Busa of Canosa di Puglia

Busa was an Apulian woman of Canusium of noble blood. Paulina is sometimes believed to have been her given name and Busa is recorded as her principal family name.

Busa of Canosa di Puglia
Miniature from De mulieribus claris

Life

After the battle of Cannae in 216 BC, when Hannibal obliterated most of the Roman forces, there were about 10,000 men who escaped Hannibal's bloodbath by secretly leaving the area by backroads at night. The fugitives who arrived in Canusium were destitute. They had no food, clothing, medical supplies, or even any weapons. According to Livy (XXII.liii.7) Busa came to the rescue and provided these soldiers with what was needed by receiving them into her house. She obtained doctors and medical supplies and took care of the wounded. It is recorded in history that her deeds were on par with the generosity of Alexander the Great. There is to this day a ruined Roman house in the center of Canusium, known to the locals of Canosa today as that belonging to Busa.

References

    Further reading
    • Livy Ab urbe condita libri XXII.52
    • Valerius Maximus, Factorum at dictorum memorabilium libri IV.8.2
    • Virginia Brown's translation of Giovanni Boccaccio’s Famous Women, pp 140 – 142; Harvard University Press, 2001; ISBN 0-674-01130-9
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