
A radiant procession carries Donna Lukrezia into the court of Ferrara, her presence announced beneath a violet sky and a canopy of gleaming gold. As the daughter of a powerful pope and newly wedded to Don Alfonso, she becomes the focal point of a ceremony that blends political alliance with almost ritual reverence. The spectacle draws the city’s most learned men, each eager to decipher the meaning of her striking eyes and ethereal bearing.
Among the observers are a naturalist, a moral philosopher, an astrologer, and a youthful jurist, each offering a different theory about the woman’s origins—some see her as a marvel of nature, others whisper of darker, perhaps supernatural, lineage. Beneath her graceful smile, Lukrezia wrestles with memories of a shadowed past that threaten to surface, even as she strives to present herself as the perfect consort.
Listeners will be drawn into a world of Renaissance intrigue, where beauty, intellect, and hidden histories clash, and where every glance may conceal a secret waiting to be uncovered.
Language
de
Duration
~4 hours (239K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Release date
2004-09-01
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1825–1898
Known for rich historical novellas and vivid narrative poems, this Swiss writer brought the past to life with sharp drama and psychological depth. His work helped make him one of the major German-language authors of the 19th century.
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