Plot: In 16th century Venice, courtesans enjoy unique privileges: dressed richly in red, they read, compose poetry and music, and discuss affairs of state with the men who govern the Republic. When Veronica Franco comes of age, she cannot marry Marco Venier, whom she loves, because she is well born but penniless. Her choice: cloister or courtesan. She steels her heart, and with beauty and intelligence becomes the best. She's a heroine when she helps convince France to aid Venice in war with Turkey, but when plague descends, the Church charges her with witchcraft. At her inquisition, she must match wits with an old rival, speak for all women, and call courage from Venier.

Tags: 1500s, adultery, arranged marriage, based on book, best friend, brother sister relationship, castle, courtesan, courtroom, dagger, drunk scene, female nudity, gondola, horse riding, inquisition, italy, jealousy, melodrama, mob, mother daughter relationship, period piece, pestilence, poetry, prison cell, recital, renaissance, senator, serenade, sex scene, spit in the face, sword fight, tribunal, true love, venice italy, voice over, wedding party, witch trial, show all tags.