Rushing from the palace, she disguised herself in male attire and fled to the mountains, where she joined a company of Condottieri. She soon became so good a soldier that she was made an officer of the band.
Fondolo raged as tyrants are wont to do, both on ac- count of the murder and of the escape. He vowed the direst vengeance on Onorata if ever she were again in his power. Later, when his anger had cooled and he had no other artist at command who could worthily complete her decorations, he published her pardon and summoned her to return to his service.
Onorata completed her work, but her new vocation held her with a potent spell, and henceforth she led a divided life—never entirely relinquishing her brush, and remaining always a soldier.
When Castelleone was besieged by the Venetians, Onorata led her band thither and was victorious in the defence of her birthplace. She was fatally wounded in this action and died soon after, in the midst of the men and women whose homes she had saved. They loved her for her bravery and deeply mourned the sacrifice of her life.
Few stories from real life are so interesting and romantic as this, yet little notice has been taken of Onorata's talent or of her prowess, while many less spirited and unusual lives have been commemorated in prose and poetry.
Rodriguez de Toro, Luisa. Honorable mention, Madrid, 1856, for a picture of "Queen Isabel the Catholic Reading with Dofia Beatriz de Galindo"; honorable mention, 1860, for her "Boabdil Returning from Prison."
