Vittoria Piisimi (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1595), was an Italian actress, singer, dancer, theatre director and musician. Known as ''la divina Vittoria Piisimi'', she was one of the most famous Italian actors of the period. She and the Italian actress

Isabella Andreini Isabella Andreini (born Isabella Canali; 156210 June 1604), also known as Isabella Da Padova, was an Italian actress and writer. Andreini was a member of the I Gelosi, Compagnia dei Comici Gelosi, a Touring theatre, touring theatre company that ...

were described as great rivals.

Life

Piisimi was the ''

prima donna In opera or ''commedia dell'arte'', a prima donna (; Italian for 'first lady'; : ''prime donne'') is the leading female singer in the company, the person to whom the ''prime'' roles would be given. ''Prime donne'' often had grand off-stage pe ...

'' of the famous ''

commedia dell'arte Commedia dell'arte was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Theatre of Italy, Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is a ...

'' Gelosi company of

Flaminio Scala Flaminio Scala (27 September 1552 – 9 December 1624), commonly known by his stage name Flavio,Landolfi 1993. was an Italian stage actor of ''commedia dell'arte'', scenario writer, playwright, director, producer, manager, agent, and editor. Con ...

. The company, first mentioned in 1568, was the first ''commedia'' to tour outside Italy when it performed in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1571, and was described as the foremost ''commedia dell'arte'' troupe. Piisimi is first mentioned in 1573, and confirmed as a member of the Gelosi troupe in 1574. She would in fact have been active earlier, as it was known that her lover, actor Adriano Valerini from

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

, left her for

Vincenza Armani Vincenza Armani (c. 1530 in Venice – 11 September 1569), was an Italian actress, singer, poet, musician, lace maker and sculptor. She was one of the most famous Italian actresses of the period and known as the 'Divine Vincenza Armani'. She ...

, who died in 1569, four years before 1573. Piisimi replaced Armani as the ''prima donna'' of the Italian theatre. Piisimi combined her acting with singing, dancing and by writing music and was reportedly admired also in these fields. She was called ''comica gelosa'' and mainly played the parts of heroine and subretto. On July 24, 1574, she performed for

Henry III of France Henry III (; ; ; 19 September 1551 – 2 August 1589) was King of France from 1574 until his assassination in 1589, as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1573 to 1575. As the fourth son of King Henry II of France, he ...

in the role of

Pallas Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress o ...

in Venice, where she received great praise. During his visit to Venice in 1576, reportedly because of Piismi's previous performance, Henry III requested that the French ambassador provide money to the Gelosi so that they could travel to perform at the French court. In 1579-1581, she was the leader of her own theatre company. She then returned to the Gelosi. In 1589, the Gelosi troupe performed in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

at the wedding of Grand Duke

Ferdinando I de' Medici Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (30 July 1549 – 17 February 1609) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1587 to 1609, having succeeded his older brother Francesco I, who presumably died from malaria. Early life Ferdinando was the ...

and

Christina of Lorraine Christina of Lorraine (, ) (16 August 1565 – 19 December 1637) was a noblewoman of the House of Lorraine who became a Grand Duchess of Tuscany by marriage. She served as Regent of Tuscany jointly with her daughter-in-law during the minority of ...

. At this event, the "rival ''prime donne''" Vittoria Piisimi performed as the gypsy in ''La Zingara'' and Isabella Andreini as the madwoman in ''La Pazzia d'Isabella''. Their performances were considered the great highlight of the event and became a famous event of their rivalry. In 1592, Piisimi left the Gelosi theatre. She was for a time the director of the Gli Uniti company. She returned to the Gelosi company in 1595. The death date of Piisimi is unknown. She is last mentioned in 1595.

References

External links

Commedia dell'Arte Women Timeline

* M. A. Katritzky:
The Art of Commedia: A Study in the Commedia Dell'Arte 1560-1620 with special reference to the visual records
' (2006) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Piisimi, Vittoria 16th-century births Year of death unknown Italian female dancers 16th-century Italian musicians Commedia dell'arte actors 16th-century Italian actresses Italian stage actresses Italian opera singers Italian women singers 16th-century Italian singers 16th-century dancers 16th-century theatre managers Women theatre managers and producers 16th-century Italian businesswomen 16th-century Italian businesspeople Renaissance women