La principessa, la casa e la politica. La virtus femminile tra pubblico e privato all’ombra dell’Accademia pontaniana

The paper studies the conception of the character of the noblewoman in humanistic literature. In particular, a wedding oration, which was written by the Arag-onese humanist Giovanni Brancato on the occasion of the wedding of King Ferrante of Aragon with Princess Giovanna (1477), his cousin, is examined: it is a panegyric piece offering an image of the queen of the highest virtue, both on a private level and in terms of public virtues and political capacity, according to the idea of the Renaissance virago.