Bologna: a secret spot of astonishing Renaissance developments. A city that championed women from the start, that proudly used the successes of women as part of their cultural identity. Bologna: a city with the world’s first university, and a venerated female painter saint. A city where women could – and would – flourish.  This was the place to be a woman artist in the 16th and 17th century and by looking at the stories of Propezia de Rossi, Lavinia Fontana and Elisabetta Sirani, we’ll see how they totally changed the story of woman artists in Europe.