Roberto Weiss - The Renaissance discovery of Classical Antiquity

Classica Classicall Antiqu Antiquity  ity 

TO A l e t h e a V a l e n t in e M a r y W e i s s

THE RENAISSANCE DISCOVERY OF CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY ROBERTO WEISS Second Second Edition Ed ition

BASIL BLACKWELL

Copyright © Basil Blackwell 1969, 1988

First published 1969 Reprinted 1973 Second ed edition ition 198 1988 8

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Basil Blackwell Ltd  108 10 8 Cowley Cowley Road , Oxford, O xford, 0 X 4 1JF, UK  Basil Blackwell Inc. 432 Park Avenue South, Suite 1503  New  N ew Y ork, or k, N Y 10 1001 016, 6, USA All rights rights reserved. reserved. Except for the qu ota tion o f short passages passages for the  pu  p u rpo rp o s es o f critic cri ticism ism a n d rev review iew,, no p a r t o f th t h is p u b lic li c a tio ti o n m ay be repro duced , stored in a retrieval retrieval system, system, o r tran tran sm itted , in an anyy for form m or by by any means , electronic, mechanical, photo cop ying , recording or otherwise, otherwise, w ithout the prior permission permission of the publisher. Except in th e U nited States States o f Am erica, erica, this book is sold sold subject to the c ond ition th at it shall not, by way o f trade or otherwise, be len t, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s  pri  p rioo r co c o n sen se n t in any an y form fo rm o f b in d in g o r cov c over er o th e r th t h a n th a t in which it is is pub lished and w ithout a similar similar condition condition including this cond ition ition being im posed on the subseq uen t purchaser. purchaser.

 British Libra Library ry Cataloguing in Publication Publication Data Weiss, Roberto, 1906- 1969 Thee R enaissance discovery of Th o f classi classical cal antiquity.—2nd ed. 1. Classic Classical al an tiqu ities . Archaeological investigation, ca 1300-1527 I. Title 938'.0072 ISBN 0-631-16077-9

 Libra  Library ry o f Cong Congres resss Cataloging Cataloging in Publication Data Weiss, Roberto The Renaissanc Renaissancee disco discover veryy o f cl classi assica call a ntiq uity /R ob erto Weiss. Weiss.  — 2 n d ed. ed .  p.  p . cm. cm . Bibliography :p. Includes index. ISBN 0-631-16077-9 (pbk.) 1. Italy—Antiquities. 2. Renaissance—Italy. 3. Humanists—  Italy. I. Title. DG431.W4 1988 937'.0072045 —dc 19 88 -65 86 C1P Printed in Great Britain by Page Bros (Norwich) Ltd 

CONTENTS

P r e f a c e t o t h e Se c o n d   E d it io n

v ii

Acknowledgements

ix

In t r o d u c t io n

xi

I II

T h e M id d l e A g e s T h e F o r e r u n n e r s o f  P e t r a r c h

III T h e A g e IV V

VI VII VIII

P e t ra r c h

o f 

T h e H e ir s

o f 

P e t ra r c h

XI

16

30 48

T h e R u i n s o f  R o m e a n d  t h e H u m a n i s t s

59

T h e I n h e r i t a n c e o f F l a v io io B i o n d o

73

T h e T o p o g r a p h y a n d t h e D e s t r u c t i o n o f A n c i e n t R om e

90

T h e A n t i q u it ie s o f I t a l y : I

IX T h e A n t i q u i t i e s X

1

o f 

Ita ly : II

105

1 16

T h e D i s c o v e r y 6 k  ^ h e G r e e k   W o r l d  

131

T h e R is ise

145

C la s s i c a l E p ig ra p h y

o f 

X II T h e S tu d y

o f 

A n c i e n t N u m i s m a ti ti c s

167

X I II

T h e C o l l e c t i o n s o f  A n t i q u i t i e s

180

X IV

C o n c l u s io n

203

Addenda

208

B ib l io g r a p h y

211

I n d e x o f  M a n u s c r i p t s

217

In d e x t o T e x t

219

PRE PREFAC FACE TO THE SECOND EDITIO ED ITION N Roberto Weiss (1906-69) designed his bookplate, which reads FABV FABVL LA N E FIAT/QV AE FVITH ISTO RIA,  and this could have  been  be en th thee m o tto tt o o f his bo book ok which con conclude cludess th thaa t ‘m od odee rn  Mira bilia   ceased to be taken archaeology really began when the  Mirabilia seriously’ (p. 204). As Weiss Weiss explains explains in his his Introd Intr oduc uctio tion n (p. xi) xi),, the t he aim of o f the book is to ‘gi give ve an account acc ount of the rise rise and early dev develo elopm pmen entt of o f an interest inte rest in the tangible remains of classical antiquity and the study that developed develo ped from i t ’. As As he sa says, no full study stud y on the th e subject s ubject had ha d so far appeared, although many of its different aspects had been investigated. investigated . W ha hatt Weiss Weiss has given us is is a un uniq ique ue synthes synthesis is based to a considerable extent on his own discoveries of unpublished mater ma terial ial,, as his Index of o f Manuscripts Manusc ripts reveals. reveals. If one were were to look for a context for Weiss’s book, it might best be found in the circle of Flav Flavio io Biondo Bion do or o f Berna Be rnardo rdo Rucellai - Renaissance Renaissance scholars scholars who relied on multiple antique sources in their attempts to explain the visi vi sibl blee remains of an antiquity tiquity.. It is is thr throu ough gh an a n examination exam ination of o f the late late mediaeval and a nd Renaissance Renaissance source sourcess that tha t Weiss Weiss has de dem m on onstra strated ted and evaluated their contributions to the development of archaeology. Like the humanists and antiquarians whom he studied, Weiss received much information from his friends and colleagues who indicated indic ated ‘for forgott gotten en sources’ (see (see his Acknowledge Ack nowledgements) ments).. Most Most of his material, however was gathered over the years while working on similar or quite different aspects of humanism (listed in the  bibli  bi bliog ogra raph phyy of his 153 153 writings pub pu b lish lis h e d from fro m 19 1934 34 to 19 1972 72 which Conor Fahy and John D. Moores compiled in his posthumous  Media  Me diaeva evall a n d H u m a n ist is t G reek re ek:: C o llect lle cted ed Essa ssays ys,,  Padova, 1977 whic which h they edited with w ith Carlo Carlo Dionisotti). W henever heneve r he came upon a ref referen erence ce to spe speci cifi ficc humani hum anist st concern concern with antiq a ntique ue m onu onum m en ents, ts, lie noted it down. His material ranged from unpublished manuscripts to incunables and rare books containing studies from numismatics to architecture which engaged the attention of humanists, antiquarians, topographers, epigraphers and the like who examined local Roman remains, not only in Rome but ihroughout Italy and Greece.

