Giambattista della Porta
Encyclopedia
Giambattista della Porta (1535? – 4 February 1615), also known as Giovanni Battista Della Porta and John Baptist Porta, was an Italian
scholar, polymath
and playwright
who lived in Naples
at the time of the Scientific Revolution
and Reformation
.
Giambattista della Porta spent the majority of his life on scientific endeavors. He benefited from an informal education of tutors and visits from renowned scholars. His most famous work, first published in 1558, was entitled Magiae Naturalis (Natural Magic
). In this book he covered a variety of the subjects he had investigated, including the study of: occult philosophy
, astrology
, alchemy
, mathematics
, meteorology
, and natural philosophy
. He was also referred to as "professor of secrets".
, near Naples
, to the nobleman Nardo Antonio della Porta. He was the third of four sons, second to survive childhood. His childhood was privileged as he was able to receive the best education possible. His father, Nardo Antonio della Porta, had a thirst for learning, a trait he would pass onto all of his children. He surrounded himself amongst distinguished men and entertained the likes of philosophers, mathematicians, poets, and musicians. The atmosphere of the house resembled much of an academy for his sons. The learned circle of friends he enclosed himself in stimulated the boys as the visitors tutored and mentored them, under strict guidance of their father. He took an active interest in custom tailoring the education his boys would receive. Their education was extremely well rounded, surely moulding Giambattista into the Renaissance man that he was to become.
As well as being extremely gifted with an affinity for the sciences and mathematics, all the brothers were also extremely interested in the arts, music in particular. Despite their interest none of them possessed any sort of talent for it, but they did not allow that to stifle their progress in learning of theory. They were all accepted into the Scuola di Pitagora, a highly exclusive academy of musicians. Apparently the pure impressiveness of their intellect was enough to allow three tone-deaf mathematicians into a school for the musically gifted. The status of the family as a symbol of knowledge and intellectual growth surely helped in their acceptance as well.
More aware of their social position than the idea that his sons could have professions in science, Nardo Antonio was raising the boys more as gentlemen; very well rounded gentlemen at that. Therefore, the boys struggled with singing, as that was considered a courtly accomplishment of gentlemen. They were taught to dance, ride equestrian, to take part and perform well in tournaments and games, and dress well so they could look good doing all these noble activities. The training gave della Porta, at least earlier in his life, a taste for the finer aspects of his privileged living, where he surrounded himself in noble company and lavish things. This kind of lifestyle, the façade and showmanship involved in presenting one's self carried with Giambattista throughout his life.
. In it he described the first known digraphic substitution cipher
.Charles J. Mendelsohn commented:
In 1586 della Porta published a work on physiognomy
, De humana physiognomonia libri IIII (1586).This influenced the Swiss 18th century pastor Johann Kaspar Lavater
. Della Porta wrote extensively on a wide spectrum of subjects throughout his life – for instance, an agricultural encyclopædia entitled Villa, as well as works on meteorology
, optics
, and astronomy
.
In later life, della Porta collected rare specimens and grew exotic plants. His work Phytognomonica lists plants according to their geographical location. In Phytognomonica the first observation of fungal spores is recorded, making him a pioneer of mycology
.
His private museum was visited by travellers and was one the earliest examples of natural history
museums. It inspired the Jesuit Athanasius Kircher
to begin a similar, even more renowned, collection in Rome.
(Accademia dei Segreti). This group was more commonly known as the Otiosi, (Men of Leisure). Founded sometime before 1580, the Otiosi were one of the first scientific societies in Europe and their aim was to study the "secrets of nature." Any person applying for membership had to demonstrate they had made a new discovery in the natural science
s.
The Academia Secretorum Naturae was compelled to disband when its members were suspected of dealing with the Occult
. Della Porta was summoned to Rome
by Pope Paul V
. Though he personally emerged from the meeting unscathed, the Academia Secretorum Naturae disbanded. Despite this incident, della Porta remained religiously devout and became a lay Jesuit brother.
Della Porta joined The Academy of the Lynxes in 1610.
