Magdalena Lucia Ramberti [i]was born Oct 16 1551 to Helena and Nicolo da Canal, the 3rd surviving child of 5 pregnancies. Her mother a retired courtesan saved her money to have a good dowry so she could marry a gentleman who was rising among Pietro Lando’s [ii] household. Her two older brothers Domenico and Luca grew up to serve the mother church. Domenico become an honored solider in the church's Army and Lucca became a priest and traveled to raise money for the church's coffer's.
At age twelve Magda's father succumbed to sickness. With her son's gone Helena had to turn to the one trade she knew, to support herself and her daughter. With the dowry wars raging she knew she could never afford to marry Magda well[iii]. She began teaching her daughter[iv] what it took to become a courtesan and Magda flourished at her lessons. Her mother introduced her to all the right people and reminding her to not fritter away her hard earned money. She also encouraged Magda to use the name of one of her clients instead of the common Da Canal so she could move in higher circles[v].
Magda now lives in a lovely Casetta (small house) purchased by one of Magda's Patrons. It faces Rio d. Verona and Backs onto Calle Madona. One side of the casetta overlooks Rio di San Luca[vi]. It is a perfect location close to three large Churches and far enough away from the Grand Canal that her clients might come to her salon's without the distasteful looks of their wives.
[i] [Magdalena]: "Italian Renaissance Women's Names" by Rhian Lyth of Blackmoor Vale (http://heraldry.sca.org/
[ii] Pietro Lando, Doge of Venice (1538–1545)
Setton, Kenneth M. The Papacy and the Levant, 1204-1571. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1976.
Setton, Kenneth M. The Papacy and the Levant, 1204-1571. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1976.
[iii] The dowry wars had grown to such an extreme that the price to be married became outrageous and out of reach for many middle and lower middle class women. Without marriage, income was limited, status difficult to come by and some women learned to use their minds and bodies for financial gain.
Brown, Patricia Fortini. Private Lives in Renaissance Venice: Art, Architecture, and the Family. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004.
Brown, Patricia Fortini. Private Lives in Renaissance Venice: Art, Architecture, and the Family. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004.
[iv] There are listings in the registry of Courtesans where a mother is listed as a courtesan and later she registers her daughter
Rosenthal, Margaret F. The Honest Courtesan: Veronica Franco, Citizen and Writer in Sixteenth-century Venice. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992.
Rosenthal, Margaret F. The Honest Courtesan: Veronica Franco, Citizen and Writer in Sixteenth-century Venice. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992.
[v] A common practice
Masson, Georgina. Courtesans of the Italian Renaissance. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1976.
Masson, Georgina. Courtesans of the Italian Renaissance. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1976.
[vi] Martin, John Jeffries. Venice Reconsidered the History and Civilization of an Italian City-state, 1297-1797. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000.
