Virdimura (fl. 1376) was a Sicilian Jewish doctor, the first woman officially certified to practice medicine in Sicily.[1]
Biography
Though few biographical details of Virdimura are known, she was a Jewish woman living in Catania, Sicily, in the 14th century.[2][3]
She was trained in the practice of Jewish medicine, perhaps by her husband, Pasquale de Medico of Catania, who was also thought to be a physician.[2][3][4][5][6] It is not known if Pasquale was Jewish or not.[7]
She obtained a royal license to practice medicine across the island of Sicily on November 7, 1376, with the approval of the doctors of King Frederick's royal court.[8][9] Virdimura was asked to complete exams for the certification.[6] Her patients also testified on her behalf, and the licensing documentation notes that the examiners took into consideration the "praise universally given her."[10][11]
With this, she became the first woman physician with this designation on the island. She subsequently traveled throughout Sicily treating patients.[2]
Virdimura particularly focused on treating poor and disabled patients, charging them less for her services than her male contemporaries.[2][4][12] This also likely meant that she treated both female and male patients, and both Jews and gentiles.[6][13]
Legacy
The International Virdimura Award, which recognizes doctors with a humanitarian mission, is named for her.[1]
A square in Catania, in the San Giovanni Galermo [it] district, was also named in her honor in 2020.[14]
In 2024, a biography of the doctor, titled Virdimura, was published by the Syracusean writer Lo Iacono Simona.[15]
^ abSimonsohn, Shlomo, 1923–2019. (2011). Between Scylla and Charybdis : the Jews in Sicily. Leiden: Brill. ISBN978-90-04-19245-4. OCLC729724688.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ abWhaley, Leigh Ann. (2011). Women and the practice of medical care in early modern Europe, 1400–1800. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN978-0-230-28291-9. OCLC646112089.
^Shatzmiller, Joseph. (1994). Jews, medicine, and medieval society. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN0-520-08059-9. OCLC27380634.
^Women in world history : a biographical encyclopedia. Commire, Anne., Klezmer, Deborah. Waterford, CT: Yorkin Publications. 1999–2002. ISBN0-7876-3736-X. OCLC41108563.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
^Taitz, Emily. (2003). The JPS guide to Jewish women : 600 B.C.E.to 1900 C.E. Henry, Sondra., Tallan, Cheryl. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society. ISBN978-0-8276-0974-7. OCLC676699912.
