Daniello Bartoli
Encyclopedia
Daniello Bartoli was an Italian Jesuit writer and historiographer, celebrated by Francesco de Sanctis (critic) as the "Dante
of Italian prose".
. His father, Tiburzio was a chemist associated with the Este
court of Alfonso II d'Este. When the papacy refused to recognize his illegitimate successor the court moved in 1598 under Cesare d'Este, Duke of Modena. During the Cinquecento
and due to a host of writers including Ariosto and Tasso
Renaissance
Ferrara
was the literary capital of Italian letters along with Florence
, whereas the language of papal Rome
was humanist
Latin
. His identity as a Ferrarese and a Lombard is touted in the pseudonym, Ferrante Longobardi.
in 1623. Debarred by his superiors because of his manifest literary talents from the missions in the Indies he would later describe, he attained high distinction in science and letters. Under Jesuit scientists Giovanni Battista Riccioli
and Niccolo Zucchi
the young Bartoli, together with his younger contemporary Francesco Maria Grimaldi
was involved in noteworthy experiments and discoveries of the planetary heavens. Bartoli along with Zucchi is credited as having been one of the first to see the equatorial belts on the planet Jupiter
on May 17, 1630. And in his old age he would return to the world of science. As his education progressed he became a Jesuit scholastic
and was highly regarded as a teacher of rhetoric
. In his thirties he was an esteemed preacher delivering the Lenten sermons at the principal Jesuits churches of Italy including Genoa, Florence and Rome. A shipwreck off Capri in 1643, where he lost his manuscripts, put an end to his pilgrim years and brought him to permanently to the Jesuit headquarters in Rome with his appointment as Jesuit historiographer.
(1645), a literary vademecum for its time, became a Baroque best seller in Italian and in numerous translations, over thirty editions appearing during his lifetime. As a Jesuit historian Bartoli represents the shift from the preceding Latin humanist historiography of Niccolò Orlandini
and Francesco Sacchini to the illustrious Jesuit prose tradition he established in Italian when he undertook the official history of the first century of the Society of Jesus (1540). His monumental Istoria della Compagnia di Gesu
(Rome, 1650–1673), in 6 folio vols. is the longest Italian classic. It begins with an authoritative if somewhat ponderous biography of the founder Ignatius Loyola. Particularly fascinating and exotic are his histories of Francis Xavier
and the Jesuit missions in the East which describe India and the opening of the East L'Asia (1653). A shorter work on Akbar the Great
and Rodolfo Acquaviva
came out in 1653 and was added to the third edition of L'Asia in 1667. Part II of the first corner of the world he completed was Japan, Il Giappone (1660), and the Part III on China, La Cina appeared in (1663). To these he added volumes on the Society in England, L'Inghilterra (1667) and Italy, L'Italia (1673). With these histories he alternated treatises on language use, Del torto e del diritto del non si puo and moral works of like La Ricreazione del savio. In the 1670s the Lyon
s Jesuit Louis Janin, translator of L'huomo di lettere
issued Latin translations of these histories. From 1670 to 1673 Bartoli served as Rector of the Collegio Romano in recognition of his international prestige as a writer. Indefatigible in his final years Bartoli produced 4 Jesuit biographies and three scientific treatises on pressure, sound, coagulation. His several works of spiritual reflection were brought together a folio edition, Le Morali in 1684. His final work, Pensieri sacri went to press after his death in Rome, January 13, 1685.
During the age of Leopardi and Manzoni, Bartoli became the literary paragon of Restoration Italy as a master of prose style. Outstanding among the numerous printings and anthologies of his works from that period is the standard octavo
edition of his complete works beautifully printed by Giacinto Marietti, Turin, 1825-1842 in 34 volumes.
DANTE
Delivery of Advanced Network Technology to Europe is a not-for-profit organisation that plans, builds and operates the international networks that interconnect the various national research and education networks in Europe and surrounding regions...
of Italian prose".
Ferrara
He was born in FerraraFerrara
Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...
. His father, Tiburzio was a chemist associated with the Este
Este
The House of Este is a European princely dynasty. It is split into two branches; the elder is known as the House of Welf-Este or House of Welf historically rendered in English, Guelf or Guelph...
court of Alfonso II d'Este. When the papacy refused to recognize his illegitimate successor the court moved in 1598 under Cesare d'Este, Duke of Modena. During the Cinquecento
Cinquecento
Cinquecento is a term used to describe the Italian Renaissance of the 16th century, including the current styles of art, music, literature, and architecture.-Art:...
and due to a host of writers including Ariosto and Tasso
Tasso
-People:*Torquato Tasso, the famous Italian 16th-century poet, author of Gerusalemme liberata**Tasso, Lament and Triumph, a symphonic poem by Franz Liszt based on the poet*Bernardo Tasso, his father, also a poet...
Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
Ferrara
Ferrara
Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...
was the literary capital of Italian letters along with Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, whereas the language of papal Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
was humanist
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
. His identity as a Ferrarese and a Lombard is touted in the pseudonym, Ferrante Longobardi.
Vocation and Studies
Daniello was the youngest of three sons and barely fifteen when embraced a vocation to the Society of JesusSociety of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
in 1623. Debarred by his superiors because of his manifest literary talents from the missions in the Indies he would later describe, he attained high distinction in science and letters. Under Jesuit scientists Giovanni Battista Riccioli
Giovanni Battista Riccioli
Giovanni Battista Riccioli was an Italian astronomer and a Catholic priest in the Jesuit order...
and Niccolo Zucchi
Niccolo Zucchi
Niccolò Zucchi was an Italian Jesuit, astronomer, and physicist.As an astronomer he may have been the first to see the belts on the planet Jupiter , and reported spots on Mars in 1640....
the young Bartoli, together with his younger contemporary Francesco Maria Grimaldi
Francesco Maria Grimaldi
Francesco Maria Grimaldi was an Italian Jesuit priest, mathematician and physicist who taught at the Jesuit college in Bologna....
was involved in noteworthy experiments and discoveries of the planetary heavens. Bartoli along with Zucchi is credited as having been one of the first to see the equatorial belts on the planet Jupiter
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...
on May 17, 1630. And in his old age he would return to the world of science. As his education progressed he became a Jesuit scholastic
Scholasticism
Scholasticism is a method of critical thought which dominated teaching by the academics of medieval universities in Europe from about 1100–1500, and a program of employing that method in articulating and defending orthodoxy in an increasingly pluralistic context...
and was highly regarded as a teacher of rhetoric
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
. In his thirties he was an esteemed preacher delivering the Lenten sermons at the principal Jesuits churches of Italy including Genoa, Florence and Rome. A shipwreck off Capri in 1643, where he lost his manuscripts, put an end to his pilgrim years and brought him to permanently to the Jesuit headquarters in Rome with his appointment as Jesuit historiographer.
Baroque Rome
Bartoli's celebrated first work, L'huomo di lettereL'huomo di lettere
.L'huomo di lettere difeso ed emendato by the Ferrarese Jesuit Daniello Bartoli is a two-part treatise on the man of letters bringing together material he had assembled as a teacher of rhetoric and a preacher...
(1645), a literary vademecum for its time, became a Baroque best seller in Italian and in numerous translations, over thirty editions appearing during his lifetime. As a Jesuit historian Bartoli represents the shift from the preceding Latin humanist historiography of Niccolò Orlandini
Niccolò Orlandini
-Biography:He was born at Florence.He entered the Jesuit novitiate in 1572, became rector of the Jesuit college at Nola and was master of novices at Naples for five years....
and Francesco Sacchini to the illustrious Jesuit prose tradition he established in Italian when he undertook the official history of the first century of the Society of Jesus (1540). His monumental Istoria della Compagnia di Gesu
Istoria della Compagnia di Gesu
The monumental Istoria della Compagnia di Gesu , in 6 folio volumes by the Jesuit man of letters and historian Daniello Bartoli is the most extensive classic of Italian literature, over ten thousand pages long...
(Rome, 1650–1673), in 6 folio vols. is the longest Italian classic. It begins with an authoritative if somewhat ponderous biography of the founder Ignatius Loyola. Particularly fascinating and exotic are his histories of Francis Xavier
Francis Xavier
Francis Xavier, born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta was a pioneering Roman Catholic missionary born in the Kingdom of Navarre and co-founder of the Society of Jesus. He was a student of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and one of the first seven Jesuits, dedicated at Montmartre in 1534...
and the Jesuit missions in the East which describe India and the opening of the East L'Asia (1653). A shorter work on Akbar the Great
Akbar the Great
Akbar , also known as Shahanshah Akbar-e-Azam or Akbar the Great , was the third Mughal Emperor. He was of Timurid descent; the son of Emperor Humayun, and the grandson of the Mughal Emperor Zaheeruddin Muhammad Babur, the ruler who founded the Mughal dynasty in India...
and Rodolfo Acquaviva
Rodolfo Acquaviva
Rodolfo Acquaviva Italian Jesuit missionary to India, at the court of Akbar the Great, 1580–1583; Martyred, 1583; Blessed, 1893....
