In expressing their thoughts on paper, Veronica Gambara, Vittoria Colonna and Grazia Deledda brought the intimacy of their worlds into public view. Two wrote during the Renaissance, one wrote during the early years of Italy as an independent nation.

In 1509, Veronica Gambara entered an arranged marriage with her widowed cousin, the Count of Correggio (region of Emilia-Romagna). Although he was twice her age, they were well-suited and Gambara wrote many love sonnets to her husband. Nine years later, the Count died and Gambara became the Countess of Correggio. Distraught by his death, she showed her sorrow in her writing, and in taking an active role in government, her poems became political.