Vlll

PREFACE

When he came to write his book, this accumulation, sorted according to genre, determined the chapter headings and gave substance to the framework. fr amework. ‘Most Most o f its ch chap apte ters rs’, ’, he writes in his Introduction, ‘might easily have been developed into a book.’ The virtue of this book is its intend inte nded ed bre brevity vity,, bu butt its wealth wea lth of references references to the sources gives it a far larger dimension. Unlike those antiquarians who tend to ramble, Weiss keeps to his scheme so well that different aspects of the same document are cited unde un derr the relevant headings. Th This is enhances the value value of o f hi hiss framework framework where whe re,, un unde derr clea clearly rly def defined ined investiga inve stigation tions, s, the exact exact illustrative source source and the standard study on it can be found. Such thoroughness and Weiss’s evaluation of each writer within the development of scientific archaeology give us the measure of his mastery of the history of this tradition. Weiss’s English, of irreducible economy and classical purity,  prese  pre serv rves es a con contine tinental ntal elegance elegance and flow flow. In its its clarit clarity y of arrangem arra ngement, ent, conte co ntent nt and an d style, style , this book has has already become one of the most admired adm ired and useful works on the Renaissance. After Afte r nearly 20 20 yea years rs,, mu much ch has been written writ ten along the th e lines set out  by Weiss, bu butt so far no other othe r pub publish lished ed book book has so profo profoundly undly exp explored lored the history of archaeolog archaeology y from the Middle Ages Ages to the t he Sack ack of Rome in 1527 15 27.. Many Many ind indivi ividu dual al poin points ts discussed by by Weiss Weiss have have been bee n dev d evelo elope ped, d, and di disco scover veries ies like th thee Augu A ugustan stan sundial sun dial in the Camp C amp Marzio arzio have have been made which would have interested him intensely. They may modify or enrich the details, but do not alter Weiss’s basic structure. In the Bibliography, I note recent studies on and new editions of some of Weiss’s Renaissance sources which the reader may find useful. They are are arranged accordin according g to chapter cha pter and a nd are repeate rep eated d where relevant. rele vant. I should like to than th ankk the t he schola scholars rs who have ad adde ded d valuable titles titl es to the Bibliography, among them Martin C. Davies, Jill Kraye, Paul Oskar Kristeller, Kristeller, and a nd Nigel Wilson. I am particularly grateful for f or the help of my hu husba sband nd and devoted friend frien d of o f Roberto Weiss, eiss, Nicolai Nicolai Rubinstein. Rubinstei n.  Ru  R u th Ohtsky Rubin Ru binste stein in

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is is with a deep dee p sense sense of gr grati atitud tudee tha t hatt I expr expres esss here my warm thanks to all those who have helped me in so many ways, by indicating forgotten sources, discussing problems, collating passages in books and manuscripts, securing photographs, etc. It is therefore with  pleasu  ple asure re th thaa t I recall her heree th thee he help lp o f G iov iovan anni ni Aquil Aq uilec ecch chia, ia, Giuseppe Billanovich, Umberto Bosco, Vittore Branca, Augusto Campana, Maria Corti, Carlo Dionisotti, Denys Hay, Paul Oskar Kristel Kristeller, ler, Otto O tto Kurz, K urz, Giovanni Marderstei Mardersteig, g, Charles Charles Mitchell,Joh Mitch ell,Johnn Moores, Moores, Franco Panvini Panv ini Rosat Ro sati, i, FJisabeth Pelle Pe llegr grin, in, the late August Au gustoo Pepponi, Allessandro Perosa, Deoclecio Redig de Campos, Dennis Rhodes, Sergio Rossi, Giovanni Rotondo, Nicolai Rubinstein, Otto Skutsch, J. B. Trapp, the late Berthold Louis Ullman, and Nereo Vianello. The generous granting of two terms leave of absence by University College London enabled me to give several months excl ex clus usiv ivel elyy to to the th e task task of bringing bringi ng this book to completio com pletion; n; while the great resources of the libraries of the British School at Rome, Univ Univers ersit ity y Coll College ege London, and the Warbu W arburg rg Institute Insti tute enabled ena bled me countless times to read in my own surroundings a great number of  books an and d articles seldom seldo m fo f o un und d even in the th e grea gr eatt nat n atio iona nall librarie libr aries. s.  Robe  Ro bert rto o Weiss Universi University ty College College Lond Lo ndon on  Ap  A p r i l 1968 

INTRODUCTION One of the difficulties in a work such as this, is that most of its chapters might easily have been developed into a book. There is at any rate no doubt that each of the last nine chapters, could have been expanded into a substantial monograph,  part  pa rtic icul ular arly ly as th thee a d d ition iti onal al in inff o r m a tio ti o n re reqq u ire ir e d fo forr such su ch an expansion is no nott lacking lacking.. In fact fact bo both th published and unpublished materials on the subjects covered here are so plentiful, that in many cases the real problem was not so much what to include, as what to leave leave out. M uch indeed indeed had to be exclu excluded, ded, and am ong ongst st it there must inevitably be some significant evidence, which was only omitted because it did not come to my notice. The absence of some obvious topics from this book calls for some explanati explanation. on. T o the question as to why there are no chapters on the impact of classical antiquity upon Renaissance art or on the study of Roman institutions, one may reply as follows: to include a study on classical antiquity and the Renais sance artist, would ha^e meant to deal with a subject already adequately studied by several outstanding scholars, Miintz and Warburg among them, and at the same time so vast that at least ilir iliree ee long chapters chapters would have have been required.1 A chapter chapter on the rise of the study of Roman institutions would certainly have  been  bee n ve very ry de desir sirab able le,, p a rtic rt icul ular arly ly as th this is subj su bjec ectt ha had d c om omm m an ande dedd i he attention attentio n o f several distinguished huma h umanists nists since the da days ys o f I conardo Bruni and Flavio Biondo. Biondo. But if there had been such such a chapter, how could there not be also chapters on the study of Roman Law and ancient history? Another matter which had to l>c decided, was whether to limit this study to Italy or whether to extend it to the main E uro urope pean an countries. countries. A nd the real real reason for not extending the survey outside Italy was that, apart from Germany and to a much lesser extent France, the western European contribution to the study of classical antiquities had not been at all impressive during the period covered here. Some of these excluded subjects are, all the same, touched upon upo n in passing. passing. This was was o f course inevitabl inevitable. e. F or ho how w could  1f or the same reasons I have refrained from giving a n account o f the many sketch books w ill) draw ings o f Rom an a ntiquities ntiquities m ade durin g the fifteenth fifteenth and the first first quarter o f the •i \ icci icciif ifh h century. A Census o f antique w orks o f art k now n to Renaissance Renaissance artis artists ts is is being  p r e p a r e d b y t h e W a r b u r g I n s t i t u t e .

