ebook

First published June 2, 2015

Reviews

[Laura Morelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kathleen Ann Gonzalez has a knack for detail. That makes her the perfect Venetophile, for everything in Venice is about the details—the beautiful, the bizarre, the amazing, the so-strange-that-they-can-only-be-true. But A Beautiful Woman in Venice is more than a collection of fascinating tidbits. Story by story, Gonzalez constructs a cohesive picture of women’s lives across centuries of Venetian history. In a tribute to the achievements of women from disparate walks of life, Gonzalez spins each woman’s tale as a colorful thread woven into the rich tapestry of Venetian history.

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

No one brings long-ago Venice to life via the city’s many colorful women of yore better than Kathleen Ann Gonzalez in her book A Beautiful Woman in Venice.

If you love history and vivid, well-told stories of strong women who took action, despite the often crushing restrictions of their patriarchal society, this book is for you.

As the author writes, “Venice’s history books are filled with stories of women’s oppression, harassment, and ridicule. But not all of the city’s history was so, and throughout the centuries examples of independent and empowered women do crop up. One sentence here or a couple there, a footnote perhaps, and these women peek out to the present from behind church doors, convent grills, hospice windows, and palace balconies. These are the women who founded or funded numerous Venetian institutions that would provide succor for untold numbers of their sisters.”

Meticulously researched, Ms. Gonzalez takes readers into the lives of fascinating women like Giustina Rossi, an old woman who dropped her heavy spice-grinding mortar off of a balcony , effectively putting down an attempted government overthrow on June 15, 1320. And I loved the story of Cassandra Fedele, born in 1465. A brilliant young woman, her father encouraged her to learn at a time when only thirty-three percent of men were educated and only twelve percent of women could read and write. Cassandra wound up corresponding with the great thinkers of her time.

The author makes Venetian life come alive through vivid sensory details and explanations about the nuanced mores of each time period. While the life of a female back then seemed anything but free and easy, I loved reading about women who made the most of what they had.

[Stephen Tritto · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that should be read by Gloria Steinem, Harvey Weinstein and everyone in between. I purchased this book at a book signing as a courtesy to the author. I was blown away by the stories, the writing and the pure enjoyment of reading it. This is a book about courage, daring, and the ability to accomplish historic achievements. It takes place in a time when the principals had no standing in a society that was unique politically and socially. The wonderful characters from a bygone era took on issues that still resonate today. González’s writing is first rate and made what could have been an ordinary history lesson into an inspiring adventure. I am looking forward to reading more of her work.
Stephen Tritto, Author of Taking Flight

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written by a good friend, Kathy Gonzalez. It contains 26 chapters about individual Venetian women up to the early 19th-century and 2 chapters covering several women, each around a theme. Her title is A Beautiful Woman in Venice but I could easily substitute and number of other adjectives - feisty, clever, artistic, musical, literate, opinionated, independent - for "beautiful." We seem to think the 20th Century has the lock on women's liberation but these Venetian women seemed to not let antiquated ideas about "a woman's place" get in the way.