It was 9 a.m., Saturday June 25^th, 1678, in Padua, when Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia was granted a doctorate degree in Philosophy. The exam and subsequent ceremony were moved at the eleventh hour in the Virgin Mary chapel of Padua Cathedral, as the usual location could not accommodate all the people who had come to attend the event. During the exam, Piscopia’s learned and brilliant answers regarding the given puncta – about Aristotle’s work – stunned the examination panel, who, in a secret ballot, enthusiastically granted her the title of «magistra et doctrix in philosophia». Piscopia was the first woman in the whole world to graduate from university and be bestowed a title as prestigious as Doctor.

She was given all the insignia of her new rank, the same as her male peers: the book, symbolising doctrine; the ring, symbolising the union with science; the ermine cape, symbolising the sense of dignity the title of Doctor came with; and the laurel wreath, symbolising triumph. In subsequent years, few other women would be given the same honours: during the 18^th century, only two women (one in Bologna, and one in Pavia) would graduate in Philosophy, despite a greater number of applicants.

In Cà Loredan, which used to be the home of the Cornaro family and today houses the Venice City Hall, a plaque tells Elena’s story to the public. Piscopia was born here on June 5^th, 1646. The Cornaro family was an ancient and noble household, which produced four Doge of Venice and nine cardinals. They were also related to Caterina Cornaro (1434-1510), queen of Cyprus and later Lady of Asolo.

Her sharp mind and the depth and breadth of her studies were not the sole reasons for Piscopia’s exceptional degree. Like many such cases of female scholars or artists throughout history – such as Maria Gaetana Agnesi and many others – her father’s support played a crucial role: he was a cultured man, a known patron of the arts, who had established relationships with many literati of the time; he was also the heir to one of the richest – as in, best stocked – libraries of the country, where many academics went to further their studies (among them, the famous Benedictine monk Giovanni Mabillon). The women in the Cornaro family were just as influential. Piscopia’s mother, Zanetta Boni, was not of noble origins, and thus lived with her future husband for twenty years and birthed five children (including Elena) before getting married – this showed a remarkable sense of freedom towards what was considered proper at the time. Boni was officially considered her husband’s uxor optima – smart, proud, and more than capable of raising virtuous and respected daughters. Born in 1655, Elena’s younger sister Caterina also distinguished herself for her wit and knowledge; it is worth mentioning that in her will she advised her daughter to love her own daughters just as much as her sons.

Piscopia’s father Giovanni Battista Cornaro, Procurator of Saint Mark, was in turn encouraged to support his daughter’s inclinations by the family friend Don Giovanni Battista Fabris – a parish priest, theology doctor, philosophy scholar, and classicist – who soon noticed Piscopia’s brilliant mind. He convinced her father to have her start studying at the age of seven and he soon became her first teacher of ancient greek. Followed by erudite teachers for each subject, Piscopia became well-versed in mathematics, astronomy, and geography, all the while pursuing her passion for music. Maddalena Cappelli, a renowned organist, became not only her teacher, but also a friend and a confidant. Piscopia learned classical and modern languages, from Latin to ancient and modern Greek, from Spanish to French and Hebrew – the latter taught to her by the famous academic and holy rabbi Shemuel Aboaf, head of the Venetian Jewish community. Still, her greatest interest was in philosophy and theology: Carlo Rinaldini and Father Felice Rotondi, two of the greatest professors in Padua University, supervised her studies in these fields – later on, Father Rotondi would write that Piscopia had been more akin to a teacher than a disciple when it came to theology.

Piscopia’s fame quickly spread – she became part of many academies all over Europe, and dozens upon dozens of scholars came from all the nearby countries to pay her a visit. Piscopia was a sociable woman who appreciated a good opportunity for connection, debate, and sharing knowledge with others. Still, since she was a child, her introverted temperament had her more prone to an austere and sober life. She refused to get married, even when a German prince asked for her hand. Piscopia dedicated herself to her studies, away from society’s spotlight, choosing knowledge and charitable acts over social events. She became a Benedictine oblate: she took a vow of chastity, added ‘Scolastica’ to her many names (after Saint Benedict’s sister), and kept on living in her house, in secular clothes, beneath which she wore a black, woolen scapular, symbol of the Benedictine nuns.

Encouraged by her father and her teachers, Piscopia asked the University of Padua to have her sit the exam for a Doctorate in Theology. «Universa universis patavina libertas»: the University is free for everything, and everyone. Following its ancient motto, the University was ready to allow Piscopia to sit the exam, making all the necessary changes to the ceremony: the symbolic book would be given to her closed instead of open as per usual, as women were forbidden from teaching theology. But in the end, being a woman proved to be an insurmountable obstacle: the Bishop of Padua and Chancellor of the University, Cardinal Gregorio Barbarigo, fiercely opposed her sitting the exam, not without many sarcastic comments. After much debating, the University agreed for Piscopia to gain a Doctorate in philosophy, instead of theology, and strictly limited to that field. Piscopia was thus bestowed the title of «magistra in philosophia tantum» and became part of the University’s College of Philosophers and Doctors; in the same year, she was a member of the supervising panel for a student’s degree in philosophy. After going back to Venice for a brief time, Piscopia moved back to Padua until her premature death from tuberculosis occurred on July 26^th, 1684. She was buried in the local Benedictine abbey of Santa Giustina. Despite the fame she had achieved in her lifetime, she was soon forgotten, until the 300^th anniversary of her Doctorate. We do not know much else about her. An anthology of her poetry and literary writings was published in Parma in 1688; a statue in her memory was commissioned by Caterina Dolfin and still stands in Palazzo del Bo, the main building at Padua University; her portrait hangs in the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana museum in Milan. Overseas, Piscopia’s figure appears in a stained-glass window at Vassar College – the first all-female university of the USA – and at Pittsburgh there is a whole fresco dedicated to her, thanks to the initiative of Ruth Crawford, an alumna of the university. Nevertheless, Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia is a perfect example of female freedom and assertiveness: although she didn’t manage to upturn all the standing social rules of the time, she definitely pushed the doors open for women when it came to acknowledge their abilities in thinking and teaching – to men and women both, and not limited to one subject, instead facing the philosophical question of knowledge itself and the matter of reality with the strength of their minds.


Translated by Arianna Premoli.