Italian ‘saint’ Elena Piscopia was the first woman to earn a university doctorate

WHEN an a mother superior stumbled across the neglected headstone of a 17th century woman she did some research and found that Elena Piscopia had been the first woman to earn a doctorate

A 19th century illustration by Giuseppe Gatteri of Elena Cornaro Piscopia becoming the first woman awarded a doctorate of philosophy in 1678.

INa small chapel in Padua’s Basilica of Santa Giustina in 1895, Abbess Mathilda Pynsent, head of the English Benedictine nuns in Rome, stumbled across a long forgotten and broken headstone. It belonged to woman who had been buried very humbly as an oblate, or a lay nun — one who takes a vow but does not formally join the order.

Not familiar with the name and wanting to do some justice to the poor woman’s last resting place, the abbess (mother superior) decided to find out more. She discovered that on June 25, 1678, the woman — Elena Piscopia — had been part of a history-making ceremony.

On that day, 640 years ago today, Piscopia was the first woman to be awarded a doctorate from a university. A woman with an astonishing breadth of erudition, Piscopia spoke seven languages, was an expert in the fields of astronomy, mathematics, linguistics and philosophy, and also an accomplished musician. The abbess also learnt that Piscopia was far from impoverished, but was not ostentatious. Coming from a wealthy family she had refused to be buried in the grand tomb her father had built for her, preferring a more earthy, less lavish interment.

An 17th century engraving of Elena Cornaro Priscopia (1646-1684), the first woman awarded a PhD.

Impressed by Piscopia’s achievements and her character, Pynsent was determined that the scholar’s name would not be forgotten. She had the remains interred in a casket, more befitting of an important figure, and honoured Piscopia with a plaque listing her achievements.

The gesture did not go unnoticed and the publicity it garnered resulted in a collection to erect a statue in Piscopia’s honour at the University of Padua.

Today, although not a household name, Piscopia’s name lives on as one of the great trailblazers for women’s education at a time when few women were scholars.

She was born Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia in Venice on June 5, 1646. Her father Gianbattista Cornaro Piscopia was from a prominent and wealthy Italian family, but her mother, Zanetta Boni, was his mistress (they did not marry until 1654). However, Gianbattista openly acknowledged the child as his and, hoping to raise her and his family above the scandal by marrying his daughter to another noble family, he allowed her to be educated.

Contemporary portrait of Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia (1646-1684).

At the time education was something of a rarity for most women, but nobles were taught languages, music and art so they could show off their refinements in polite company. Fathers put daughters on display at social gatherings, reciting poetry in Latin or Greek or playing instruments, to lure prospective husbands.

Piscopia proved to be a brilliant student and went well beyond the education of other women of her era, learning several languages, mathematics, philosophy and astronomy. But the subject that interested her most was theology and at 11 she secretly took a vow of chastity.

Her father only discovered this much later when he tried to marry her off and she had to reveal that she was unable to marry because she had taken a vow to become a Benedictine oblate.

As Piscopia’s reputation as a scholar continued to grow she also performed charitable acts for the poor. Her 1669 translation of the Spanish work Colloquio di Cristo nostro Redentore all’anima devota (“Dialogue between Christ Our Redeemer and a Devoted Soul”) by Carthusian monk Giovanni Lanspergio into Italian brought her fame in intellectual circles.

Believing she had proved herself the equal of scholars of philosophy, in 1672 her tutor put in a request to have Picscopia awarded a laurea (a post secondary degree) by the University of Padua.

After initially supporting the idea, thinking she was studying philosophy, Gregorio Cardinal Barbarigno, bishop of Padua barred her from gaining the degree. He would only allow her to be awarded a philosophy degree.

During her studies, in 1667 she took part in a series of debates — in Greek and Latin — over points of philosophy with other scholars that drew crowds among the intelligentsia and political elite.

On June 25, 1678, she defended her request for a degree before university authorities in Padua Cathedral, successfully translating and explaining randomly selected passages from the works of Aristotle. She was granted a Dottorato di Ricerca (Doctor of Philosophy).

But the years of study and gruelling work of tending to the poor took its toll on her health. On July 26, 1684, she died of tuberculosis. The news soon spread throughout Italy, some people reporting that a “saint” had died.