Professor Gigi Berardi’s ‘Bianca’s Cure’ is an anthem to women in science
WWU Professor of Urban and Environmental Planning and Policy Gigi Berardi’s third book is a historical fiction novel following Renaissance Venetian noblewoman Bianca Cappello’s quest for a malaria cure.
Berardi has been working on this book for ten years, which she began around the time that Chinese scientist Tu Youyou won the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine for her discovery of artemisinin, a potent antimalarial drug. Berardi found herself interested in the complicated history and philosophy of science — a theme in all her books.
“I wanted to combine my interest in malaria, a deadly disease even today, women in STEM, and 16th-century Florence,” she said. “It’s my Renaissance version of ‘Lessons in Chemistry,’ with secrets and strategies of women breaking through in science.”
In “Bianca’s Cure,” Cappello flees Venice when she is forbidden from practicing science. In Florence, where the ruling Medici family embraces alchemy, she is welcomed and becomes first the mistress and eventually the wife of Francesco de Medici.
There, Cappello uses the herb artemisia as a possible cure for malaria. The disease is believed to have struck many in the Medici family, and the word malaria derives from medieval Italian mala (bad) and aria (air).
Professor of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Ruth Sofield previewed the book.
“Gigi Berardi’s stirring account of Bianca Cappello’s relentless pursuit of a cure for the heat disease is fiction at its best,” said Sofield. “Her voice-driven narrative skillfully describes the tortuous path a woman scientist takes to do her work and at the same time manage children, household, and a realm. Readers of both historical fiction and science will enjoy the gripping tale.”
Advance reviews call the book immersive, imaginative, and riveting.
Stefano Corazzini, author of “A Medici in Love,” the narrative nonfiction story of Cappello’s relationship with Francesco I de’ Medici, said “Gigi Berardi brings [Bianca Cappello] to life with striking clarity in this remarkable work, where Bianca is reborn with her passions, her loves, and her rebellious spirit; poised between historical truth and narrative invention. A modern woman: ambitious, educated, and independent in a world that wasn’t ready for her. A tale of love, alchemy, and power.”
Berardi teaches sustainability and business, ecogastronomy, food systems, environmental policy, and more in WWU’s College of the Environment and Global Learning Programs.
“Bianca’s Cure” rounds out a trio of books that mirrors Berardi’s passions: dance, food, and early science in Italy. In 2005, she published “Finding Balance: Fitness, Training, and Health for a Lifetime in Dance,” which dives into issues faced by performing dancers. Berardi’s “FoodWISE: A Whole Systems Guide to Sustainable and Delicious Food Choices,” published in 2020, offers practical guidance on whole-foods nutrition and sustainable eating.
“Bianca’s Cure” will be published Feb. 10, 2026, by She Writes Press/Stable Book Group and distributed by Simon & Schuster. The book is scheduled to be translated into both Italian and German next year. Berardi will be honored by the British Institute in Florence next May, with a reading in the Harold Acton Library of the Palazzo Lanfredini.
Jennifer Nerad covers Western's College of the Environment and College of Business and Economics for the Office of University Communications. Have a great story idea? Reach out to her at neradj@wwu.edu.