I got curious about women in the Italian Renaissance after binge-watching that Medici show last weekend. Saw all these fancy ladies in paintings but thought: “Wait, what were they actually DOING?” Grabbed my laptop at 2 AM and dove straight into Google rabbit holes.
Step 1: Hitting dead ends
Typed “Renaissance women” expecting cool warrior queens or scientists. Most articles started with “they were property” and stopped there. Super frustrating – like ordering pizza and getting salad. Even academic papers felt like reading shampoo instructions.
Step 2: Hunting actual stories
Switched tactics: searched individual names instead. Found gold digging through digital museum archives! Example: Caterina Sforza straight-up led armies while wearing armor. Wrote it on a sticky note: “Badass grandma vibes.” Another win: Sofonisba Anguissola painting royalty despite women being banned from art schools. Girl literally studied by sketching her brothers’ tutor.
Step 3: Connecting the dots
Organized findings like this:
- Rich wives = CEOs: Ran estates, handled cashflow when husbands traveled for years (looking at you, Venetian merchants).
- Nuns = scholars: Only escape from marriage? Convents! Wrote books and composed music.
- Merchant class = ninjas: Kept family businesses alive through wars/plagues while men died young.
The ah-ha moment
Realized Renaissance wasn’t just Michelangelo’s ceiling. Women basically ran society off-stage while dudes took credit. Found letters where some Florence lady shamed her husband for bad investments. He actually apologized! Proof they had more sway than history books admit.
Finished by texting my niece: “Drop that princess crap – go be a Medicis.” Now I gotta stop – pizza’s here and my cat’s attacking the olives.
