Rusca, Claudia Francesca 1593 - 10/06/1676

The Italian nun and composer Claudia Francesca Rusca was born in 1593 probably in either Lugano or Locarno, Switzerland. She received musical training already as child. At the age of 25 she entered the abbey ''Santa Caterina di Brera'' in Milano, Italy. She composed in 1630 the "Sacri concerti à 1–5 con salmi e canzoni francesi", which was a collection of instrumental and vocal music pieces intended for use at her abbey and others in the area.
She spent the remainder of her life at the aforementioned abbey, dying there in 1676 at the age of 83 as the result of a stroke.