Busa of Canosa di Puglia

Busa of Canosa di Puglia
Miniature from De mulieribus claris

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (September 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Busa was an Apulian woman of Canusium of noble blood. Paulina is sometimes believed to have been her given name and Busa is recorded as her principal family name.

Life[]

After the battle of Cannae in 216 BC, when Hannibal obliterated most of the Roman forces, there were about 10,000 men who escaped Hannibal's bloodbath by secretly leaving the area by backroads at night. The fugitives who arrived in Canusium were destitute. They had no food, clothing, medical supplies, or even any weapons. According to Livy (XXII.liii.7) Busa came to the rescue and provided these soldiers with what was needed by receiving them into her house. She obtained doctors and medical supplies and took care of the wounded. It is recorded in history that her deeds were on par with the generosity of Alexander the Great. There is to this day a ruined Roman house in the center of Canusium, known to the locals of Canosa today as that belonging to Busa.

References[]

Further reading[]

• Pasquale Ieva, Busa canusina: storia, letteratura, leggenda, in Aa.Vv., Canosa. Settimana della cultura 2007, 12-20 maggio 2007, a cura di L. Bertoldi Lenoci, Edizioni Pugliesi, Martina Franca (TA) 2007.
• Livy Ab urbe condita libri XXII.52
• Valerius Maximus, Factorum at dictorum memorabilium libri IV.8.2
• Virginia Brown's translation of Giovanni Boccaccio’s Famous Women, pp 140 – 142; Harvard University Press, 2001; ISBN 0-674-01130-9