Devorà Ascarelli

An Italian book which features translation into rhymed Italian by Devorà Ascarelli. The American Israelite. Cincinnati, Ohio. 19-04-1867. Page 6. Devorà Ascarelli was a 16th-century Italian poet living in Rome, Italy. Ascarelli was likely the first Jewish woman to have a book of her own work published.

Biography Little is known about Devorà Ascarelli, and some of what is known is contradictory. The dedication of her book, L’abitacolo Degli Oranti, indicates that she lived in Rome in the 16th century and was married to Joseph Ascarelli. No maiden name is mentioned in relation to Ascarelli. Some have suggested that she and her husband may have been cousins and thus shared the same family name.

The manner in which the book was published is also contested. Some sources claim that a friend named David della Rocca published Ascarelli's work posthumously. Others claim that Rocca, a Roman Jew, would not have been allowed to publish in Venice, and that it is more likely that Rocca simply assisted the still living Ascarelli with the publication of her work.

Based on her poetry, Ascarelli has been described as "pious," "demure and withdrawn". Others have argued that the devotional tone of Ascarelli's poetry may have been chosen in conformance with gender roles of her time.