Elections of Abbesses and notions of identity in fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Italy, with special reference to Venice (An investigation of the typology and chronology of women's canonical and political elections during the Renaissance)

Ceremonies of election to abbess were occasions of great display. Election to this highest of offices was the defining moment of a successful nun's li fe, and thereafter self-identity became crucial. This article examines an a natomy of an election of 1509 by a nun from San Zaccaria in Venice; the ill ustrated chronicle of Santa Maria delle Vergini in Venice dated 1523, writt en by an anonymous nun; and the visual representation (in a range of media) of various abbesses from Florence, Pavia, and Venice. Success in election conferred the possibility of personality and consequently legitimated perso nalized representation.