Women in the Republic of Science: Bassi and Agnesi

Italy offered rare openings for women in Enlightenment science. In 1732 Laura Bassi received a doctorate from the University of Bologna, becoming one of the first women in Europe to earn a university degree, and was soon granted a position to teach there. She became a respected experimental physicist who promoted Newtonian science, and in 1776 she was appointed to a chair of experimental physics. Maria Gaetana Agnesi of Milan published Analytical Institutions (1748), a clear textbook of algebra and calculus that was translated into French and English.

Pope Benedict XIV, a supporter of both women, named Agnesi to an honorary position at Bologna in 1750, though she never taught there and later devoted herself to charity. These achievements depended heavily on powerful patrons and were often presented as exceptional, civic showpieces. Historians debate whether such women opened doors for others or were treated as remarkable exceptions that left general barriers in place.