COURTESANS AGAIN
Another funky courtesan name: Cicilia Vintiana di Roma.
I've seen different spellings of the name, but in general it means "Venetian Cecilia living in Rome" (Cecilia Venetiana di Roma). This is consistent with earlier examples I've listed - a woman selling her body would usually not do it in the city state where she was born. It might have been because of laws only allowing foreigners to sell sex, or it might have been to protect the reputation of one's family. It might also be a selling point, to be "exotic". "Our" Cicilia is registered in Rome in 1526, living in the Campo Marzio district. This was before prostitutes were ordered to live within the walls of a specific area of town.
Even more intriguing: She's described as one scourning marriage, and fleeing from converse with men. She was believed to be "female in both halves".
This might not make sense unless you know the philosophy of the ancient Aristofanes. He recited that humans originally consisted of two heads, four arms and legs and two sets of genitalia. It wasn't given all were half men, half women (hermaphrodites). Some were exclusively men, some were exclusively women. Zeus punished humans by dividing them into two (I.E. into "normal" human beings, it always seem to be the ultimate punishment of the gods, doesn't it?). But the separated halves would always long for their other part. Hence, some longed for the opposite sex, some the same sex - it depended on what they originally had been (more about that in the article "Female Sexuality and Women's Equality" by Jacqueline Murray).
Cicilia Vintiana had originally been two females, and would forever long for her other female self. Hence, she was a lesbian. What I wonder about is whether this affected her profession or not. Would she be one still dealing with men? Or did she serve the gentleWOMEN of Rome? I doubt it, but it's still intriguing.
Not really a point to this post other than enjoying the name Cicilia Vintiana.
ETA. even more courtesan and prostitute names from 16th and 17th century Rome:
Domitilla Corvina (probably from Northern Italy)
Agnese de Incoronatis
Aurelia
Francesca d'Avila (from Avila in Spain)
Vittoria Capuana (from Capua in Southern Italy)
Menica of Pesaro (from Pesaro in Eastern Italy)
Laura di Ancona (from Ancona in Eastern Italy)
Giovanna Morello
Cleria
Ciccia
(from the article "Honor and Gender in Rome", by Elizabeth S. Cohen)