, hydraulics
, Military Engineering, instruments
, and pharmacology
. He published a book in 1606 on raising water by the force of the air. In 1608 he published a book on military engineering.
Additionally, della Porta perfected the camera obscura
. In a later edition of his Natural Magic
, della Porta described this device as having a convex lens. Though he was not the inventor, the popularity of this work helped spread knowledge of it. He compared the shape of the human eye to the lens in his camera obscura, and provided an easily understandable example of how light could bring images into the eye.
Della Porta also claimed to have invented the first telescope
, but died while preparing the treatise (De telescopiis) in support of his claim. His efforts were also overshadowed by Galileo Galilei
's improvement of the telescope in 1609, following its introduction in the Netherlands in 1608.
In the book, Porta also mentioned an imaginary device known as a sympathetic telegraph. The device consisted of two circular boxes, similar to compasses, each with a magnetic needle, supposed to be magnetized by the same lodestone
. Each box was to be labeled with the 26 letters, instead of the usual directions. Porta assumed that this would coordinate the needles such that when a letter was dialed in one box, the needle in the other box would swing to point to the same letter, thereby helping in communicating.
in the years prior to 1578. He was forced to disband his Academia Secretorum Naturae, and in 1592 his philosophical works were prohibited from further publication by the Church; the ban was lifted in 1598. Porta's involvement with the inquisition puzzles historians due his active participation in charitable Jesuit works by 1585. A possible explanation for this lies in Porta's personal relations with Fra Paolo Sarpi after 1579.
, one tragicomedy
, one tragedy
and one liturgical drama
.
Although they belong to the lesser-known tradition of the commedia erudita rather than the commedia dell'arte
- which means they were written out as entire scripts instead of being improvised from a scenario - della Porta's comedies are eminently performable. While there are obvious similarities between some of the characters in della Porta's comedies and the masks of the commedia dell'arte, it should be borne in mind that the characters of the commedia erudita are uniquely created by the text in which they appear, unlike the masks, which remain constant from one scenario to another. Indeed, the masks of the improvised theatre evolved as stylised versions of recurring character types in the written comedies. By the time Carlo Goldoni
started writing new scripts in the 18th century, the "improvised" comedy had become tired and predictable.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
scholar, polymath
Polymath
A polymath is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas. In less formal terms, a polymath may simply be someone who is very knowledgeable...
and playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
who lived in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
at the time of the Scientific Revolution
Scientific revolution
The Scientific Revolution is an era associated primarily with the 16th and 17th centuries during which new ideas and knowledge in physics, astronomy, biology, medicine and chemistry transformed medieval and ancient views of nature and laid the foundations for modern science...
and Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
.
Giambattista della Porta spent the majority of his life on scientific endeavors. He benefited from an informal education of tutors and visits from renowned scholars. His most famous work, first published in 1558, was entitled Magiae Naturalis (Natural Magic
Natural Magic
is a work of popular science by Giambattista della Porta first published in Naples in 1558. Its popularity ensured it was republished in five Latin editions within ten years, with translations into Italian , French, and Dutch printed.Natural Magic was revised and considerably expanded...
). In this book he covered a variety of the subjects he had investigated, including the study of: occult philosophy
Occult
The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
, astrology
Astrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
, alchemy
Alchemy
Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...
, mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, meteorology
Meteorology
Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...
, and natural philosophy
Natural philosophy
Natural philosophy or the philosophy of nature , is a term applied to the study of nature and the physical universe that was dominant before the development of modern science...
. He was also referred to as "professor of secrets".
Childhood
Giambattista della Porta was born at Vico EquenseVico Equense
Vico Equense is a coastal town and comune in the province of Naples, in the Campania region of southern Italy.-Geography:Vico Equense is part of the greater Bay of Naples metropolitan area and is a popular destination for tourists...
