Isabella de Luna
Quick Facts
Biography
Isabella de Luna (died 1564) was an Italian (originally Spanish) courtesan of Renaissance-era Rome.
Isabella was originally from Granada in Spain. She followed a soldier in the Imperial army of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, where she prostituted herself as a camp follower and was present at the attack on Tunis in 1535. She eventually settled in Rome, where she acquired a house in 1544 and became known as the most famous high class courtesan of her generation. As all courtesans of her class, she had a main client, in her case Roberto Strozzi. According to Pierre Brantome, she was herself a client of one of her colleagues, Pandora, whom she paid for sexual services. A famous incident took place on a party, were Rocco Biancalana lost a bet to her after he had promised to make her blush, but in which she instead won the bet.
Isabella de Luna was portrayed in two contemporary novels by Matteo Bandello.