Camilla Erculiani

Camilla Erculiani (died post-1584) was an Italian apothecary, writer, natural philosopher and women's advocate during the early modern period. This "self-described pharmacist" published a book, in the form of letter-essays, about her views on topics of science and natural philosophy. Erculiani's Lettre di philosophia naturale or Letters on Natural Philosophy was published in 1584. Due to some of the unconventional theories presented in her work, she was put on trial by the Roman Inquisition on charges of suspected heresy- for the "blurring of boundaries between natural philosophy and theology."Although the trial records are lost, it is speculated that Erculiani was likely pardoned.

Many of the specifics of Camilla Erculiani's personal life are unknown. This female apothecary resided in Padua, Italy, a province of Veneto; a community that was particularly active in medical and scientific pursuits in the early modern era. In fact, Galileo taught at the University of Padua during this time. Camilla, daughter to spice merchant, Andrea Greghetti, was twice married and mother of six children. Her first husband, Aloviso Stella, was the owner of an apothecary's shop called the Tre Stelle, which was located in the town of Sant'Andrea in Padua. Camilla remarried after his death. Her second husband, Giacomo Erculiani, was also an apothecary. He inherited the role of proprietor at the Tre Stelle. The details and date of her death remain a mystery, yet it is likely that she died post-1584.

A female apothecary compounding a remedy for a patron

Erculiani referred to herself as a "speziala", which translates to spicer. Generally, this reflects that she was a spicer-apothecary, "indicating those who made and sold botanical and pharmaceutical remedies (which often included spices)." Other examples of goods one could purchase at an apothecary shop include herbs, fruits, precious oils, resins and perfume musk. Typical diseases that the general population sought remedies for were "dropsy, pox, worms, rickets, scurvy, numerous skin problems and gout..."

Erculiani worked alongside both of her husbands as a practicing female apothecary. In the early modern period, it was customary for the wives of merchants to learn their husbands' trade, as they played an integral role in the running of family businesses. She herself claimed that her knowledge did not come from any university, but was a result of innate understanding and experience.

Being an apothecary was associated with practicing within a particular division of medicine. Since the majority of women in this era were denied access to university training, apprenticeship was one way to acquire the skills needed to practice. In addition, like Erculiani, widows had the option to keep their shops running as long as another man assumed proprietorship.

Camilla Erculiani's work Letters on Natural Philosophy(1584) was published and circulated in Krakow, Poland and dedicated to, Anna Jagiellon Bathory (1523–96), queen of Poland. With her strong familial and intellectual connections to Italy, Queen Anna had a reputation as an advocate for women's' educational pursuits within the scientific disciplines. Although there was an upsurge of female authors engaged in scientific debate during the late sixteenth-century, Erculiani's letter-treatise is likely "the earliest sustained published exercise in natural-philosophical writing by an Italian woman." Within this scientific discourse, formed into a collection of four letters, she explored alternate theories in the realm of natural philosophy. Erculiani questioned established scientific and theological doctrine with various debates regarding meteorology, the position of Venus, astrology, the scientific cause of the Biblical flood, Paracelsian medicine, alchemy, and the formation of rainbows.

The first two letters of Ecruliani's treatise were addressed to Giorgio Garnero (1550-1614), "a Burgundian medical writer", while the third letter consisted of his responses to her philosophical viewpoints. In an excerpt from Erculiani's letter to Garnero, she speculated that the Biblical flood occurred because of an imbalance between earth and man:

"[the deluge] occurred because men's presence on earth had increased so much in number, size, and lifespan, that around the time of the sin, the earth element, which dominates men, was much diminished; nor had it been replenished for centuries, with the result that [the earth] was so greatly diminished that it was necessarily swallowed up by water, which had contributed little of itself to [the composition of] men."

Erculiani later followed up the statement within her fourth letter, addressed to Queen Anna's "chancellor for Transylvania", Martin Berzevicy (1538-1596), who visited Padua in 1568. She expressed her belief that God and nature work in unison: "it is true that the doctors of the church and the divine theologians have put forth different causes and reasons; but for me, it is enough to say that God and Nature herself do not contradict those causes, but He makes use of her in His works." Erculiani also took advantage of her literary platform to advocate for the recognition of women as adept contributors to the scientific community. She was provoked by the querrelle des femmes (debate on women): a literary and philosophical debate about the intellectual capacities of women, which focused heavily on the women of her region. In reaction, Erculiani introduced her book with two prefatory letters of dedication in defense of women. Within the first, to Queen Anna of Poland, she wrote, "I don't know what malignant star causes [men] to refuse to recognize greatness, except in the things they accomplish themselves." Within the second, to her readers, Erculiani stated, "It will undoubtedly amaze some that I, a woman, have set myself to write and publish on a subject that does not belong to women (according to the custom of our age); but...you will find that women are not without the same abilities and virtues as men."