3iii

INTRODUCTION

■one give a reliable account of numismatic studies during the Renaissance and leave out Bude, or give a survey of Renaissance •epi •epigr grap aphy hy w ithout itho ut mentioning men tioning Peutinger Pe utinger ? O r make no reference reference whatever to those artists who also happened to be collectors in the chapter on the collections of antiquities, or leave out alto gether the impact exerted by the coins of ancient Rome on  paa in  p inte terr s, scul sc ulpt ptor ors, s, illu il lum m in inat ato o rs, rs , an and d meda me dallis llists ts d u r in ing g th thee Renaissance? Renaissance? Th Thee resulting picture w ould certain certainly ly have ■suffered if they had been omitted. The aim of this book is to give an account of the rise and early development of an interest in the tangible remains of classical antiquity and the study that developed from it.1Apart from an introductory chapter on the approach to these remains ■during the Middle Ages, the period considered here stretches from the early fourteenth century to 1527, when the sack of Rome by the the troops troop s o f the E m pero perorr Char Charle less V broug bro ught ht to an end that Renaissance which had seen its best days between the  po  p o n tifi ti fica cate te o f Nic N icho hola lass V (14 (144747-145 1455) 5) a n d th thaa t o f Le L e o X (1 (151 51331521). Broadly speaking, what wh at is is given here is a history histor y of of •classical archaeology in its early stages, showing how it really started star ted in the th e time o f Petra Pe trarc rch h (13 (1304—13 1374 74), ), and ho how w it was w as ■developed by the enthusiasm and industry of countless human ists, who saw in the statues, the inscriptions, the coins, the ruined buildings, in short in the concrete legacy of classical antiquity an invaluable commentary to those poetic and prose texts which were revealing to them what ancient civilization leally meant. 1 N o full study on this subject had so far appeared. A m ong recent contributions on the -subject one may mention A. Momigliano, ‘Ancient History and the Antiquarian’,  Jour  Jo urna nall o f  the Warburg and Conrtauld Conrtauld Institutes> Institutes> XIII (1950) 285-315. and reprinted in A. Momigliano, •Contribu •Contributo to alia storia degli degli stud i classic classicii , (Roma, 1955) 67-106, R. Weiss, ‘Lineamcnti per una storia d egli stud i antiqua ri in Italia’, Italia’,  Rinas  Ri nascim cim ento ent o , IX (1958) 1 41 -20 1, R. We iss, CI1 p rim o Rinascimento c gli studi archeologici’,  Let  L ette te re Itali It alian ans, s,   XI (1959) 89-94, M. Pallottino, Che cos'e Varcheologia?   (Firenze, 1963) 21-28, H. Kaiser, Kleine Geschichte der A.rchaologie , Pirro o Ugorio Ugorio’’sRow an A ntiqu ities,(Lon don , (G iitcrsloh, iitcrsloh, 1963), 1963), A. M and ow sky and C. M itchell, itchell, Pirr 1963 19 63)) and the review o f this work by C. Dio nisotti in  Riv (196 963) 3)  R iv ista is ta storica ital it alian ian a , LX X V (1 ■890-901.

CHAPTER ONE

THE MIDDLE AGES An interest in classical antiquity never waned altogether during the centuries of the Middle Ages. In the West and  part  pa rtic icul ulaa rly rl y in Italy Ita ly,, th thee gr gree a t L a tin classics ne neve verr ceased cea sed to b e studied in the schools and cherished by individuals with a bent for letters letters.. It is true that th at writers like like Tacitus and Lucretius, Propertius and Catullus, just to give a few leading examples, fell quickly into oblivion after the Carolingian age, only to re appear again w ith the rise rise of humanism. But Virgil and Cicero, Cicero, Ovid and Lucan, Persius and Juvenal, Horace and Terence, Seneca and Valerius Maximus, Livy and Statius, and the list is  by n o means me ans c om ompl plee te, te , w er eree always alwa ys re read ad.. V irgi ir gill be beca cam m e also als o a  prr o p h e t o f C hr  p hris istia tiani nity ty by b y th t h e fo f o u r th c en entu tury ry an and d a sorc so rcer eree r in th e twelfth twelfth century. century. Some o f O vid ’s poems were given given a Christian interpretation, while Seneca, besides being hailed as the tradi tional exponent of aticient morality, was also cherished as the correspond corre spondent ent of o f St. St. Paul, which he certa certainl inly y was not. Ev Even en after the fall of the Roman Empire, the idea of Rome as ‘caput m undi’ nev never er faded ou t in the West. N either eithe r Constantinople Co nstantinople nor Aachen ever succeeded in achieving the universal prestige of Rome, just as neither Ravenna nor Antioch, nor Milan, nor Aquileia, nor Treves, had ever come near it during the last centurie centuriess of o f the Empire. Em pire. Th Thee very Barbarian Barbarianss w ho invaded Italy succumbed to Latin civilization, just as some centuries  befo  be fore re th thee R om oman anss h a d s u r re rend ndee re red d to th thaa t o f con co n q u e re red d G re reec ece. e. Towns Tow ns were pro proud ud o f their Rom an origi origins. ns. A t Pavia Pavia an in in  scription, testifying to the existence of the town in Roman times, times, was preserved as a relic relic in in a church,1 while the equestrian e questrian st atue o f a Roman Rom an Em peror peror,, kn know ow n as the ‘RegisoP RegisoP and removed removed,, from Ravenna, adorned one of its squares and was the visible symbol of the town and its traditions until its destruction at the hands of the French in 1796.2 That some interest in the ancient monuments remained alive 1 R. Sdriga, ‘La ‘La trad izione R om ana in Pavia e la la statua del Regisole’,  A t t i e memorie memor ie del de l  />  />t in?o Congresso Storico Lombardo,   (Milano, 1937) 6 of the offprint. “ O n this statue see especially especially G. Bovini, ‘Le ‘Le vicende del “ Reg isole” statua eq ue stre i .jvonuate’, Felix Kavemay ser. 3, fasc. 36 (1963) 138-54.

