The Nun of Monza
| Marianna de Leyva y Marino | |
|---|---|
La monaca di Monza, painting by Giuseppe Molteni
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| Born |
Marianna de Leyva y Marino 1575 Milan, Italy |
| Died | 1650 Milan, Italy |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Other names | The Nun of Monza, Virginia Maria |
| Occupation | Nun |
| Known for | Scandal in 1607 Character in the novel 'The Betrothed' by Alessandro Manzoni |
Sister Virginia Maria (born Marianna de Leyva y Marino, Milan, December 4, 1575 – January 17, 1650) was an Italian nun who became involved in a scandal which took place in Monza, in northern Italy, at the beginning of the 17th century. It was revealed that she had given birth to two children fathered by a local aristocrat, and had connived in the murder of another nun to cover up the affair.
Following this scandal she became widely known as "The Nun of Monza". Her life inspired one of the characters in Alessandro Manzoni's novel The Betrothed. It has also been dramatized several times.
Marianna de Leyva y Marino was born in Milan, Italy, on December 4, 1575. She was the daughter of Martìno de Leyva and Virginia Maria Marino, widow of Ercole Pio Count of Sassuolo. Virginia was the daughter and direct heir of one of the richest men in Milan, the banker Tommaso Marino.
Martìno had inherited the County of Monza as the great nephew of Antonio de Leyva, a Spaniard who became a notorious commander in Italy at the service of Charles V, who gave him the Fiefdom of Monza, with its related and substantial incomes. Martino was the second son of Luis de Leyva, Prince of Ascoli, who was an army captain and first Spanish Governor of Milan.
After the death of her mother Virginia in 1576, the infant Marianna was entered into a long trial for her inheritance, which was eventually not resolved in her favor. Her mother wanted to give half of her possessions to Marianna and the other half to her first son, Marco Pio, who was her child from an earlier marriage. Her will was contested by Marco Pio's sisters, who had been left nothing.
Marianna lived with her aunts until 1588. She was 13 years and 3 months old when her father forced her to become a nun in the Monastery Saint Margherita. The Monastery was placed in Spalto di Porta de’ Grandi, also known as via Azzone Visconti. This monastery could only be accessed through a small street, which today is called Via della Signora.
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Wikipedia