Details

Release year: 1998

Storyline

A Venetian courtesan becomes a hero to her city, but later becomes the target of an inquisition by the Church for witchcraft.

Top credits

Directors

Marshall Herskovitz

Writers

Cast

Catherine McCormack — Veronica Franco
Rufus Sewell — Marco Venier
Oliver Platt — Maffio Venier
Fred Ward — Domenico Venier

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Did you know

• The Veronica Franco depicted in the film was a real person. She was born in 1546 and died in 1591, at the age of forty-five. She was the most famous courtesan in Italy, but she was also famous for her satire and for her poetry.

• The alternate title for this movie, "The Honest Courtesan," comes from the term 'cortigiana onesta' which denoted a courtesan who, while sex may or may not have been part of her obligations, was paid mainly to be a companion for intellectual stimulation and/or her poetic or musical talent.

• During King Henry's visit, a monk is forcibly detained in an attempt to give Henry a paper. In reality, King Henry III was killed exactly so: a monk, under the subterfuge of giving Henry a private message, fatally stabbed him while whispering in his ear.