Beatrice de Luna, a 16th century banker

AND the beginning of 1553. Having disembarked from a ship coming from Thessaloniki, a “Portuguese” lady entered the city of Suleiman the Magnificent, Istanbul. She is not just any guest: she arrives with 40 horses and four carriages full of her entourage. As she passes by, everyone reveres her. AND Beatrice de Lunawho in the Ottoman Empire, tolerant of the Jews, she will be called by the original name of Gracia Nasi, widow of Francisco Mendes. Since the disappearance of her husband and brother-in-law, Beatrice-Gracia became one of the richest women in Europe. An influential bankerwho lends money to many crowned heads.

Beatrice de Luna, businesswoman

Yet, this elegant and powerful 42-year-old is on the run. For years: after leaving his native Portugal, he lived in Antwerp, then in Venice and Ferrara, and he has long dreamed of finding a safe refuge in the sultan’s lands. In the century of the Inquisition and the Counter-Reformation, being Jewish or Marrano – Jews converted to Christianity – in Europe is even more difficult than in the past. Even if you were baptized Christian as a newborn, as in Beatrice’s case.

For about twenty years now, the figure of Gracia Nasi (1510-1569) has re-emerged from oblivion becoming the protagonist of various fictional biographies, comics and works of fiction. «In 1991 I wrote a contribution about her for a work on the female Renaissance and since then I promised myself to deal with it in more depth» says Maria Giuseppina Muzzarelli, university professor and author of the book The lady. Life and adventures of Gracia Nasijust left Laterza. “Actually, this woman is so extraordinary that there is no need to make her a novel character».

A banker from the 16th century

As a historian, Muzzarelli made use of certain sources, giving us a female figure of great complexity. «Banker, entrepreneur, but also philanthropistBeatrice-Gracia used her wealth to defend those she believed to be her coreligionists. Even though he maintained a superficial Christian identity for part of his life, inside he felt he belonged to the Jewish environment” comments Muzzarelli. «And when she could, she hugged him. Throughout her life, she worked to keep the family clan cohesive and protect the company’s assets. The autonomy in business and the consideration given to her by her husband and brother-in-law, but also by Duke Ercole II and the sultan, are a unique case.” To find others prominent female figures in the business world had to wait until the twentieth century.

Two weddings between uncles and nephews

Beatrice de Luna was born in 1510 in Lisbon, daughter of Alvaro de Luna and Philipa Mendes, two converted Spanish Jews. The mother’s surname is not a simple homonymy with that of Beatrice’s future husband: Francisco is Philipa’s brother, therefore he is Beatrice’s uncleexactly like Diogo – Francisco’s business partner – who will later marry Brianda, Beatrice’s sister. Two nephews who marry two maternal uncles. According to Muzzarelli, this practice was common in the Jewish environment of the time, in a minority among Christians. And then, a bride chosen within the family put assets and money at less risk. The Mendes brothers had a multinational company, with offices in Lisbon and Antwerp – where Diogo had settled in 1512 – active in the spice trade. In Portugal the Mendes managed all the merchant ships bound for Brazil, Africa and India on behalf of the sovereign.

In 1528, eighteen-year-old Beatrice marries her forty-five-year-old uncle in the cathedral of Santa Maria Maior in Lisbon, probably followed by a private Jewish ceremony. Six years later, their only daughter, Brianda Mendes, was born. The father doesn’t have time to see the little girl grow up. He died in 1536, exactly when the Inquisition also reaches Portugal. The current climate is not favorable to the Marranos, who risk ending up in the clutches of the inquisitors. Suspicious behavior is enough, a tip from someone who reports “they don’t eat pork”, to be suspected of Judaism. Even the powerful Francisco Mendes was not spared arrestalthough he is quickly freed. Diogo was also imprisoned in Antwerp in 1532 and released on bail.

«The sum of 50 thousand ducats was disbursed, which corresponded to nine times the cost of the Ca’ d’Oro in Venice» writes Muzzarelli. These numbers give an idea of ​​how rich the Mendes family must have been, and the money that was then managed and increased by Beatrice. «We are talking about a capital of 600 thousand ducats, which corresponded to the assets of a small state at the time» points out the scholar.