2

THE MIDDLE AGES

is not surprising, just as it is not surprising that even smaller antiquities, such as coins, ivories, or engraved gems, were continually sought soug ht after after du during ring the Middle Middle Ages. ‘W hat was was lost, notwithstanding the reminder contained in St. Augustine’s Civitas Dei, was the Varronian idea of ‘antiquitates’—the idea of a civilization recovered by systematic collection of all the relics o f the past.’ pa st.’11 W ha hatt led led to the collection collection of o f antique objects objects du ring the Middl M iddlee Ages was n o t their the ir antiquit antiquity y bu butt their their appeal appeal to the eye or their rare or unusual materials, or simply because they the y were different; o r even in some cas casees because because they were thoug tho ug ht to be endowed endowed w ith magi magica call powers. powers. Th Thee anti antiques ques  pre  p rese serv rvee d in th thee trea tr easu suri ries es o f cathe ca thedr dral alss w e re k e p t th thee re be beca caus usee their materials or their craftsmanship were considered precious, not because they were ancient. Even those few who had a genuine interest in Antiquity were drawn to it by an attraction tempe red by by utilit utilitarian arian consi considera derati tions ons.. Th Thee Latin classics were considered above all as repositories of unusual information or moral teachings or as collections of fine phrases, suitable for quotation or insertion into one’s own writings. They were certainly not seen as the expressions of a great civilization. Roman remains were employed as building materials, or as architectural models, as can be seen for instance in the interior of Autun Cathedral and on the facade of that of Saint Gilles, or they could influence sculpture, as happened in France during the early thirteenth century, when art acquired there a new vitali vitality ty thro throug ugh h the study study o f ancien ancientt marbles. marbles. Th Thee inscriptions inscriptions left left wherever wh erever Rome had ruled ruled were ■sometimes considered useful models, and as such were tran scribed scribe d and imitated. Statues Statues and sarcophagi were used again, while smaller antiques antiques were often employed for fo r various purposes. p urposes. Roman cinerary urns were frequently turned into small stoups for holy water, as may be seen seen in more m ore than tha n one .ch .church urch in Rome, Rom e, or could even be provided with a fresh inscription, as was the ■case with the urn now in the Lateran Museum, which bears an inscription in hon h onou ourr of o f St. St. Agnes and St. St. Alexander, placed placed there during dur ing the thirteenth thirteen th century by Marco, A bbot o f Santa Santa Prassede. Prassede.22 T he ivory diptychs o f the consuls consuls became covers covers o f gospel books Cont ribute alia storia degli degli studi classic^ classic^ 73. Recen 1 M om iglian o, Contribute Recent, t, info rm atio n on medieva l  A n g lo -S a xo n Poetry Poet ry antiquarian studies is given ibid.  73, n. 13, to wh ich add C. L. W ren n,  An and the Amateur Archaeologist , (London, 1962). 2 P l.I, O . M am cchi,  I m on tm en ti del \h iseo is eo Cristi Cri stiano ano La/era La/ eranen nense se , (Milano, 1910) 43, pi. XL1V.

THE MIDDLE AGES

3

or were even employed employed to record r ecord the dead o f a particular church, church, as happened happen ed for instance instance to the Boethius B oethius diptych diptych o f 487 87,, on o n which were entered the names names o f the decease deceased d o f the church of o f Bres Brescia. cia. Sometimes Sometimes the figure figuress o f the consuls consuls carved on them were turned turn ed into saints or biblical characters, as happened in a diptych now at Monza, where they became King David and St. Gregory, and in one at Prague, where the consul was transformed into none other than St. St. Peter hi himse mself lf.. En Engrave graved d gems gems went we nt to adorn crowns and diadems, crosses, reliquaries, and book covers.1 Thus the cross given to the Minster at Aachen by the Emperor Otho III has an ancient cameo of the young Augustus; and also at Aachen the eleventh century ambo still displays some antique ivory tablets with decidedly pagan deities. One thing that must be borne in mind is that the Middle Ages Ages did n o t envisage classic classical al antiquity antiqu ity as a different civilization c ivilization or a lost Paradise. Paradise. D espite esp ite the differ differen ence ce in religion, until Petrarch medieval men failed to notice a fracture between the clas classi sica call age and their ow n time times. s. T o them the m Frederick F rederick Barbarossa Barbarossa was as much a Roman Emperor as Augustus or Trajan and only differed from Constantine by his having been born several centuries after him>.xThe medieval empire and that founded by Augustus were believed to be one and the same, and classical myth was often used for decoration de coration in a religious religious setting. In fact ihe frequent warnings that pagan art was dangerous found little response even in ecclesia ecclesiasti stical cal circles circles.. D u rin ring g the early Middle Ages a vigorous classical revival took place under the Carolingians. lingians. This was in many ways a real renaissance, renaissance, and the widest widest in scope ever witnessed witnessed before tha t which illuminated the fifteen fif teenth th and sixteenth centuries. centuries. I t was initiated initiated at the the cou c ourt rt of Charlemag Charlemagne, ne, and to it we owe the preservation preservation o f m ost o f those I ,a ,ati tin n class classic ics, s, w hich humanism hum anism in tu rn han handed ded on o n to us. This ( /arolingian /arolingian Renaissance, which whic h was able to achieve such suc h class classica icall it a Karo Karoli li,, looked with unfeigned works as Einha Ein hard’ rd’ss Suetonian V ita unfeigned enthusiasm enthusiasm at the relics relics o f Antiquity. Late imperial imperial R om oman an art found a reflecti reflection on in tha t of the Aachen court. Many mo monum numents ents of the Carolingian capital were partly built with spoils from Rome and Ravenna; and this was the very age when enthusiasm for the antique led even to the accurate copying of illustrated manuscript manuscriptss of o f the late late Empire. Em pire. Some manuscripts of o f Virgil Virg il and  1 See See for instance L. V itali, itali,  II 1964 64)) 30 -31 , pi. pi. 45-48.  I I tesoro del D uomo uom o d i Mon%ay (M ilano 19