came out in 1653 and was added to the third edition of L'Asia in 1667. Part II of the first corner of the world he completed was Japan, Il Giappone (1660), and the Part III on China, La Cina appeared in (1663). To these he added volumes on the Society in England, L'Inghilterra (1667) and Italy, L'Italia (1673). With these histories he alternated treatises on language use, Del torto e del diritto del non si puo and moral works of like La Ricreazione del savio. In the 1670s the Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
s Jesuit Louis Janin, translator of L'huomo di lettere
L'huomo di lettere
.L'huomo di lettere difeso ed emendato by the Ferrarese Jesuit Daniello Bartoli is a two-part treatise on the man of letters bringing together material he had assembled as a teacher of rhetoric and a preacher...
issued Latin translations of these histories. From 1670 to 1673 Bartoli served as Rector of the Collegio Romano in recognition of his international prestige as a writer. Indefatigible in his final years Bartoli produced 4 Jesuit biographies and three scientific treatises on pressure, sound, coagulation. His several works of spiritual reflection were brought together a folio edition, Le Morali in 1684. His final work, Pensieri sacri went to press after his death in Rome, January 13, 1685.
During the age of Leopardi and Manzoni, Bartoli became the literary paragon of Restoration Italy as a master of prose style. Outstanding among the numerous printings and anthologies of his works from that period is the standard octavo
Octavo
Octavo to is a technical term describing the format of a book.Octavo may also refer to:* Octavo is a grimoire in the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett...
edition of his complete works beautifully printed by Giacinto Marietti, Turin, 1825-1842 in 34 volumes.
Literary Writings & Historical Works
- Dell'huomo di lettere difeso ed emendato 1645
- La poverta contenta 1649
- Della vita e dell'istituto di s. Ignatio, fondatore della Compagnia di Gesu 1650
- L'Asia 1653
- Missione al gran Mogor del p. Rodolfo Acquaviva 1653
- L'Eternita Consigliera 1653
- Il torto ed il diritto del "Non si puo" 1655 (under the pseudonym "Ferrante Longobardi")
- La ricreazione del savio 1659
- Il Giappone, parte seconda dell'Asia 1660
- La Cina, terza parte dell'Asia 1663
- La geografia trasportata al morale 1664
- L'Inghilterra, parte dell'Europa 1667
- L'huomo al punto, cioe l'huomo al punto di morte 1669
- Dell'utlimo e beato fine dell'uomo 1670
- Dell'ortografia italiana 1670
- L'Italia, prima parte dell'Europa 1673
- Della tensione e della pressione 1677
- Del suono, dei tremori armonici, dell'udito 1679
- Del ghiaccio e della coagulatione 1682
- In addition to his magnum opusMagnum opusMagnum opus , from the Latin meaning "great work", refers to the largest, and perhaps the best, greatest, most popular, or most renowned achievement of a writer, artist, or composer.-Related terms:Sometimes the term magnum opus is used to refer to simply "a great work" rather than "the...
, the Istoria della Compagnia di GesuIstoria della Compagnia di GesuThe monumental Istoria della Compagnia di Gesu , in 6 folio volumes by the Jesuit man of letters and historian Daniello Bartoli is the most extensive classic of Italian literature, over ten thousand pages long...
for which he wrote 6 volumes, as Jesuit historiographer Bartoli produced 5 Jesuit Lives: Vincenzo Caraffa 1651, Robert BellarmineRobert BellarmineRobert Bellarmine was an Italian Jesuit and a Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was one of the most important figures in the Counter-Reformation...
1678, Stanislas Kostka 1678, Francis BorgiaFrancis BorgiaSaint Francis Borgia, 4th duke of Gandía, 3rd Father General of the Jesuit Order, Grandee of Spain, was a Spanish Jesuit and third Superior General of the Society of Jesus. He was canonized on 20 June 1670.-Early life:He was born Francesco Borgia de Candia d'Aragon within the Duchy of Gandía,...
1681, and his science teacher Niccolo ZucchiNiccolo ZucchiNiccolò Zucchi was an Italian Jesuit, astronomer, and physicist.As an astronomer he may have been the first to see the belts on the planet Jupiter , and reported spots on Mars in 1640....
1682 - Degli uomini e dei fatti della Compagnia di Gesu: Memorie storiche, an annalistic chronicle of the first Jesuit half century, (1540–1590), left in mss. at his death, was printed in five volumes by Marietti (Turin: 1847-56), in suppplement to his 34 volume Opere.
Modern editions
- Giappone. Istoria della Compagnia di Gesù, Spirali, Milano, 1985