Among his debtors were the rulers of Europe

After a stop in Bristol and London, around 1537 Beatrice with her daughter, sister and their entourage arrived in Antwerp, where there was a large community of Jewish exiles, in addition to her brother-in-law. Together with him, the rich widow supports a clandestine organization that helps the Marranos fleeing from Portugal. From the marriage of her sister Brianda to Diogo, little Gracia was born in 1540called Chica. She too soon becomes an orphan like her little cousin. For Beatrice, it is a film that repeats itself: upon Diogo’s death, black clouds gather over Antwerp for the Mendes women. Francisco of Aragon, illegitimate scion of the royal house and relative of Emperor Charles V, Archduke of Austria and King of Spain, has set his sights on Beatrice’s daughter. The little girl is only 10 years old, but early marriages for girls were the norm. Obviously he doesn’t act out of love, but only to appropriate the family’s wealth.

Beatrice senses danger and organizes an escape. In September 1545 he arrived in Venice, where he settled in a palace worthy of his status on the Grand Canal. It wasn’t just about saving her skin: she also had the responsibility of preserving the heritage. At every border, the Marranos’ goods and money were blocked: to proceed, they had to pay. «Often it was the rulers who had received a loan from the Mendes who asked for more money for the release» adds Muzzarelli. “And with these, they paid the interest on the debt they had not repaid.” An abuse of power, which Beatrice has already taken into account. The lost money is used to facilitate the reception and to avoid having trouble.

The company in his hands

Perhaps what he didn’t expect, however, is the argument that breaks out with his sister. «In his will, Diogo chooses Beatrice as his daughter’s guardian And sole administrator of the company’s assetsplacing the fate of the company in his hands. Evidently, he trusted her a lot” comments the historian. Brianda doesn’t agree and puts the matter back in the hands of the Venetian magistrates, who agree with her, requiring Beatrice to deposit half of the assets at the Mint. The astute Venetians thus hoped to keep at least part of the Mendes fortune in their coffers and took Brianda’s accusations of her sister as “Judaizing” and wanting to move to Istanbul as valid.

Beatrice left no diaries, but we can imagine her discouragement. She who was widowed at 26 and who had never remarried to dedicate herself to her family she must have been disappointed and heartbroken over her sister’s betrayal. In 1548, after the sentence, he went to Ferrara where Ercole II d’Este and his wife Renata of France willingly welcomed the Marranos who rewarded them with huge donations. Beatrice – who at this point in the story professes to be Jewish and returns to her original name Gracia – turns to the duke, who confirmation as director of the Mendes company granting her the right to manage the assets without the assistance of a male relative or a judge. That’s an amazing clearance for a woman at the time.

A constant war in the family

Gracia realizes that forced conversions have made Jews lose their connection to their identity: as a philanthropist promotes the publication of the Bible in Spanish and helps those in difficulty. In the meantime, Brianda has also arrived in Ferrara and the war between the sisters continues. It is 1551 when they both return to Venice: Gracia intends to deposit the 100 thousand ducats requested by Brianda, who wants to make sure she is not cheated. The story then gets tangled up like a soap operain which Gracia la Chica is kidnapped by her cousin Joseph one night in 1553. In the meantime, her aunt Gracia has already left and lives in Istanbul: in all likelihood, she is behind this project. The goal? To save his thirteen-year-old niece from the possibility of marrying a Venetian noblemanto keep the money within the family.

The girl is freed, Joseph runs away and then marries his other cousin, Brianda, who calls herself Reyna in Istanbul. After her mother’s death in 1556, Chica, who also returned to Judaism, married Joseph’s brother, Samuel. In short, Gracia’s plan triumphs in the end. The lady, the nickname by which she is known in Istanbulwill continue his philanthropic activities and business until his death at the age of 59. Suleiman also recognizes a fair amount of autonomy in the rich gentlewomanentrusting her with the role of tax collector of the Jews of Tiberias in exchange for rent.

At her own expense, Gracia restores the city walls, builds a yeshivah (school for the study of Torah and Talmud, ed.) with the pre-Zionist idea of ​​creating a refuge for persecuted Jews, forced like her to spend a life in constant flight. What was Beatrice-Gracia like in life? The question remains unanswered. The painting by Agnolo Bronzino Portrait of young woman with her son (1540), often associated with her, is unlikely to represent her, but it gives us an idea of ​​what a wealthy lady of the time might have looked like. «Gracia Nasi didn’t need to be recognized. In fact, maybe he didn’t even want it” concludes Muzzarelli. Heroic, determined, generous, the banker Beatrice de Luna Gracia Nasi perhaps he had only one regret. That family, for which she had fought with all her strength, exceeding the limits imposed on women, died out with her daughter and her cousins.

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