4

THE MIDDLE AGES

 N otiti itia a Terence,1the Tere nce,1the extant copie copiess o f the Calendar Calendar of o f 354 354 and the  Not  Dignitatum , both of which reproduce lost Carolingian books which were in turn faithful copies of late antique exemplars2,  beaa r witn  be wi tnes esss to this. this . F u r th thee r m o r e , th thee style an and d s p irit ir it o f anc a ncie ient nt  bo  b o o k s c o ul uldd e ve venn be r e - c a p tu turr e d : the th e cele ce lebr braa ted te d psa p salt ltee r ex exec ecut uted ed at Rheims about 930 and now at Utrecht, shows what is in fact a successful attempt to imitate, both in the handwriting and in the illustrations, illustrations, the appearance appearance o f manuscripts o f late Antiquity. Carolingian classicism survived in a degenerate form in O thon thonian ian Germany. Germ any. Yet in in the earl early y eleventh century thi thiss Othonian classicism, which was able to salvage more than one Latin classic for us, could achieve such heights as the column  plaa n n e d by B er  pl ernn a rd o f H ilde il desh shee im o n th thee an anal alog ogy y o f th thaa t o f Trajan, thus supplying a smaller but effective version of one of the greatest greatest m onum onuments ents of o f Antiquity. This same same Bernard, who had been one of the tutors of Otho III, carried his conformity to Antiquity even as far as having his name stamped on tile tiless in the Roma Ro man n manner.3 But the echoe echoess of o f this Othon Oth onian ian class classici icism sm w en entt well beyo beyond nd the sphere of o f art. Th Thee imperial imperial dreams of Otho III and his residence in Rome led to a re awakening of a consciousness of the city’s historic mission, thus  pav  pa v in ingg th thee way wa y f o r th thee va vari riou ouss a tte tt e m p ts to re ress to torr in ing g th thee an anci cien entt republic, from that tha t of o f Crescent Crescentius ius in in 998 998 dow n to that tha t of o f Stefano Stefano Porcari in 1453. What still remained of ancient Rome during the Middle Ages was enough to make a deep impression upon pilgrims and other travell travellers ers.. N or were the ruins ruins of o f Rome Rom e the the only only ones ones to attract attra ct notice. notice. In othe o therr parts o f Italy Italy als also o the pilgrims pilgrims who w ho came from across the Alps stopped astonished before the huge arches, the amphitheatres, the walls, and all the more striking relic elicss of o f Rom an power. D uring the firs firstt decade decade of the twelfth century Archbishop Hildebert of Tours had voiced in two Latin elegi elegies es his his em otion, otion , mingled m ingled with w ith a sense sense of o f ‘vanita ‘vanitas’ s’,, on remem reme m  bee r in  b ing g th thee ru ruin inss a nd th thee stat st atue uess w hi hicc h he h a d be b e e n able abl e to t o ad adm m ire ir e in Rom e.4 O ver a generat generation ion lat later er O tto o f Freisi Freising, ng, the the uncl unclee of of Frederick Barbarossa, registered in his Gesta Friderici I Impera1 P. Courcelle, ‘La tradition a ntique dans lcs miniatures ine dites d ’un Virgile Virgile de Nap les’, les’,  Meianges  Meiang es d'archeologie et d'hist d'h istoi oire re,,   LY'I (1939) 249-79. 2 A. W. B yvanck, ‘‘D D ie antike Buchmaierei III, D er K alender vom Jahre 354 354 un d die  N o t i t i a d ig n ita it a tu m \ Mnemosyne Mnem osyne , N.S. VIII (1940) 177-98, H. Stern,  L e Calendrie Cale ndrierr de  354 (Paris, 1953) 14-41. Classical al Inspirat Inspiration ion in Medieval Medieval A r t,   (London, 1959) 67. 8 W. O ake sho tt, Classic 4 The O xfo rd Book o f Mediaeva Mediaevall ILatin ILatin Verse^ Verse^   ed. F. J. H. Raby, (Oxford, 1959) 220-22,

THE MIDDLE AGES

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tons an accurate accurate description o f a triumpha trium phall arch, noted note d by him in

no rth Italy in 1158,3 du north durin ring g the expedition expedition in which he partici  pate  pa ted d w ith it h his fo form rmid idab able le ne neph phew ew.. A d e scri sc ripp tio ti o n o f an anci cien entt remains was also  included by the chancellor of the Emperor Henry VI, Conrad of Querfurt, in a letter to the Provost of Hildesheim, where he described his Italian journey of 1194.2 But to return retu rn to Rome, Rome , the fa fact ct tha thatt it was was the capita capitall of western Christianity, soon created a need for itineraries, in order to supply pilgrims with a reliable guide to the main churches and the m ost os t famous holy places. places. Several Several o f these itineraries have come down to us, the best known being the ninth century manuscript at Einsiedeln, which is really an abridged version of an older and more m ore extensive text, now no w lost.3 N ow in these itiner itine r arie ar iess the trium phal arches, arches, the amphitheatres, the more pro m inent inen t ancient buildings, buildin gs, in fact, are included. They The y are, how ever, eve r, given mainly mainly as points o f ref referen erence. ce. Just Ju st as as to-d to-day ay we would wou ld indicate a church, a public house, or a very unusual building, when describing the the w a y to a particular place, place, so in in the itinerari itineraries es many old monuments Were mentioned, not because they were anceint, anceint, bu t merely merely because because they were conspicuous. conspicuous. Th Thus us the Einsiedeln itinerary mentions thermae and circuses, theatres,  por  p orti tico coes es,, a n d pa palac laces, es, a lo lon n g w ith it h ch chur urcc he hes, s, m on onas aste teri ries es,, an andd  paa rtic  p rt icul ular arly ly h ol olyy spot sp ots. s. T h e a rc rche hety type pe o f th this is itin it inee ra rary ry was certainly accompanied accom panied by a plan of o f the city.4 These T hese primitive prim itive  plans  plan s w er eree circ ci rcul ular ar in shap sh apee a nd de depi pict cted ed sever sev eral al an anci cien entt b u ild il d  ings, such as the Coliseum, the Pantheon, Hadrian’s Mausoleum, and many others. others. They were in fact fact styl stylize ized d representations of of what was still left of ancient Rome, and what is most prominent in them is not the Christian element but the ancient pagan one. This is also true of the views of Rome on the imperial golden  bulls  bu lls f r o m F r ed edee ric ri c k B ar arba baro ross ssaa d o w n to F r ed edee ric ri c k I I I . H e re Rome appears as the ‘caput mundi’ and the proud motto ‘Roma caput mundi mu ndi regit orbis frena frena rotund rotu ndi’ i’ surrounds the view o f the eternal city.5 Views of Rome did not depart from this type until the Rabewini ni Gesta Gesta ¥ riderici I. Imperatoris,   ed. G. Waitz, 3rd ed., (Hannoverae et 1 Ottonis et Rabewi I ipsiae, 1912) 216-17. 2 A r n o l d i Chronica Slavor Sla vorum um , ed. G. H. Pertz'^Hannoverae, 1868) 174-83. 3 C. H ue ls en ,  J-M  J-M pian pi anta ta d i R om a delV de lV An on im o Einsidl Eins idlens ensee , (Roma, 1907) 7-9. 4  I h i d - 7 -

5 W. Erben, Kombiider Kombiider au f kaiser kaiserlic lichen hen uttdpdps uttdpdpstliche tlichen n Siegef Siegefo o des M jt ttk lt e rs y  (Graz-WienI .eipzig, 1931) pas sim a nd pi. I I —I II , P. Sella,  JL  JLe bolle d'oro d 'oro delV de lVAr Arch chiv ivio io V atic at ican an oy (Citta del Vaticano, 1934) 41 and pi. LI.

