Benvenida Abravanel’s maternal family, birthdate, birthplace and descendants

Among the Jewish women who lived in the past few are as famous as Benvenida Abravanel, as is attested by the many works that have been written about her, some during her lifetime. Those works portray some events in her life and focus on her charitable activities. However, some very basic information about her is still missing, for example the identity of her maternal ancestors. In addition, some of the available information about her is uncertain, for example the place and date of her birth. This study considers the items mentioned in the title of this article and shows that that she was born in Rome around 1500 and that on the maternal side she belonged to the prestigious family of Samuel Sarfati. Thus, her pedigree included two of the most distinguished Jewish families who lived in Italy during the Renaissance. Finally, family trees are presented for the branches of the families to which Benvenida belonged, beginning with their arrival in Portugal at the end of the fourteenth century, and ending in the last third of the sixteenth century.