Orto Botanico Comunale di Lucca - pond and city wall

Lucida Mansi (

Lucca Città di Lucca ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its Province of Lucca, province has a population of 383,9 ...

, c. 1606 –

, c. February 12, 1649) was an Italian noblewoman, and the subject of a legend in the province of

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. She is of uncertain origins.

Biography

Lucida was married very young to Vincenzo Diversi, who was killed in the early years of their marriage. Made a widow early, she was remarried to the old and very wealthy Gaspare di Nicolao Mansi. The wealthy Mansi family was well-known earlier than the 16th century in much of Europe thanks to their trade in

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

. Their marriage was the subject of much gossip, due to their significant age difference, and how much more attractive Lucida was than her husband. Lucida was very vain, and is rumored to have dedicated an entire room in the

Villa Mansi Villa Mansi is a country palace and gardens located in Segromigno in Monte, near Capannori, about 12 kilometers northeast of the city of Lucca in the region of Tuscany, Italy. Biography The villa was initially constructed in the 16th century by ...

to mirrors in order to admire her own appearance. Lucida died of the plague February 12, 1649, and was laid to rest in the chiesa dei Cappuccini a

, in her family's crypt.

Lucida in legend

Lucida Mansi, the daughter of Lucchese nobles, was said to be very beautiful and very vain. She was so cruel and concerned with the pleasures of the flesh that she killed her husband in order to be free to enjoy her many lovers. The legend states that she killed her lovers after sleeping with them by throwing them down a ditch covered in sharp blades. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mansi, Lucida 1600s births 1649 deaths Italian nobility 17th-century deaths from plague (disease) People from Lucca 17th-century Italian women