SECULAR HEROINES AND CHRISTIAN MARTYRS IN THE VENETIAN MEDITERRANEAN: ANNA ERIZZO AND ARNALDA OF ROCHAS.

St. Catherine of Alexandria and St. Barbara of Nicomedia provide the archetypes for the construction of two secular heroines invented by Venetian political communication in the XVI Century. These two heroines, successively known as Anna Erizzo and Arnalda of Rochas (or Oronta of Cyprus), were developed by authors very close to the patrician ruling class, which was successful in spreading their histories throughout Europe. This contribution aims to follow the origins and subsequent development of these two secular heroines through historical and literary texts of the XVI and XVII Centuries, also providing the reason behind their creation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]