Antonia Tanini Pulci

Antonia Tanini Pulci (1452/54 – 1501) was an Italian playwright whose works were published in several editions in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

Early life and family Pulci was born sometime in Florence, Italy between 1452 and 1454. Her father was Francesco d'Antonio di Giannotto Tanini, an Italian merchant. Her mother was Jacopa di Torello di Lorenzo Torelli, a Roman from Trastevere. Pulci had five sisters and a brother along with a half brother and a half sister, who were her father's natural and firstborn children. Pulci's father died in 1467, when she was only about 13–15 years old. Four of Pulci's sisters married well, and at least one sister joined a local convent.

Many of the plays that Antonia wrote may never have been performed. There is little to indicate that these plays were performed live in front of an audience. It is possible that these plays were intended to be read, although some of Antonia's more popular plays were acted out in later years. Antonia's mother was a Jacopa from Rome, so this may have been an homage to her The plays were very well written in “pleasant, recitable verse.” Usually, the plays were between 400 and 800 lines. They were written in ottava rima, which is the standard metre of epic and hagiographic verse narrative.

Publication

The plays were all published in various editions thought the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The works probably sustained their popularity because nuns could use them for convent theatre and devotional reading. The Santa Domitilla, the San Francesco, and the San Guglielma were the most often published out of all of the early editions of Antonia's plays. These plays (except the Santa Domitilla) have been included in various literary collections published in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries

List of works

Rappresentazione di Santa Domitilla (The Play of Saint Domitilla) Rappresentazione di Santa Guglielma (The Play of Saint Guglielma) Rappresentazione di San Francesco (The Play of Saint Francis) Rappresentazione di Giuseppe figlio di Giacob (The Play of Joseph, Son of Jacob) Rappresentazione del figliuol prodigo (The Play of the Prodigal Son) Destruzione di Saul e il pianto di Davit (The Demise of Saul and the Tears of David)