The Honorable Lady Dianora Lizabetta di Vittorio Cellini

Dianora Lizabetta di Vittorio Cellini lives in Venice in the early 16th century. She is the only legitimate child of her parents, Vittorio Cellini and Eleanora Belcolore, a Venetian. She is one of the eldest of a group of cousins who manage the significant merchant holdings of La Famiglia di Cellini of Florence, with branches located in England, Spain, Germany, and France. Their business is based primarily in transportation and trade through their vast shipping and overland travel routes. The di Cellini fleet is well known, especially for its luck at discovering “abandoned” goods and its formidable armaments. Dianora did her duty to her family and married young. She has one daughter, Leonora. Her husband died after five years of marriage, and she returned to her father’s home. She has since placed her daughter in a convent according to her late husband’s wishes. She then helped her father with the business in Florence, and after his death she continued to help her cousins keep the family and its business prospering and growing. Well travelled, she now spends much of her time at her home in Venice, inherited from her mother. Though she misses her family she finds plenty to occupy her time in the rich culture of the city she loves. She continues her long-standing habit of taking young ladies of promise as her wards, to teach them to shine in the world of courts and courtiers. She is often visited by her friends and family, including the captain of her fleet (a relationship about which much has been whispered, but little proven).

Dianora (Dee) currently lives in the Shire of Drakenmere in Meridies. Her first event in 1978 was such a miserable experience that she did not try again until November of 1984, when she found the SCA at the Texas Ren Fair – and was hooked. She has lived in Ansteorra, West Kingdom, the then-Principality of Northshield in the Midrealm, and Meridies. She is a founding member of two shires and a barony. She has an unfortunate case of helium hand, and has held the offices of Seneschal, Chatelaine, and Chronicler in various groups. She has served as a Regional and a Principality Chatelaine, Kingdom Deputy Chronicler, and Guild Mistress for Arachne’s Web, and has autocratted and served as Head Cook for numerous events. She is the protogee Of Maestra Isabella deBoyce.  She is matriarch of La Famiglia di Cellini, with family in Caid, Ansteorra, Northshield, the Midrealm, and, of course, Meridies. Remembering her first event she finds helping newcomers to be not only personally satisfying but also incredibly important to the SCA’s future. She wishes she could embroider, wants to be a better costumer, and loves to make lace and to feed people, although not necessarily at the same time.

Kathy Whitaker lives in Statesboro, Georgia with her husband Eric, four dogs, and three cats. She always wanted a large family, but having given birth to the perfect child on the first try she just mothers her friends a lot. She teaches Composition and Literature at East Georgia College, and is a Comprehensive Exam and Dissertation away from her Ph.D, proving it’s never too late to start something new!

Dianora holds the following awards:

Order of the Argent Comet (Meridies, Jan 2010)

Grand Chef, (Meridies, Jan 2010)
Order of the Velvet Owl (Meridies)
Grant of Arms (Merides)
Order of the Meridian Cross (Meridies)
Order of the Cavendish Knot (Midrealm: Support of Rapier)
Award of the Purple Fret X2 (Midrealm: Service)
Sable Crane (Ansteorra: Service)
Companion of the Order of the Leaf of Merit (West: Service)
Award of Arms (West)
Baronial Awards from Bjornsborg (Ansteorra) and Jararvellir (Northshield)

Companion of the Silver Flame (Service, House Excelsior)

Member # 30404