04/06/2025

Folha: 'Elena Cornaro Piscopia, the first woman to earn a doctorate in history'

Reproduction of Marcelo Viana's column in Folha de São Paulo.

Visiting Venice in the 1990s, I discovered "A History of Venice" by the English historian John Julius Norwich. I read the 700-page volume in one sitting, and I still reread it frequently. It made me a big fan of Norwich (I've read practically everything he published) and of the Republic of Venice, the most unique state Europe has ever produced.

Merchants and traders above all, the Venetians were bold, calculating, ruthless, sometimes despicable (the manipulation of the Fourth Crusade to attack Byzantium lives in the annals of ignominy), almost always courageous (as when they chose to remain in Byzantium to defend it from the final Ottoman attack in 1453).

Among its greatest qualities was a profound love for art and culture, which made its capital one of the jewels of Europe to this day. Throughout the 11 centuries of the Republic (697–1797), they destroyed a great deal and stole even more: the horses that adorn the facade of St. Mark's Cathedral came from the hippodrome of… Byzantium, and even the remains of the apostle were kidnapped from Alexandria in the 9th century. But they also built a great deal, leaving a unique legacy.

And I've just discovered a gem in this legacy: one of the first women to receive a university degree, and the first in the world to achieve a doctoral degree (PhD).

Elena Cornaro Piscopia (1646–1684) was born into the aristocracy: her father, Giambattista, rose to the position of treasurer of St. Mark's Cathedral, the second most important in the Republic. Elena was a child prodigy and received an excellent education . At the age of seven she was fluent in Latin, Greek, Spanish, and French. Her translation of the "Colloquies of Christ" from Spanish into Italian achieved great success, with five editions between 1669 and 1672.

Elena also immersed herself in music: she mastered the harpsichord, clavichord, harp, and violin, and also composed. In her late teens, she became interested in physics, astronomy, and linguistics. According to biographers, she refused all marriage proposals. At the end of her life, she wore the habit of a Benedictine nun, even without taking religious vows.

She was a member of several academies of knowledge, including presiding over the Venetian Academy ("Accademia dei Pacifici") from 1670, which gives an idea of her prestige. And the geometry book that Carlo Rinaldini (1615–1698), professor of philosophy at the University of Padua, published in 1668 is dedicated to the young Elena. It was Rinaldini who advised Elena to ask the university for permission to apply for a doctorate in theology. The request was vetoed by the Bishop of Padua, based on the fact that she was a woman, but the prelate eventually agreed that she could be a doctor of philosophy.

Read the full article on the Folha de São Paulo website.