, near Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, to the nobleman Nardo Antonio della Porta. He was the third of four sons, second to survive childhood. His childhood was privileged as he was able to receive the best education possible. His father, Nardo Antonio della Porta, had a thirst for learning, a trait he would pass onto all of his children. He surrounded himself amongst distinguished men and entertained the likes of philosophers, mathematicians, poets, and musicians. The atmosphere of the house resembled much of an academy for his sons. The learned circle of friends he enclosed himself in stimulated the boys as the visitors tutored and mentored them, under strict guidance of their father. He took an active interest in custom tailoring the education his boys would receive. Their education was extremely well rounded, surely moulding Giambattista into the Renaissance man that he was to become.
As well as being extremely gifted with an affinity for the sciences and mathematics, all the brothers were also extremely interested in the arts, music in particular. Despite their interest none of them possessed any sort of talent for it, but they did not allow that to stifle their progress in learning of theory. They were all accepted into the Scuola di Pitagora, a highly exclusive academy of musicians. Apparently the pure impressiveness of their intellect was enough to allow three tone-deaf mathematicians into a school for the musically gifted. The status of the family as a symbol of knowledge and intellectual growth surely helped in their acceptance as well.
More aware of their social position than the idea that his sons could have professions in science, Nardo Antonio was raising the boys more as gentlemen; very well rounded gentlemen at that. Therefore, the boys struggled with singing, as that was considered a courtly accomplishment of gentlemen. They were taught to dance, ride equestrian, to take part and perform well in tournaments and games, and dress well so they could look good doing all these noble activities. The training gave della Porta, at least earlier in his life, a taste for the finer aspects of his privileged living, where he surrounded himself in noble company and lavish things. This kind of lifestyle, the façade and showmanship involved in presenting one's self carried with Giambattista throughout his life.
Scientific disciplines
In 1563, della Porta published De Furtivis Literarum Notis, a work about cryptographyCryptography
Cryptography is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of third parties...
. In it he described the first known digraphic substitution cipher
Substitution cipher
In cryptography, a substitution cipher is a method of encryption by which units of plaintext are replaced with ciphertext according to a regular system; the "units" may be single letters , pairs of letters, triplets of letters, mixtures of the above, and so forth...
.Charles J. Mendelsohn commented:
In 1586 della Porta published a work on physiognomy
Physiognomy
Physiognomy is the assessment of a person's character or personality from their outer appearance, especially the face...
, De humana physiognomonia libri IIII (1586).This influenced the Swiss 18th century pastor Johann Kaspar Lavater
Johann Kaspar Lavater
Johann Kaspar Lavater was a Swiss poet and physiognomist.-Early life:Lavater was born at Zürich, and educated at the Gymnasium there, where J. J. Bodmer and J. J...
. Della Porta wrote extensively on a wide spectrum of subjects throughout his life – for instance, an agricultural encyclopædia entitled Villa, as well as works on meteorology
Meteorology
Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...
, optics
Optics
Optics is the branch of physics which involves the behavior and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behavior of visible, ultraviolet, and infrared light...
, and astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
.
In later life, della Porta collected rare specimens and grew exotic plants. His work Phytognomonica lists plants according to their geographical location. In Phytognomonica the first observation of fungal spores is recorded, making him a pioneer of mycology
Mycology
Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy and their use to humans as a source for tinder, medicinals , food and entheogens, as well as their dangers, such as poisoning or...
.
His private museum was visited by travellers and was one the earliest examples of natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
museums. It inspired the Jesuit Athanasius Kircher
Athanasius Kircher
Athanasius Kircher was a 17th century German Jesuit scholar who published around 40 works, most notably in the fields of oriental studies, geology, and medicine...
to begin a similar, even more renowned, collection in Rome.
Pioneering scientific society
Della Porta was the founder of a scientific society called the Academia Secretorum NaturaeAcademia Secretorum Naturae
The first scientific society, the Academia Secretorum Naturae was founded in Naples in 1560 by Giambattista della Porta, a noted polymath. In Italian it was called Accademia dei Segreti, the Academy of the Mysteries of Nature, and the members referred to themselves as the otiosi...
