#COPIO WIKIPEDIA TRIAL#
This was a very serious accusation of a crime of belief which could have resulted in a trial by inquisition. According to Bonifacio's account, two years before that, Sarra had caused him to realize that she did not believe in the immortality of the soul. In 1621, he wrote a treatise Immortalità dell’anima (On the Immortality of the Soul). The Manifesto īaldassarre Bonifacio was a prominent Christian cleric who had been a guest at Sarra and her husband's receptions. Sarra's letters to Cebà were never published, and are lost. In 1623, Cebà published 53 letters that he had written to Sarra. She did however give Ansaldo permission to pray for her conversion to Christianity, and in return he allowed her to pray for his conversion to Judaism. However, Sarra never submitted to his wish. All the way to the end of their correspondence, Cebà tried to convert Sarra this became the greatest desire of a man who was getting older and whose health was now failing. After that, Sarra started spelling her name with a single "p": Copia.
Sarra's name was originally spelled "Coppia" meaning "pair" or "couple", and in one of Cebà's letters to her, he said that the two letter "p"s in her name were an indication that the two of them could indeed become a couple, despite the fact that he was a Catholic monk and she was married. Ansaldo wrote to Sarra that if she would convert to Christianity, after death they would be united in Heaven. It was as if they both were playing a game of love, although nothing was ever completely spelled out. Their correspondence became more intimate, with some physical allusions and some sexual implications. And on one occasion Sarra sent Cebà her portrait, writing: "This is the picture of one who carries yours deeply graven on her heart, and, with finger pointing to her bosom, tells the world: "Here dwells my idol, bow before him."" Įventually Ansaldo's desire to convert Sarra to Christianity became something more significant: it seems he fell in love with her, a love that was not necessarily just platonic. He was aware of how beautiful Sarra was, because his servant, whom he sent with presents for her, had told him so. Cebà responded to Sarra's letter, and this was the start of four years of letters, gifts and poems, exchanged between the two.Īnsaldo Cebà wrote to Sarra that he wanted to help her convert to Christianity. In the letter she admitted that she carried the book with her all the time, and even slept with it. He had gone on retreat in one of Genoa's monasteries.Ĭebà's book made a great impression on Sarra, and so she wrote a letter to him. Twenty seven years her senior, Ansaldo Cebà had been a diplomat when he was younger, but had decided to spend the rest of his life living as a monk. In 1618, Sarra read the book L’Ester, a drama written by an author called Ansaldo Cebà. Young, lovely, of generous impulses and keen intellectual powers, her ambition set upon lofty attainments, a favorite of the muses, Sarra Copia charmed youth and age." Sarra and Ansaldo Cebà She was described as a woman who "revelled in the realm of beauty, and crystallized her enthusiasm in graceful, sweet, maidenly verses. She and her husband loved the arts, and invited to their home both Christian and Jewish writers, poets, intellectuals, artists, and clerics. She started writing poetry in Italian at a young age and continued for the rest of her life.Īs an adult she married Jacob Sullam.
In her poetry, Sarra demonstrated her knowledge of both the Old Testament and the New Testament, as well as her familiarity with the works of Aristotle and Josephus. Sarra was given a basic education in both Jewish and Italian cultures, and learned several languages including Ancient Greek, Latin and Hebrew. Her parents, Simon and Ricca Copia, had two more daughters, Rachel and Esther. Sarra was born in Venice in 1592 to a Jewish family.
0 kommentar(er)
