Silvia Ruffini

She was the daughter of Rufino Ruffini and Giulia (last name unknown), who lived in a palace in the Colonna neighbourhood of Rome.

Ruffini was introduced to Alessandro Farnese by his sister Giulia (mistress to Pope Alexander VI), and the cardinal offered to be her escort through Rome.

When Alessandro became Bishop of Parma, the church's vicar-general, Bartolomeo Guidiccioni, required him to end his relationship with Ruffini.

[4] As pope, Paul III kept her identity a secret, fearing the negative publicity that had plagued his sister Giulia.

Historian Patrizia Rosini believes Silvia was the model for two portraits: one in the Allegory of Baptism in the Rondanini Palace and the second in the Sala del Perseo in the castle of Sant'Angelo,