Veronica Franco

In 1575, Franco's first volume of poetry was published, her Terze rime, containing 18 capitoli (verse epistles) by her and 7 by men writing in her praise. That same year saw an outbreak of plague in Venice, one that lasted two years and caused Franco to leave the city and to lose many of her possessions. In 1577, she unsuccessfully proposed to the city council that it should establish a home for poor women, of which she would become the administrator. In 1580, Franco published her Lettere familiari a diversi ("Familiar Letters to Various People") which included 50 letters, as well as two sonnets addressed to King Henry III of France. Franco's success was not limited to being a coveted courtesan. It was her wittiness and often criticized voice that was immortalized by way of being published that brought forth much recognition. Records indicate that the number of actual publications was limited as they were thought to have been at her own expense or private publications. Her work is known to have been included in an anthology of women poets in the 18th century (1726) that was edited by Luisa Bergalli. "When we too are armed and trained, we can convince men that we have hands, feet, and a heart like yours; and although we may be delicate and soft, some men who are delicate are also strong; and others, coarse and harsh, are cowards. Women have not yet realized this, for if they should decide to do so, they would be able to fight you until death; and to prove that I speak the truth, amongst so many women, I will be the first to act, setting an example for them to follow." The embodiment of her role in the public realm was made evermore tangible, amongst the literary circles and the Venetian public during her polemic literary battle with Maffio Venier. The poem referenced above, Capitolo XVI, A Challenge to a Poet Who Has Defamed Her, is believed to have been one of the many directed to Maffio Venier. These poems are Capitolo XIII, Capitolo XVI, and Capitolo XXIII of her literary publication Terze Rime.

In the 1974 film "Sex Through the Ages" (originally titled "On the Game"), Louise Pajo plays the part of Veronica Franco. In the film, she appears in two scenes — one in which she seduces the homosexual King of France, Henry III; and another in which she is a sufferer of syphilis. Franco's life was recorded in the 1992 book The Honest Courtesan by U.S. author Margaret F. Rosenthal. Catherine McCormack portrays Veronica Franco in the 1998 movie Dangerous Beauty, released as A Destiny of Her Own in some countries, based on Rosenthal's book. In the 2000s Franco prompted scholarly inquiries on "what it meant to be a public woman in Cinquecento Venice". This directly pertained to her duality as both a courtesan and a published poet. Franco is said to have been a "living performance of public art—a renowned courtesan whose body was available to a certain exclusive clientele, a published author, and a public presence." Franco's literary work demonstrates her ability to defend women, as a whole, in a format that can be studied and understood as ahead of her time. Franco's work fearlessly embarked on juxtaposed realms such as sexuality and women's agency as a whole. In doing so, she challenged and disrupted the patriarchal norms that surrounded her. Franco is also portrayed in the 2012 Serbian novel named after her (Serbian: Штампар и Вероника), authored by Serbian writer Katarina Brajović. In 2013, her work was interpreted as adopting "a position of public authority that calls attention to her education, her rhetorical skill, and the solidarity she feels with women." In her writing she embodied a duality, toggling between and addressing matters of both private and public life. Her publications have allowed her work and proto-feminist efforts to transcend time.