Isotta Nogarola (1418–1466)

Isotta Nogarola was born into a large, well-to-do patrician family of Verona, Italy. Her aunt was the poet Angela Nogarola. Isotta and her sisters received an excellent education for girls of their day, studying Greek and Latin with masters such as Martino Rizzoni. Isotta was an outstanding student who devoted herself to learning, and she became noted for her writings on theological literature, poetry, orations, and dialogues. She corresponded with the famous teacher Guarino of Verona and other well-known humanists. She never married and embraced a life of celibacy and solitude. Her best known work was a 1563 dialogue on Adam and Eve, in which she defends Eve from both the Bible and St. Augustine, helping to open centuries of dispute on the topic.