Gaspara Stampa

Gaspara Stampa was born in Padua in 1525, in a middle class family. At the death of her father, Bartolomeo, her family moved to Venice in 1531. There, she got in touch with some academical societies which bring her few important knowledge of that time; joined Petrarc current wrote some poems and rhymes considered the most well done and sensual writings of the italian women letterature.

Few times after the moving in Venice her brother Baldassarre, a good intellectual too, died and this event impressed  her  and her sister Cassandra, who attended the most important authorities of the venetian society too, very much.

Her personal life, or better her personal way of life, definied "libertine" has always divide the historical to consider her or not as a courtesan, inscribed in the venetian catalogue in which courtesans of high and raffinate education were inscribed with the relative prize but there weren't such tests, as for example Veronica Franco, an other italian writer of that same period.

Her sentimental life was of inspiration, she felt in love with an important aristocratic called Collaltino di Collalto who reciprocated her love in a very surface way after his abandonment, her heart become shaken and choose to think about a new flame: Bartolomeo Zen.

Her artistic expression is tracked in "The Rhymes" (Rime) a huge volume of her works (311 compositions) but she was also a good singer and musician.

She died  in Venice in 1554 for an intestinal fever, and her work "The Rhymes" was published by her sister Cassandra.

This poem is an example of her talent:

S'avien ch'un giorno Amor a me mi renda,e mi ritolga a questo empio signore;di che paventa e non vorrebbe, il core,tal gioia del penar suo par che prenda;voi chiamerete invan la mia stupendafede, e l'immenso e smisurato amore,di vostra crudeltà, di vostro erroretardi pentite, ove non è chi intenda.Ed io cantando la mia libertade,da così duri lacci e crudi sciolta,passerò lieta a la futura etade.E, se giusto pregar in ciel s'ascolta,vedrò forse anco in man di crudeltadela vita vostra a mia vendetta involta.

"Rime d'amore" ,IX, Gaspara Stampa

Her malaise for her lover duke Collaltino di Collalto, who had never time for her, probably inspired this poem full of passion and pain:

Se voi non foste a maggior cose vòlto,onde 'l vostro splendor, Venier, sormonte,avendo sì gran stil, rime sì pronte,e de' lacci d'Amore essendo sciolto,vi pregherei che 'l valor e 'l bel voltoe l'altre grazie del mio chiaro contea la futura età faceste cònte,poi che 'l poterlo fare a me è tolto;e faceste ancor cònto il foco mioe la mia fede oltra ogni fede ardente,degna d'eterna vita, e non d'oblio.Ma, poi degno rispetto nol consente,vedrò, tal qual io sono, adombrarn'iouna minima parte solamente.

Rime, CCLII, Gaspara Stampa

Gabriela Mistral

Today, in 1957, died in New York a great poet, first latin american woman to win the Nobel Prize for Litterature in 1945, she was Gabriela Mistral, born Lucila de María del Perpetuo Socorro Godoy Alcayaga in Vicuña, Chile, in 1889.

Her works show a very intimate themes of sorrow, maternity, death and love, themes that she knew trough her life when her first love lost life, when her beloved mother died, when her nephew also had suicide. She had a great life in satisfactions but also in misfortunes.

In her life she was a teacher and in her job among her students had, as a pupil, Pablo Neruda who encouraged to write.

She is known to be a poet, a teacher and a feminist, here is a little poem from Tala (Destruction) , her first book dedicated to her mother died in the meanwhile she wrote this work and from Desolaciòn.

TODAS íBAMOS A SER REINAS

"En la tierra seremos reinas,
y de verídico reinar, y siendo grandes nuestros
reinos, llegaremeos todas al mar."

from "Tala";

LA MUJER ESTERIL

La mujer que no mece un hijo en el regazo,(cuyo calor y aroma alcance a sus entrañas),tiene una laxitud de mundo entre los brazos;todo su corazón congoja inmensa baña.

El lirio le recuerda unas sienes de infante;el Angelus le pide otra boca con ruego;e interroga la fuente de seno de diamantepor qué su labio quiebra el cristal en sosiego.

Y al contemplar sus ojos se acuerda de la azada;piensa que en los de un hijo no mirará extasiada,al vaciarse sus ojos, los follajes de octubre.

Con doble temblor oye el viento en los cipreses.¡Y una mendiga grávida, cuyo seno florececual la parva de enero, de vergüenza la cubre!

from "Desolación" .

The Befana day

In Italy, on 6th January is the "Befana day", Befana is the name of a witch which brings sweet and candy to good children and coal (made of sugar) to bad ones in a socks on the fireplace. Originally this was a pagan rite which in some forms is still found nowadays in local and traditional manifestations held in some regions of Italy in which a witch puppet is burned to represent the archaic pagan meaning of the old that rebirth; the old woman in fact is the old past year and gifts are a well wishes for the new year coming.

The legend says that the old woman met the Re Magi "Three Kings" which invited her to joint the trip to Betlem to adore Jesus but she refused and the morning after she would reach them but can't found the Little Baby Jesus, so from that time she brings gifts to children all over the world hoping one of them could be Jesus and so to be forgive.

Catholicism just in III century a.C. commemorate the divine Jesus manifestations, such as miracles, on the 6th of January with the greek word of Epifania, meaning "divine manifestation" which is the alternative name of the "Befana day" also nowadays.
Emperor Costantino in IV century wanted to eradicate the pagan Sun holiday, on the 25th december, so decided to move the holiday for the birth of Jesus anticipating that day from the 6th Jannuary to 25th December, and on 6th January putted the visit of the Three Kings adoring Baby Jesus.

The Befana represent for me an alternative to Santa Claus, who needs reindeers and elfs, because she is indipendent, she is very active, and give an alternative use of the broom! ;) a good example for all also for Santa and his waist!.
There is a Befana/witch in every woman, so I don't complain when on 6th January people say to me: "Good Befana!"... Perhaps because of the italian feminist slogan of the 60's: "tremble tremble, witches are back!!!"