Inspired by her Italian grandparents' immigration story, Donna DiGiuseppe studied Humanities and Italian history at UC Berkeley and in Venice, Italy. Tracing her roots to a hilltop village in Abruzzo, Donna toured Italy from Milan to Palermo to rediscover a piece of Italian history. Donna fell in love with Sofonisba Anguissola when she held Sofonisba's 1559 "Holy Family." Donna has been inside Sofonisba's childhood home and has laid flowers at her gravesite. Her debut novel LADY IN ERMINE: THE STORY OF A WOMAN WHO PAINTED THE RENAISSANCE reconstructs Sofonisba's fascinating life from Donna's extensive travels. What Dianne Hales, author of MONA LISA A LIFE DISCOVERED, calls, "A vivid portrait of a talented woman who defied the conventions of her times," LADY IN ERMINE is a story of historic achievement born of one woman's perseverance and determination to fulfill her passion. A gallery of Sofonisba's work is available at donna's website sofonisba.net