Elena Cornaro Piscopia

Venetian philosopher (1646–1684)

Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia (/US//k//ɔːr/,/n//ɑːr//oʊ// //p//ɪ/'/s//k//oʊ//p//i//ə/, ˈɛːlena luˈkrɛttsja korˈnaːro piˈskɔːpja; 5 June 1646 – 26 July 1684) or Elena Lucrezia Corner (, korˈnɛr), also known in English as Helen Cornaro, was a Venetian philosopher of noble descent who in 1678 became one of the first women to receive an academic degree from a university and the first to receive a Doctor of Philosophy degree.

Elena Cornaro Piscopia was born in the Palazzo Loredan, in Venice, Republic of Venice, on 5 June 1646. She was the third child of Gianbattista Cornaro Piscopia and his mistress Zanetta Boni. Her mother was a peasant and her parents were not married at the time of her birth. Lady Elena was therefore not technically a member of the Cornaro family by birth, as Venetian law barred illegitimate children of nobles from noble privilege even if recognized by the noble parent. Worse for Zanetta's case, she was from an extremely poor peasant family. Zanetta had likely fled to Venice in order to escape starvation, and soon found herself the mistress of a member of one of the most powerful noble dynasties in the Republic. Gianbattista and Zanetta married officially in 1654 but their children were barred from noble privilege. In 1664 Elena’s father was chosen to become the Procuratore di San Marco de supra, the treasurer of St Mark's Cathedral, a coveted position among Venetian nobility. That made Gianbattista second only to the Doge of Venice in terms of precedence. Because of this connection Lady Elena was prominent in the Marriage of the Sea celebration, even though she was born illegitimate. Her father tried to arrange betrothals for her several times but she rebuffed each man's advances. Early biographers' suggestion that she took a vow of chastity at age 11 is disputed by Francesco Ludovico Maschietto. In 1665 she took the habit of a Benedictine oblate without, however, becoming a nun. On the recommendation of Carlo Rinaldini, her tutor in philosophy, Felice Rotondi petitioned the University of Padua to grant Cornaro the laurea in theology. When Cardinal Gregorio Barbarigo, the bishop of Padua, learned that she was pursuing a degree in theology, he refused on the grounds that she was a woman. thus becoming one of the first women to receive an academic degree from a university,. The last seven years of her life were devoted to study and charity. She died in Padua in 1684 of tuberculosis and was buried in the church of Santa Giustina.

A few months after Elena's conferral, Charles Patin, lecturer in medicine at Padua, applied for his daughter Gabrielle Charlotte [Carla Gabriella] Patin to begin a degree. The university, supported by Gianbattista Cornaro Piscopia, changed its statutes to prohibit women from graduating. The next female doctorate was granted by the University of Bologna in 1732 to Laura Bassi. Cornaro's death was marked by memorial services in Venice, Padua, Siena and Rome. The it published two memorial volumes of tributes by members: one to mark her degree, and the other her death. Padua's Accademia dei Ricovrati also produced a volume at her death. Her statue was placed in the University of Padua, which caused a medal to be struck in her honour in 1685. In 1895 Abbess Mathilda Pynsent of the English Benedictine Nuns in Rome had Cornaro's tomb opened, the remains placed in a new casket, and a suitable tablet inscribed to her memory. Her graduation ceremony is depicted in the Cornaro Window, installed in 1906 in the West Wing of the Thompson Memorial Library at Vassar College. At the suggestion of Ruth Crawford Mitchell, Cornaro is depicted in Giovanni Romagnoli's 1949 mural in the Italian Nationality Room at the University of Pittsburgh. Earlier biographies of Elena Cornaro include Massimiliano Dezza's Vita di Helena Lucretia Cornara Piscopia (Venice: Bosio, 1686) and Antonio Lupis' L'eroina veneta (Venice: Curti, 1689). Her collected works, with a biography, were published four years after her death by Benedetto Bacchini. Her most recent English language biography is The Lady Cornaro: Pride and Prodigy of Venice by Jane H. Guernsey (College Avenue Press, 1999). In 2022, the Italian authorities refused to add her statue to the 78 statues of famous male scientists in Prato della Valle in Padua, arguing that the statue of the scientist already exists somewhere on the university campus.

Benedetto Bacchini (1688) Actorem Helenæ (in Latin; Bacchini ed. 1688 pp. 1–48)