(Accademia dei Segreti). This group was more commonly known as the Otiosi, (Men of Leisure). Founded sometime before 1580, the Otiosi were one of the first scientific societies in Europe and their aim was to study the "secrets of nature." Any person applying for membership had to demonstrate they had made a new discovery in the natural science
Natural science
The natural sciences are branches of science that seek to elucidate the rules that govern the natural world by using empirical and scientific methods...
s.
The Academia Secretorum Naturae was compelled to disband when its members were suspected of dealing with the Occult
Occult
The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
. Della Porta was summoned to 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...
by Pope Paul V
Pope Paul V
-Theology:Paul met with Galileo Galilei in 1616 after Cardinal Bellarmine had, on his orders, warned Galileo not to hold or defend the heliocentric ideas of Copernicus. Whether there was also an order not to teach those ideas in any way has been a matter for controversy...
. Though he personally emerged from the meeting unscathed, the Academia Secretorum Naturae disbanded. Despite this incident, della Porta remained religiously devout and became a lay Jesuit brother.
Della Porta joined The Academy of the Lynxes in 1610.
Technological contributions
His interest in a variety of disciplines resulted in the technological advances of the following: agricultureAgriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, hydraulics
Hydraulics
Hydraulics is a topic in applied science and engineering dealing with the mechanical properties of liquids. Fluid mechanics provides the theoretical foundation for hydraulics, which focuses on the engineering uses of fluid properties. In fluid power, hydraulics is used for the generation, control,...
, Military Engineering, instruments
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
, and pharmacology
Pharmacology
Pharmacology is the branch of medicine and biology concerned with the study of drug action. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between a living organism and chemicals that affect normal or abnormal biochemical function...
. He published a book in 1606 on raising water by the force of the air. In 1608 he published a book on military engineering.
Additionally, della Porta perfected the camera obscura
Camera obscura
The camera obscura is an optical device that projects an image of its surroundings on a screen. It is used in drawing and for entertainment, and was one of the inventions that led to photography. The device consists of a box or room with a hole in one side...
. In a later edition of his Natural Magic
Natural Magic
is a work of popular science by Giambattista della Porta first published in Naples in 1558. Its popularity ensured it was republished in five Latin editions within ten years, with translations into Italian , French, and Dutch printed.Natural Magic was revised and considerably expanded...
, della Porta described this device as having a convex lens. Though he was not the inventor, the popularity of this work helped spread knowledge of it. He compared the shape of the human eye to the lens in his camera obscura, and provided an easily understandable example of how light could bring images into the eye.
Della Porta also claimed to have invented the first telescope
Telescope
A telescope is an instrument that aids in the observation of remote objects by collecting electromagnetic radiation . The first known practical telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 1600s , using glass lenses...
, but died while preparing the treatise (De telescopiis) in support of his claim. His efforts were also overshadowed by Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei , was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations and support for Copernicanism...
's improvement of the telescope in 1609, following its introduction in the Netherlands in 1608.
In the book, Porta also mentioned an imaginary device known as a sympathetic telegraph. The device consisted of two circular boxes, similar to compasses, each with a magnetic needle, supposed to be magnetized by the same lodestone
Lodestone
A lodestone or loadstone is a naturally magnetized piece of the mineral magnetite. They are naturally occurring magnets, that attract pieces of iron. Ancient people first discovered the property of magnetism in lodestone...
. Each box was to be labeled with the 26 letters, instead of the usual directions. Porta assumed that this would coordinate the needles such that when a letter was dialed in one box, the needle in the other box would swing to point to the same letter, thereby helping in communicating.
Religious complications
A Catholic, della Porta was examined by the InquisitionInquisition
The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...
in the years prior to 1578. He was forced to disband his Academia Secretorum Naturae, and in 1592 his philosophical works were prohibited from further publication by the Church; the ban was lifted in 1598. Porta's involvement with the inquisition puzzles historians due his active participation in charitable Jesuit works by 1585. A possible explanation for this lies in Porta's personal relations with Fra Paolo Sarpi after 1579.