6

THE MIDDLE AGES

Renaissan Renaissance. ce. E ve venn in th thee early early fifteenth century cen tury the fresco by Taddeo di Bartolo in the Palazzo Pubblico at Siena, the repre sentation by Leonardo da Besozzo and the illumination in the Tr'es Riches Heures o  off the Duke D uke o f Berry, Berry, present the conventional conventional mediev medieval al panorama.1 panorama.1 View Viewss o f th this is kind were were by no mean meanss restricted to pictures pictures o f Rome. The tow n o f Clas Classse figur figures es already in one of the mosaics of Sant’ Apollinare Nuovo at Ravenna. Ravenna. T o the tenth century belongs belongs the view of Verona, in which ancient buildings, such as the ‘Arena’ and the palace of Theod Th eodoric, oric, stand out prom inently.2 From Fr om itinerar itineraries ies and vi views ews to actual descriptions of towns is but a short step, and in fact such descriptions descriptions are n o t lacking either either.. It is true that th at descrip tions such as that o f Verona, w ritten du during ring the Carolingian Carolingian age,3 deal mainly with the ecclesiastical aspect of the city, that is to say say churches, monasteries, monasteries, and the more impo im portan rtantt relics relics.. T he situation in Rome Rom e was, was, however, how ever, di diffe fferen rent. t. I t is true that th at here also handbooks on the sacred places of the city were by no means scarce; it is sufficient to recall in this connexion the socalled called catalogues catalogues of o f the Lent Len t stations. Some detailed detailed descriptions  Descriptio tio of major basilicas have also reached us, such as the  Descrip  Latera  Lateranen nensis sis Eccle clesia siae written during the eleventh or twelfth century, or o r the description o f St. St. P eter’ ete r’s, s,5 5 dra draw w n up by the th e canon Pietro Mallio and dedicated by him to Pope Alexander III  Regionari ariii6 (1159-81). (1159-81). But Bu t side side by side side w ith these, these, there the re were the the  Region o f secul secular ar Rome, the most ancient of which which belong to the times o f Constant Constantine ine.. A nd around aro und the remain remainss o f the ancient ancient city city there arose a crop o f legends, legends, several several of which were w ere incorpora inco rporated ted into his his chron chronicl iclee by William William o f Malmesbury,7 Malmesbury,7 while while others Romae Urbis Urbis, 8 that tract where found their way into the  Mirabilia Rom the historical and the legendary enliven what would otherwise have been a dreary topographical catalogue. The  Mirabilia was more than a mere guide to ancient Rome. Compiled about the middle of the twelfth century, it obviously , 4

pia ntee d i R om a , (Roma, 1962) I, 123-26, 131-32, II, pi. 148-49, 154. 1 A. P. F ruta z,  L e piant 2 R epro duc ed fo r instance in G. M onticelli,  Rat  R ater erio io vesc vescov ovo o d i Vero Ve rona na , (Milano, 1938)  pl  p l a te fa c in g p. 48. descrip tio rith ri thm m ica ic a Veron Ve ronae ae , (Bologna, 1920). 3 Pu blishe d in L. Simeoni,  L a descriptio 4 Codice topografico della citta di Roma,   ed. R. Valentini e G. Zucchetti, III, (Roma, 1946), 326-73.  Ibi d.   Ill, 382-442. 5 Ibid. 6 Ib id . I, 89-258. 7 W . M alm esbu riensis,  De gestis regum A ng lo ru m li b ri quinque,  ed. W. Stubbs, I (Lo ndon , 1887) 202-03, 256-59. 8 Codice topografico della citta di Roma , III, 17-65.

THE MIDDLE AGES

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 br eath  brea thes es th thee co cons nsci ciou ousn snes esss o f th thee city ci ty’’s impe im peria riall de desti stiny ny,, th thaa t had been re-awakened in the days of Otho III; that same con  Monar arch chia ia,, sciousness which, in its last expression in Dante’s  Mon marked also also the end of o f the Middle Middle Ages, As a han handb dboo ook k on what wha t remained of the old city the  Mirabilia  dominated all subsequent accounts of Roman topography until the Renaissance, and was still the most popular guide to Rome during the sixteenth century, when it was printed several times and translated into various langua languages. ges. In it Rome is very much m uch the ‘caput ‘caput mun m undi’ di’.. Of course the nomenclature of the monuments is often wildly inaccura inaccurate te or hopele hopelessl ssly y corrupt. But where the author turns to the foundation of the Aracoeli church or the ‘Dioscuri’ of the Quirinal or the so-called ‘caballus Constantini’, that is to say the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius then at the Lateran, history surrenders to legend, almost to poetry, notwithstanding the scholarly scholarly pretensions o f the author, auth or, who w ho even makes makes an occasi occasiona onall use of inscriptions. mirabilib libus us T he same same clima climate te o f the the  Mirabilia pervades the  De mirabi nrbis Komae  compiled" by a Magister Gregorius, probably an !En Engl glis ishm hman an,, ‘sociorum socior um m eo eorum rum ro rogg a tu tu’’ du durin ring g the t he late twelfth or early early thirteen thirte enth th century.1 I f anything, the outlo o utlook ok here is is even more secul secular ar tha than n in the  Mirabilia. Admittedly Ad mittedly Hildebert’ Hilde bert’ss lin ines es on Rome2 Rom e2 made M agister agister G rego regorius rius fe feel el tha t the end o f the world was was not no t very far of off. Yet this this sense sense o f impending impe nding doom d oom did not stop him from admiring a statue of Venus in her usual attire, attire, or, more m ore accurat accurately ely,, lack lack o f attire. attire. T he ninth nin th or tenth century author of the charming lyric ‘O admirabile Veneris ulolum’3 ulolum’3 had here her e a spiritual follower. W ha hatt interests Magister Mag ister ( iregorius is ancient, ancient, no nott Chris Chris dan, Rome. Unlike the author auth or of of i he  Mirabilia , he obviously did not lack some critical power. Thus having to choose between the versions of the pilgrims and  <>f the Romans he chose the latter version. version. H e definit definitely ely had an rye for the antique bronze statues at the Lateran and was in fact 1 1ie fir first st to m ention the you y outh th with a thor th orn n now in the Capit C apitol, ol, of which he said: ‘Est etiam aliud eneum simulacrum valde ridicolosum losum qu quod od Priapum dicunt. Q ui demisso dem isso capite velud spinam spinam c;iicatam educturus de pede, asperam lesionem pacientis speciem ' <». M. Ru shforth, ‘Magister G reg orius Dc M irabilibus irabilibus U rbis Ro m ac: A N ew De scrip tion <> <>!' Ro m e in the T w elf th C en tur y', The Journal oj X (19 (1919) 19) 14 14— —58, Codice oj R oman Studies,   IIX i 'f‘‘\'>
8

