Elena Ghica (Gjika) born in a nobiliary family of Albanian origin and married duchess Helena Koltsova-Massalskaya (b. Bucharest, Romania, 1828 – d. 1888, Florence, Italian Kingdom), was a Romanian writer under the pen-name Dora D’Istria dedicated to the Albanian national cause of the time. She studied in today’s Germany (Dresden and Berlin), Habsburg Empire (Vienna) and today’s Italy (Venice). With her Russian husband she lived in Saint Petersburg but then moved to Florence in Italy where she died.
