Giovanni della Casa
Encyclopedia
Giovanni della Casa was an Italian
poet
and cleric.
, in Tuscany
. He studied at Bologna
, Padua
, Florence
and Rome
, and by his learning attracted the patronage of Alexander Farnese, who, as Pope Paul III
, made him archbishop of Benevento and later nuncio
to Venice, where he fathered an illegitimate child. After the death of his papal patron, he resigned curial office and withdrew to Venice and to the nearby Abbey of Nervesa, where he sought to emulate Petrarch and Boccaccio in a literary career. It was believed that his openly licentious poem, Capitoli del forno, his estrangement from the Medici
regime in Florence, and the fact that the French court seemed to desire his elevation, prevented him from being raised to the cardinal purple for which he longed. He died in 1556, still Monsignor della Casa, and is buried in the church of Sant'Andrea della Valle
in Rome.
Casa is chiefly remarkable as the leader of a reaction in lyric poetry
against the universal imitation of Petrarch
, and as the originator of a style, which, if less soft and elegant, was more nervous and majestic than that which it replaced.
His prose writings gained great reputation in their own day, and long afterwards, but are disfigured by apparent straining after effect, and by frequent puerility and circumlocution. The principal are in Italian, the famous Il Galateo (1558), a treatise of manners, which has been translated into several languages. His Latina Monumenta were edited by Piero Vettori
and published by Giunta
in Florence (1564). Vettori gave pride of place to a Carminum Liber, which makes artful use of classical models, including Horace
, Catullus
, Virgil
, Euripides
, and Propertius; Vettori also included Life of Caspar Contarini, De officiis, and translations from Thucydides
, Plato
and Aristotle
. Casa's Il Galateo was translated into 'Anglo-Latin' by Nicholas Fitzherbert
under the title Ioannis Casae Galathaeus sive de moribus liber Italicus and first published at Rome in 1595. He is also credited as the first person to use the phrase "ragion di Stato", or "reason of state," in his Oration to Carlo V in 1549.
A complete edition of his works was published at Florence in 1707, to which is prefixed a life by Casotti.
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...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and cleric.
Biography
He was born at FlorenceFlorence
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....
, in Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
. He studied at Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...
, 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....
and 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...
, and by his learning attracted the patronage of Alexander Farnese, who, as Pope Paul III
Pope Paul III
Pope Paul III , born Alessandro Farnese, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1534 to his death in 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era following the sack of Rome in 1527 and rife with uncertainties in the Catholic Church following the Protestant Reformation...
, made him archbishop of Benevento and later nuncio
Nuncio
Nuncio is an ecclesiastical diplomatic title, derived from the ancient Latin word, Nuntius, meaning "envoy." This article addresses this title as well as derived similar titles, all within the structure of the Roman Catholic Church...
to Venice, where he fathered an illegitimate child. After the death of his papal patron, he resigned curial office and withdrew to Venice and to the nearby Abbey of Nervesa, where he sought to emulate Petrarch and Boccaccio in a literary career. It was believed that his openly licentious poem, Capitoli del forno, his estrangement from the Medici
Medici
The House of Medici or Famiglia de' Medici was a political dynasty, banking family and later royal house that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici in the Republic of Florence during the late 14th century. The family originated in the Mugello region of the Tuscan countryside,...
regime in Florence, and the fact that the French court seemed to desire his elevation, prevented him from being raised to the cardinal purple for which he longed. He died in 1556, still Monsignor della Casa, and is buried in the church of Sant'Andrea della Valle
Sant'Andrea della Valle
Sant'Andrea della Valle is a basilica church in Rome, Italy, in the rione of Sant'Eustachio. The basilica is the general seat for the religious order of the Theatines.-Overview:...
in Rome.
Casa is chiefly remarkable as the leader of a reaction in lyric poetry
Lyric poetry
Lyric poetry is a genre of poetry that expresses personal and emotional feelings. In the ancient world, lyric poems were those which were sung to the lyre. Lyric poems do not have to rhyme, and today do not need to be set to music or a beat...
against the universal imitation of Petrarch
Petrarch
Francesco Petrarca , known in English as Petrarch, was an Italian scholar, poet and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch is often called the "Father of Humanism"...
, and as the originator of a style, which, if less soft and elegant, was more nervous and majestic than that which it replaced.
His prose writings gained great reputation in their own day, and long afterwards, but are disfigured by apparent straining after effect, and by frequent puerility and circumlocution. The principal are in Italian, the famous Il Galateo (1558), a treatise of manners, which has been translated into several languages. His Latina Monumenta were edited by Piero Vettori
Piero Vettori
Piero Vettori was an Italian writer, philologist and humanist.-Biography:Vettori was born in Florence and in his life dealt with numerous matters, from agriculture to sciences, from rhetorics to moral philosophy, and also catalogued codexes in Florence and Italy...
and published by Giunta
Giunta
Giunta may refer to :*Blas Giunta , an Argentine former football player, currently working as a manager in Argentine's 2nd division with Club Almirante Brown*Francesco Giunta , an Italian Fascist politician...
in Florence (1564). Vettori gave pride of place to a Carminum Liber, which makes artful use of classical models, including Horace
Horace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus , known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus.-Life:...
, Catullus
Catullus
Gaius Valerius Catullus was a Latin poet of the Republican period. His surviving works are still read widely, and continue to influence poetry and other forms of art.-Biography:...
, Virgil
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...
, Euripides
Euripides
Euripides was one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, the other two being Aeschylus and Sophocles. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him but according to the Suda it was ninety-two at most...
, and Propertius; Vettori also included Life of Caspar Contarini, De officiis, and translations from Thucydides
Thucydides
Thucydides was a Greek historian and author from Alimos. His History of the Peloponnesian War recounts the 5th century BC war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 BC...
, Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
and Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
. Casa's Il Galateo was translated into 'Anglo-Latin' by Nicholas Fitzherbert
Nicholas Fitzherbert
Nicholas Fitzherbert was an English recusant gentleman who served as secretary to Cardinal William Allen and was found guilty of treason due to his Catholicism. He was the second son of John Fitzherbert of Padley, Derbyshire. Fitzherbert was the grandson of the judge Sir Anthony Fitzherbert , and...
under the title Ioannis Casae Galathaeus sive de moribus liber Italicus and first published at Rome in 1595. He is also credited as the first person to use the phrase "ragion di Stato", or "reason of state," in his Oration to Carlo V in 1549.
A complete edition of his works was published at Florence in 1707, to which is prefixed a life by Casotti.