Colonna, Vittoria (c. 1492-1547)

Italian noblewoman and poetess. Many of her Petrarchan sonnets idealize her husband, the marquis of Pescara, who was killed at the Battle of Pavia in 1525. She was a friend of the artist Michelangelo, who addressed some of his finest sonnets to her.

Vittoria Colonna was born in Marino, southeast of Rome, into a well-known Roman family, and married in 1509. She was acquainted with many of the important literary figures of the day. After being widowed she lived in retirement, often in convents. The Rime spirituali/Spiritual Poems are the most characteristic of her poems.