THE MIDDLE AGES

representat. represe ntat. Cui si demisso capite velut quid agat exp exploratur loraturus us susp suspex exer eris is,, mire magnit ma gnitudini udiniss viri virili liaa videbis’ videbis’.1 .1 Alone Alone with Petrarch,2 Petrarch ,2 he mentions m entions an arch o f Pompey P ompey erected for his victory against Mithridates. Mithridates. But like most mo st of o f hi hiss contemporaries he was was ill at ease with ancient inscriptions, to the point of being unable to make anything out of an antique inscription on a bronze tablet,3 then the n in the Lateran and an d now in the Capitol. Capitol. T o the same tradition tradition o f the the  Mirabilia and Magister Gregorius’s tract belongs the Graphia Aurea Urbis Romae.1 There is is no do doub ubtt that its its author was also a firm believer in the divine mission of Rome, which is stressed by him in an introduction, where he seeks to  prr o v e th  p thee sanc sa nctit tityy o f th thee city ci ty’’s or orig igin ins. s. B ut its to topp o g ra rapp h ica ic a l section could really be described as hardly more than a new edition edition o f the the  Mirabilia  with additions and recasting to improve its usefulness as a guide book. The pride and belief in the greatness of Rome, the very  pro  pr o p h e c y alre al read adyy vo voic iced ed by th thee Pseu Ps eudo do-B -Bed ede, e, th thaa t ‘Q u a m d iu stat Colisaeus, stat et Roma, quando cadet Colisaeus, cadet et Rom Ro m a; quando q uando cadet cadet Roma, cadet et m und undus’ us’,5 ,5 were not no t  po  p o w e rfu rf u l e n o u g h to sto st o p th thee c o n tin ti n u o u s a nd impl im plac acab able le d e str st r u c  tion of o f what wh at remained remained o f ancient Rome. Ev er sinc sincee the last centuries of the Empire Rome had been turned into the largest quarry of marble that the world had ever seen, as well as a huge warehouse of ancient sculpture, from which anyone was free to draw at a t pleasur pleasure. e. I t was marble, marble every where. T h e translation o f the bodies of the saints saints and martyrs ma rtyrs into churches had led to a search for suitable marbles with which to adorn their new tombs, while sarcophagi were sought after and employed to receive the remains of the faithful. After the sack of 1084 by Robert Guiscard’s Normans, definite excavations were carried out in order to secure materials for the rebuilding of the city’s churches, and this quarrying of ancient stones stones went on and on. on. In 113 1139 Pope Pop e Inn Innoc ocen entt II used among am ong other things some Ionic capitals from the Baths of Caracalla when rebuilding the church o f Santa Santa Maria Maria in Trastevere.6 N or was the dem and fo forr such such materials confined to Rome. Already 1 R ush forth, op. cit. 49. 2 Petrarca,  Rer  R er u m amil am ilia iariu rium m U b r i , VI. 2. 3 R ush forth , op. cit. 58. 58 . 4 Codice topografico della citta di Roma,   III, 77-110. 6 J. P. M ign e, Patrologia Latina,   XCIV, (Paris, 1862) 543, F. Schneider,  Ro  R o m und un d Romg R omgeedanke im Mittelalter,   (Miinchen, 1926) 66-67, 251. • R. Lanciani, Sto ria degli 1902) 7. degli sca scavi vi di R oma ,  I, (Ro m a, 1902)

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in the sixth century Theodoric had some pillars from the Domus Pinciana sent to Ravenna, and marbles of Roman origin were also also used not n ot only in in the building o f Italian cathedrals, cathedrals, o f which t hose at Pisa, Lucca, and Amalfi, are leading examples, but even as far as Constantinople, Aachen, and W estminster. Th Thee export expo rt o f marble marbless from Rome was a regular trade trade for about abou t ten centuries. Pagan Pag an sarcophagi sarcoph agi were, we re, as we saw, often ofte n employed employ ed as Christian tombs, and this still went on during the Renaissance. In one o f them was placed placed the the corpse o f Charlemagne. Charlemagne. A famous sarcophagus with the story of Phaedra and Hippolytus  becam  be camee d u r in ingg th thee ele el e ve vent nth h c en entu tury ry th thee to tom m b o f Beatr Be atrice ice,, Counte Countess ss of Tuscan Tuscany. y. In the thirteenth century one one formed part pa rt of the tomb of Cardinal Guglielmo Fieschi in San Lorenzo at Rome; another harboured the remains of the Senator Luca Savelli and can still be seen in the Aracoeli church, and these are  bu  b u t a fe few w instances,. instances,. Also Also antique sta st a g e s were often traded. traded. Th Thee Rom an stone stone cutters now known as ‘Cosmati’, besides digging for models and materials valuable to their craft, also sold ancient statuary, and more than one piece of antique sculpture has reached us wit with the name o f on onee o f th thes esee craft craftsme smen n engrave engraved d upon it.1 it.1 N or did these statues, whether altered into saints or untouched, lack customers. customers. A famous instance instance in in this this country co untry is is tha t of Henry He nry of Klois, Bishop of Winchester, who, while in Rome about the middl middlee o f the twelfth twe lfth century, century, acquired an impressi impressive ve am ount of ancient marbles and statuary, defending such purchases by sayin saying g that he was removing remo ving these old statues statues in order ord er to preve p revent nt ilie Romans from worshipping them again and thus renewing i lie cult o f such idols as they already a lready serve se rved d spiritually spiritua lly because of of i heir eir innate innate and accur accurse sed d avari avarice ce.2 .2 N ot for fo r nothing had Henry spent some time at the Curia! Undeniabl Undeniably y the majorit ma jority y o f people people at all times times looked loo ked w ith an indiff ind ifferen erentt ey eyee on the ruins ruin s o f Rome. Rome . I t is, is, howeve how ever, r, equally equally undeniable that in every century there were people who surrendered surrender ed to their the ir fascinat fascination. ion. O ne of o f them was tha t Nicolaus Nicolaus ( a esccntii who erected for himself, not far from Santa Maria in <'.osmedin and the Velabro quarter, a small palace with fragments of ancient buildings and statuary incorporated into the walls. ' l \ I’Vdc-li-, ‘Sul ‘Sul co m m erc io d elle antic hita in R om a ne l X II s ec olo ’,  Arc  A rchi hivi vio o della (1909 09)) 465-7 465-70. 0.  \m  \ m u t h Korn Kornana ana di Stori a Patria, X X X II (19 ). S;iicsbcricusis, llistoriae Ponfificalis quae supersunt, super sunt,   ed. R. L. Poole, (Oxford, 1927) HI-/.

