GONZAGA, (JULIA) Duchess of Trajetto, and Countess of Fondi, lived iii the 16th Century;
Was the wife of Vespasian Colonna; after whose death, she took for her device an Amaranthus, which the herbalists call Love-flower, with this motto, Non moritura, i.e. never to die; hinting thereby that her first love should be immortal. She was so celebrated for her beauty, that Soliman, emperor of the Turks, wanting to see her, sent Barbarossa, king of Algiers, and his lieutenant-general, with a powerful army to Fondi, the place of her residence, in 1534. But though Barbarossa arrived at night, and took the city by storm, yet Julia escaped; for taking the alarm, she ran away bare-footed, and secured her honour, while she exposed her life to a thousand dangers. This lady has been greatly applauded for her learning; and Thuanus tells us, she was suspected of Lutheranism.
GONZAGA, (LUCRETIA) an Italian Lady, in the 16th Century,
Famous for her wit, learning, and elegant style of writing, and illustrious for her high birth. Her letters were written in so fine a manner, that they were carefully preserved, and a collection of them printed at Venice, in 1552. There is in them no shew of learning; yet, in a letter to Robortellus, she declares, that his commentaries had led her into the true sense of several obscure passages in Aristotle and Æschilus. All the wits of her time were unanimous in her praise, and Hortensio Lando dedicated a work to her, Upon moderating the Passions
