Who Was Caterina Cornaro?
“Venice is one of my favorite cities, and the first time I was there I saw Gentile Bellini’s painting of the Procession in St. Mark’s Square in the Accademia Gallery. The canvas takes up an entire wall and was painted as part of a commission of nine paintings for the Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista. What captured my attention was a tiny figure of a woman who faces one of the doorways of the Basilica. After I discovered who she was and her tragic story, I wanted to write about her.”
Cress Taylor, At First Sight
Caterina Cornaro (1454-1510) was the daughter of Marco Cornaro, a member of the Venetian nobility who had strong trade and commercial interests in Cyprus. Her father and uncle, trying to cement their relationship with the new King of Cyprus, negotiated a marriage between James II and Caterina in 1468. She did not travel to Cyprus to finalize the proxy marriage until 1472. James died soon after and Caterina was appointed regent. After her son, James III, died in 1474, she was crowned queen. However, the Republic of Venice really ruled the island, forcing her to abdicate in 1489. The Venetians now ruled Cyprus directly.
Caterina was allowed to retain her title and retired to Asolo, in the Veneto region, where she maintained a court of literary and artistic distinction. She died in Venice in 1510.
Dorothy Dunnett's novel, Race of Scorpions, takes place in Cyprus during James II reign. For more about Caterina, there is a biography by Holly S. Hurlburt, Daughter of Venice: Caterina Corner, Queen of Cyrus and Woman of the Renaissance.
Author of the Month: Aven Ellis
Every month, I want to highlight a favorite author, whatever their genre.
First up is Aven Ellis. After my husband died, I searched for fun books with happy endings, preferably set in Chicago. One of the authors I discovered was Aven Ellis. Her books are wonderfully written with lots of good stories, relatable characters, and fantastic detail. She is a researcher par excellence, something a historian can appreciate.
Aven is also a remarkably gracious person and I am happy to call her a friend as well. I chose The Aubrey Rules because it is in one of my favorite genres, hockey romance, takes place in Chicago, and rekindled my love of the sport. I know that Cress, hockey fanatic that she is, would love this book.
