The Nun of Monza

Sister Virginia Maria was an Italian nun. She gave birth to two children fathered by a local aristocrat, and had connived in the murder of another nun to cover up the affair. This took place in Monza, in northern Italy, at the beginning of the 17th century. Following this scandal she became widely known as the Nun of Monza. Her life inspired one of the characters in Alessandro Manzoni's novel The Betrothed, which has also been dramatized several times. Mario Mazzucchelli's book The Nun of Monza (1963) presents a nonfictional account of Sister Viriginia's life, drawing upon historical records.

4 December 1575

Born on the same birth day (4 December): Ajit Agarkar • Andriy Pylyavskyi • Andy Hess • Cassandra Wilson • Claude Renoir • Herbert Read • Jaclyn Victor • Jay DeMerit • Max Baer Jr. • Naomi Robson • Paul H. O'Neill • Rick Middleton • Suzanne Malveaux • Tahir Dawar • Thomas Carlyle