The black courtesan...
I was wondering if that was historically accurate? Or was that put in for the sake of contemporary sensibilities? How would a black woman in Venice go about becoming a courtesan in those days?
shareI was wondering the same thing, but figured it was probably accurate, it seems silly to have her there just to include a black person. I also figured it wasn't too far fetched, Shakespeare always had Africans or Moors in his plays set in Italy. I googled it and it turns out black courtesans were present in England, France, and Italy.
...Overground watch this space
That's right, I forgot about the Moors... and Italy having major ports for the seafaring people around the Mediterranean and stuff...
share...What information did you find out and where? I have Googled and checked around with no answers. I just wanted to research it in my own because I too was very curious. Thanks for any help!
shareIt doesn't seem unlikely that there would be at least one dark skinned courtesan in Venice. She would have been seen as exotic. I think Rufus Sewell's character even briefly refers to "The Levant" at one point which would have covered north east Africa. But the woman they showed didn't look particularly exotic, and looked like she was cast out of Los Angeles.
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