RETURN OF THE COURTESAN
Continuing the research on Italian 16th century prostitutes, I'm currently reading an article called The Chapel of the Courtesan and the Quarrel of the Magdalens by Christopher Witcombe.
Basically it's about a chapel in the church SS. Trinità dei Monti, on top of the Spanish steps in Rome. The chapel was according to Vasari and based on its iconography commissioned by a "una meretrice" (which is the more general term for a prostitute). He also writes that one of the portraits of a marble sarcophagus was based on "una famosissima cortigiana di Roma" (a very famous courtesan of Rome).
Alas the chapel doesn't exist in its original form. It didn't remain the "prostitute's chapel" for long, only for some 10-15 years, and was then turned over to Angelo Massimi in 1537. In the 19th century it was totally re-decorated. But the author of the article has tried to theoretically reconstruct it, based on written sources and demolished parts now in various museums in Europe, and finds that the whole chapel was dedicated to Mary Magdalen. She was at the time (early 16th century) still seen as a penitent prostitute, and was the patron saint of other penitent prostitutes. The article deals a lot with this myth, and the publishing of a book in 1518 who challenged the myth. The book caused a great debate, known as "The Quarrel of the Magdalens", which raged in the 1520s. Interestingly, the chapel is very little based on stories from the Bible and more on the whole cult of the Magdalene, almost as a response to this debate.
There is an interesting quote by Thomas Aquinas in the article, as a nod to why the church accepted courtesans and prostitutes in Rome. Basically it tells that prostitution is like a sewer in a palace: if the sewer is removed, the palace will fill with filth. Charming. It also dates the "heyday" of prostitutes in Rome from the end of the 15th century, to the Sack of Rome in 1527. The very highlight was the early 16th century, from which the chapel dates.
Various names are mentioned - many the same as the ones I listed in my previous entry about Roman courtesans, with surnames telling of their foreign status. But one name was new to me: Matrema Non Vole - My Mother Doesn't Want Me. That's a name to remember!
Alas the rest of the article was not printed out, so stay tuned for updates when I get the rest...