Sarra Copia Sullam

Sarra Copia Sullam was a poet and writer born to an affluent Venetian family. She received an Italian and Jewish education. In 1618, she began a four-year correspondence with the Italian monk Ansaldo Cebà, sparked by her reading of his drama L’Ester. In the 1620s, Copia Sullam began hosting a literary salon in her house, which was frequented by prominent literary figures, many of whom she provided with financial support. In 1621, she was forced into a dispute with Baldassare Bonifacio, in which he accused her of denying the immortality of the soul. Her response appeared in the form of a manifesto that year. Copia Sullam wrote numerous sonnets, some of which survived and attest to her great erudition and literary skill.