Playwright
The 17 theatrical works that have survived from a total of perhaps 21 or 23 works comprise 14 comediesComedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
, one tragicomedy
Tragicomedy
Tragicomedy is fictional work that blends aspects of the genres of tragedy and comedy. In English literature, from Shakespeare's time to the nineteenth century, tragicomedy referred to a serious play with either a happy ending or enough jokes throughout the play to lighten the mood.-Classical...
, one tragedy
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
and one liturgical drama
Liturgical drama
Liturgical drama or religious drama, in its various Christian contexts, originates from the mass itself, and usually presents a relatively complex ritual that includes theatrical elements...
.
Although they belong to the lesser-known tradition of the commedia erudita rather than the commedia dell'arte
Commedia dell'arte
Commedia dell'arte is a form of theatre characterized by masked "types" which began in Italy in the 16th century, and was responsible for the advent of the actress and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios. The closest translation of the name is "comedy of craft"; it is shortened...
- which means they were written out as entire scripts instead of being improvised from a scenario - della Porta's comedies are eminently performable. While there are obvious similarities between some of the characters in della Porta's comedies and the masks of the commedia dell'arte, it should be borne in mind that the characters of the commedia erudita are uniquely created by the text in which they appear, unlike the masks, which remain constant from one scenario to another. Indeed, the masks of the improvised theatre evolved as stylised versions of recurring character types in the written comedies. By the time Carlo Goldoni
Carlo Goldoni
Carlo Osvaldo Goldoni was an Italian playwright and librettist from the Republic of Venice. His works include some of Italy's most famous and best-loved plays. Audiences have admired the plays of Goldoni for their ingenious mix of wit and honesty...
started writing new scripts in the 18th century, the "improvised" comedy had become tired and predictable.
Works
- Natural MagicNatural Magicis a work of popular science by Giambattista della Porta first published in Naples in 1558. Its popularity ensured it was republished in five Latin editions within ten years, with translations into Italian , French, and Dutch printed.Natural Magic was revised and considerably expanded...
1558 expanded to 20 books 1589. English translation 1658. Available online at http://homepages.tscnet.com/omard1/jportat3.html - De furtivis Literarum Notis (1563) On secret codes and CryptographyCryptographyCryptography is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of third parties...
- Villa (1583-92) An agricultural encyclopaedia
- De humana physiognomonia libri IIII (1586) On PhysiognomyPhysiognomyPhysiognomy is the assessment of a person's character or personality from their outer appearance, especially the face...
- De refractione optices (1589) On OpticsOpticsOptics is the branch of physics which involves the behavior and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behavior of visible, ultraviolet, and infrared light...
- Elementorum curvilineorum libri duo (1601)
- Coelestis Physiogranonia (1603) pub. Naples
- De aeris transmutanionbus (1609) On MeteorologyMeteorologyMeteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...
- De distillatione (1610) Della Porta's chemical experiments and observations.
- De Miracoli & Maravigliosi Effetti dalla Natura prodotti (1665) pub. Venice
Sources
- Clubb, Louise George (1965) Giambattista Della Porta, Dramatist. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
- Arianna Borrelli: Giovan Battista Della Porta’s Neapolitan Magic & His Humanistic Meterology, in: Variantology 5. Neapolitain Affairs. (Cologne: Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, 2011) , ISBN 978-3-86560-887-1.
- Siegfried ZielinskiSiegfried ZielinskiSiegfried Zielinski is a German media theorist. He holds the chair for Media Theory: Archaeology and Variantology of the Media at Berlin University of the Arts , he is Michel Foucault Professor for Techno-Culture and Media Archaeology at the European Graduate School in Saas Fee, and he is director...
: Deep Time of the Media. Toward an Archaeology of Hearing and Seeing by Technical Means (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2008) , ISBN 978-0262740326.
External links
- della Porta's Life
- Giambattista della Porta: De humana physiognomonia libri IIII (Vico Equense, Italy, 1586). Selected pages scanned from the original work. Historical Anatomies on the Web. US National Library of Medicine.
- Burns, Paul The History of the Discovery of Cinematography An Illustrated Chronology