Moderata Fonte was born in Venice in 1555 and is recognized as one of the most original feminine voices of 16^th century Italy. Her best-known work, Il merito delle done. Ove chiaramente si scuopre quanto siano elle degne e più perfette de gli huomini, was published posthumously in 1600.

Moderata Fonte was Modesta Pozzo de’ Zorzi’s pseudonym; she wrote, among others, the epic poem Tredici canti del Floridoro (1581), as well as religious poems such as La Passione di Christo (1582) and La Resurrettione di Giesu Christo Nostro Signore (1592). In these she describes in detail the emotional reactions of the main women who appear in the gospels: Virgin Mary and Maria Magdalene in the Passion; Magdalene in the Resurrection. Il merito delle donne remained unknown until 1988, when it was edited again by the scholar Adriana Chemello, who prefaced the book with an enlightening essay on the author which became fundamental to all subsequent studies on Moderata Fonte.

Il merito delle donne is a dialogue in which the author expresses her discomfort with men for their negative opinion on women. At the same time, it conveys a beautiful outline of her thought, undoubtedly involved with the debate on the value of the feminine figure which at that period had reached a violently misogynous tone. This is the debate known as the querelle des femmes, started by Christine de Pizan at the beginning of the 15^th century. Nonetheless, it should be underlined, without undermining Moderata Fonte’s link to the querelle, that the interest of her work exceeds the dispute. Il merito is an attempt to defend women’s freedom, freedom that they deserve both for their actions and their qualities. According to Moderata, a careful—and critical—look at history and at her contemporaries would confirm the correctness of her claim.