Women of Tuscany: stories of talent that changed history

A Patron Saint of Italy and Europe, Catherine of Siena was a woman of faith and extraordinary intellectual courage. Her letters, written to popes and sovereigns, influenced the politics and religion of her time.
She was a mystic, a writer and a mediator, embodying the spiritual and civil heart of medieval Tuscany.

Plautilla Nelli was the first female Florentine painter to be recognized. She was a Dominican nun, self-taught and a female pioneer of art during the Renaissance.
She headed a workshop in the Convent of Santa Caterina da Siena and created altarpieces and large paintings, including a Last Supper, kept in the Santa Maria Novella Musuem: a monumental work that marks the history of sacred art in Florence.

Although not Tuscan by birth, Artemisia Gentileschi’s name is indelibly linked to Florence, a city that recognized her genius and opened the doors of the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno to her - she was the first woman in history to be admitted.
She was an artist of extraordinary talent and character and was able to establish herself in a world dominated by men, working for the Medici court and producing masterpieces such as Judith Beheading Holofernes, which is one of the most powerful and symbolic works of the Italian Baroque period.
Her life was marked by courage and redemption and she remains a shining example of emancipation and brilliance.

Maria Salviati was a key figure in political events during the Florentine Renaissance. She was the mother of Cosimo I de' Medici and exerted a decisive influence on family strategies and the birth of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. She was a cultured and pragmatic woman and was able to combine diplomacy and firmness in an era dominated by men.

Anna Maria Luisa was the last heir of the Medici dynasty and is the custodian of Florence's artistic heritage.
With her Family Pact, she ensured that the Medici collections would remain in the city, leaving a patrimony, unique throughout the world, to posterity.
Thanks to her, Florence still preserves the treasures of the Uffizi, Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens.

Oriana Fallaci, a journalist, writer and war correspondent, was one of the most influential voices of the 20th century.
Through her news reports and novels, she talked about courage and freedom, leaving her mark on Italian journalism and literature.

Margherita Hack, an astrophysicist and popularizer, was the first woman to manage an astronomical observatory in Italy.
With her endless curiosity and Tuscan wit, she brought thousands of people closer to science and knowledge of the universe. 
A life spent gazing at the stars, with her feet firmly planted in her homeland.