Caterina Assandra

Caterina Assandra (c. 1590 – after 1618) was an Italian composer and Benedictine nun. In her surviving motet book, Motetti a due a tre voci op.2, Assandra alludes to her birthplace being in the Province of Pavia. She became famous as an organist and published various works during her lifetime. Her work Motetti a due was dedicated to G.B. Biglia, the Bishop of Pavia, and was first recognized by publisher Lomazzo. Although Assandra had accumulated a substantial reputation for her works as a composer, even reaching outside the borders of Italy, she was at times confused with an 18th-century composer with the same name. And although the date of her birth is approximate, the date of her death is still unknown.