A Cyclopaedia of Female Biography/Fonseca, Eleonora, Marchioness of
FONSECA, ELEONORA, MARCHIONESS OF,
A lady of great beauty and talents, was born at Naples in 1768. She cultivated botany, and other branches of natural history, and assisted Spallanzani in his philosophical investigations. Though possessed of great beauty, she devoted her youth to the cultivation of her mind. She studied with much care natural history and anatomy. As might be supposed, she was a warm partisan of the French revolution. When the king and royal family were obliged to leave Naples in 1799, the Marchioness of Fonseca narrowly escaped the fury of the Lazzaroni, who threatened the lives of those who were in the French interest. During the short-lived existence of the Parthenopeau republic, in 1799, she warmly espoused the popular cause, and edited a republican journal, called "The Neapolitan Monitor." For these expressions of her political principles the marchioness was executed, on the 20th. of July, by the restored government. Her private character was irreproachable.