ABSTRACT
The practice of forcing disinterested girls into convents and the harsh rulings by the Council of Trent requiring all nuns to be cloistered have led to many pessimistic interpretations of convent life throughout Italy. While the enforced convent life and cloistering are important facts, they lead to an incomplete picture of convent life in Venice, a life in which many women were able to pursue rich intellectual lives. The range of activities included many that were encouraged by church leadership, such as reading spiritual books and developing basic writing skills. It also included those that were officially against the rules but allowed by local authorities, such as reading prohibited books and putting on lavish public performances for a paying audience. In addition to pursuing these activities themselves, Venetian nuns were often responsible for teaching educande, young girls whose families had sent them to temporarily live in a convent to be educated. Famous intellectuals associated with Venetian convents include Arcangela Tarabotti, who became a nun when she was a teenager, and Moderata Fonte, who was educated in a convent and later left to get married.
