(b Modena, 1 Nov 1542; d Rome, 8 Aug 1617). Italian virtuosa singer and poet. She was the niece of the poet Francesco Maria Molza. She married the Modenese gentleman Paolo Porrino in 1560 and was widowed in 1579. Many tributes to her singing appear in both literary and musical prints from the very early 1570s onward. A passage in Francesco Patrizi's manuscript treatise L'amorosa filosofia, written in

(b Modena, 1 Nov 1542; d Rome, 8 Aug 1617). Italian virtuosa singer and poet. She was the niece of the poet Francesco Maria Molza. She married the Modenese gentleman Paolo Porrino in 1560 and was widowed in 1579. Many tributes to her singing appear in both literary and musical prints from the very early 1570s onward. A passage in Francesco Patrizi's manuscript treatise L'amorosa filosofia, written in