Ansa or Ansia was the wife of
Desiderius,
King of the Lombards. She was probably a
Lombard, the daughter of Verissimo and sister of Arechis and Donnolo. In or around 753, she founded the monastery of S. Michele and S. Pietro at
Brescia. It later merged with that of S. Salvatore and S. Maria. After 759, she appeared frequently in Desiderius' diplomas and was probably the architect of his religious policy. On
5 June 774, she was presented along with her husband to
Charlemagne, who had conquered
Pavia. She was sent with her husband and an unnamed daughter, probably
Gerperga, to
Liège or
Corbie, but allowed to return in
775.
Paul the Deacon wrote an Epitaphium Ansae reginae praising her politics, her piety, and her beauty: coniunx pulcherrima, "most beautiful wife".
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