Vittoria Accoramboni

The work opens as a faithful translation of a long‑forgotten manuscript unearthed in Padua, offering a rare glimpse into the customs and power plays of Italy around 1500. The narrator, an antiquarian collector, has painstakingly rendered the plain, vivid prose of an anonymous chronicler whose aim is simply to record events without embellishment. Listeners will hear a voice that feels both scholarly and intimate, as if a seasoned archivist is guiding you through dusty pages of real history.

At its heart is the striking story of Vittoria Accoramboni, a young lady of noble birth whose beauty and effortless grace captivate everyone who meets her. From her earliest years in the duchy of Urbino, suitors crowd her father's palace, their ambitions tangled with fierce rivalries and whispered envy. When her parents eventually favor the ambitious Félix Peretti, the stage is set for the tangled alliances and perilous intrigues that will define her short, turbulent life.