Margherita Sarrocchi

Margherita Sarrocchi (, Naples – 29 October 1617, Rome) was an Italian poet and a supporter of the theories of Galileo. She was also a mathematics student with a vast variety of interests in other sciences. Sarrocchi had numerous other scientific interests like geometry, astronomy, and natural philosophy. However, her writings in these fields have been lost or destroyed. Sarrochi's works have been forgotten and left behind like many other female scientists.

After the death of her father, she was educated in Rome, first at the monastery of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, then by Guglielmo Sirleto, the Vatican librarian, the scholar Rinaldo Corso, and finally by Luca Valerio, the mathematician and Greek scholar.

At Santa Cecilia, Sarrocchi was implored by her guardian, Cardinal Guglielmo Sirleto, to be educated in the sciences and the arts. Thus she began her journey as an early woman in science. By the age of 15, she published her first poem.

In 1599, she married Carlo Birago, a Piedmontese gentleman. She was widowed in 1613, as evidenced by a letter from Valerio to Galileo dated August of that year. In total, she was a part of at least three formal academies. She was very talented, as many intellectuals, such as Niccolò Toppi, reported how skilled she was.

The main character, Scanderbeg, was born in 1405. Scanderbeg fought against the Turks, who were a part of the Ottoman Empire and were great enemies of the Roman Church. In 1443 at the Battle of Niš in Serbia, Scanderbeg and his nephew Hamza Kastrioti defected after the Hungarians overcame the Ottomans. Together Scanderbeg and Kastrioti took fortresses, including Kruja. He relinquished his Islamic faith and fought to maintain his lands and create alliances. These alliances were complex and, at times, unstable. The alliances were eventually called the League of the Albanian People.

Scanderbeg was a skilled leader and fighter, which allowed him to be successful politically and militarily. Scanderbeg attempted to crusade against the Ottomans by working with the church. However, these attempts were not fruitful. Scanderbeg died in Alessio from malaria during a time when his war was not looking favorable. His wife and son moved to Italy.

As well as Sarrocchi seeking advice from Galileo on The Scanderbeide, she also gave Galileo the ability to add a dedication. She stated that she wanted him to write a dedication after reading her writing, to give an educated dedication if it was appropriate.

Translation Rinaldina Russell, professor emerita of European languages and literatures at the City University of New York, Queen's College, has produced a partial translation of the Scanderbeide into English prose for the University of Chicago Press: Scanderbeide: The Heroic Deeds of George Scanderbeg, King of Epirus (October 2006).

Additional works Sarrocchi contributed to many additional works, some of which are no longer present. For instance, she published a geometry essay on the volume and gravity of solids titled "Ex geometria habentur aliquot eius demontrationes allata ab eodem Luca Valerio in suo Commentatio ad Euclidem." In addition, she wrote a theological treatise about Dominican and Jesuit grace and free will called De praedestinatione. Furthermore, she provided commentary on Hero and Leander, written by Giovanni Della Casa. Finally, she constructed a poem about Felice Orsini for the verse anthology at the age of fifteen and created sonnets written with Torquato Tasso that are believed to be concerned with a spiritual journey.

Additional interests Sarrocchi was also well known for being interested in science, specifically astronomy. She was also very interested in astrology, specifically natal charts. However, her research and work in this area was diminished because she was a woman. She was frequently dismissed and her work was often manipulated by men.