Clara Maffei

Portrait of Countess Clara Maffei
by Francesco Hayez

Elena Clara Antonia Carrara Spinelli (13 March 1814, in Bergamo – 13 July 1886, in Milan) was an Italian woman of letters and backer of the Risorgimento, usually known by her married name of countess Clara Maffei or Chiarina Maffei.

Life[]

At 17 years old she married Andrea Maffei, but they separated by mutual consent on 15 June 1846. She had a long and lasting relationship with Carlo Tenca.

She is well known for the salon she hosted in via dei Tre Monasteri in Milan, known as the "Salotto Maffei [it]". Starting in 1834 and organised by Tommaso Grossi and Massimo d'Azeglio, it attracted several well-known literati, artists, scholars, composers and pro-Risorgimento figures to meet to discuss art and literature. These included Alessandro Manzoni, Francesco Hayez (who painted a portrait of Clara which he then gave to her husband), Giuseppe Verdi and Giovanni Prati.

Bibliography[]

Inscription on the palazzo which hosted the "Salotto Maffei".

• Barbiera, Raffaello, Il salotto della contessa Maffei, Milano, Treves 1895 (new edition)
• Cunigi, Davide, "Una gentildonna bergamasca del Risorgimento. La contessa Clara Maffei", in Rivista di Bergamo, XX, February 1941, pp. 49–53, and March 1941, pp. 74–78
• Monti, Antonio, Una passione romantica dell'Ottocento. Clara Maffei e Carlo Tenca, Milano, Garzanti 1940

External links[]

• Media related to Clara Maffei at Wikimedia Commons
• Raffaello Barbiera, Il salotto della contessa Maffei, Milano, Treves, 1895
• www.url.it
• Article on Clara Maffei in Corriere