Calpurnia Hispulla

Calpurnia Hispulla was a Roman matron of the late first and early second century AD, the paternal aunt and surrogate mother of Calpurnia, the third wife of Pliny the Younger. Raised in the household of her father Calpurnius Fabatus, a leading citizen of Comum (modern Como), she took charge of her orphaned niece's upbringing, and Pliny addresses her with warm gratitude in his correspondence. In his celebrated letter to her (Epistulae 4.19), Pliny praises Hispulla's affection and care and lovingly describes his young wife's devotion, intelligence, and even her habit of setting his speeches to music, making Hispulla a vivid presence in one of antiquity's most admired portraits of a marriage.