10

THE MIDDLE AGES

His aim in doing so was stated in the metrical inscription above the door, where he declare declared d that he had been moved m oved to build by a desire ‘Romae veterem renovare decorem’, thus anticipating by over three centuries what was done by Lorenzo Manili in 1468,1 when wh en humanism was was in ful fulll flowe flower. r. Some concern conce rn for the ancient monuments is also expressed in various efforts to afford them some protection. protec tion. This was naturally naturally one of the outcomes of o f the attitude to which we owe the  Mirabilia   and the revolution of A rno rnold ld of o f Bres Bresci cia. a. A pa part rt fro from m those ancient building buildingss which had been turned into baronial strongholds, many outstanding monuments were not publicly owned, but this did not prevent the enacting of some protective prote ctive legis legislat lation. ion. In the tenth century c entury the Antonin A ntoninee Column Colum n belonged to the monastery of San San Siives Siivestro tro in Capite, while two centuries later the Abbess of San Ciriaco was was the owner own er of Trajan’ Tra jan’ss Column.2 The idea o f protection was was actually voiced by Arnold of Brescia, when he spoke about the neces necessi sity ty of restoring the Capitol.3 Capitol.3 But it was was only eight yea years rs after his tragic death, in 1162, that the Roman Seriate on con firming possession of Trajan’s Column to the Abbess of San Ciriaco, threatened at the same time with capital, punishment and confiscation of goods anyone who ‘earn minuere temptaverit’ ve rit’.4 .4 Steps Steps also also appear to have been take taken n to forbid fo rbid the export exp ort o f ancient marbles withou with outt the sanction sanction of o f the Sena Senate te.. A t any any rate this is suggested by the letter written by (.’hades I of Anjou, King of Sicily, in 1276 to the treasurer of the Capitol, about his wish to purchase the ‘conca porfidi’ which had contained the  bo  b o d y o f P o p e I n n o c e n t I V .5 I t is th thee re refo fore re n o t surp su rpri risi sing ng th thaa t in such an atmosphere the discovery in Rome of a gigantic corpse in 1045 led at once to its its being be ing identified identified with the th e remains  Aenet d  still o f Pal Pallas the son o f Ev Evan ande der.6 r.6 N o t for nothing di did d the  Aenetd   still enjoy some readers in eleventh-century Rome! The view that pagan art was dangerous had hardly any more devotees during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries than it had had before. before. T he funeral funeral genii w ith torches reversed reversed came came straight from an antique model and they still figure on the twelfthcentury front of Modena Cathedral and certainly express the commo com monn disregard of o f such such warnings. It has has alr already eady been shown 1 R. Weiss, Un umanista vene^iann - Papa Paolo II,   (Vcnezia-Roma, 1958) 44. 2A. D e B ollar d, 134. 4 D e Bo iiard, op. at.   241, r*. 1.  Ib id.   243. 5 Ibid. 6 Malmesburiensis, op. eif.  !, 258-59. .

THE MIDDLE AGES

11

that small antiques, such as ivories or engraved gems, had been employed employed as as ornaments. orname nts. T o this may may be added that the latter latter were also often used as charms or as seals, both in Italy and  beyo  be yond nd th thee A lp lps.1 s.1 A n c ien ie n t in insc scri ript ptio ions ns also c o m m a nd ndee d som so m e attention. attention. Th Thee earli earliest est manuscript man uscript coll collecti ections ons of them were w ere naturally restricted to Christian epitaphs and were connected with with pilgrimages pilgrimages to Rome. They were origi originall nally y p u t tog togeth ether er as illustrations or appendices to itineraries or to descriptions of sacred sacred buildings. buildings. Further Fu rtherm m ore ore,, those in in verse verse furnished furnishe d useful useful anthologies anthologies of sepulchral sepulchral poetry. W hat is obvious is is that tha t their collection was certainly prompted neither by archaeological nor historical historical considerations. Such gatherings gath erings of o f inscriptions were quite common during the Carolingian age, nor were these collecti collections ons restricted to epigraphic texts texts from Rome. Inscrip tions from Milan, Pavia, Ivrea, Tours and other towns were also sedulously copied, and so were those of important basilicas, such as St. St. Peter’s Pe ter’s,, Rome. Rom e. This epigraphic e pigraphic activity activity started, however, to declint swiftly after the ninth century, so much so that antique inscriptions became eventually quite unintelligible to men w ith eye eyess accustom ed to Goth G othic ic script. script. All the same i her heree were we re some medieval m edieval scholars who w ho had no n o t over o verlook looked ed them altogether. Already in the seventh century Nennius N ennius had  Histor iaBritonum tonum  from ancient inscrip drawn information for hi hiss  HistoriaBri tio ions ns as as wel well as as from coins. coins.2 2 D uring the twelfth they they were not no t entirely disregarded by the author of the  Mirabilia , and a con siderable-display of them was made by Pietro Mallio in his description o f St St. Peter’ Pe ter’ss, Rome. Th Thee inscription on the Arch Arch of ( Constantine attracted the attention o f John Jo hn of Salisbu Salisbury ry during d uring his Roman Rom an sojourn ab about out the middle o f the tw elfth century,3 ce ntury,3 and during this same century the scribe of a copy of Plato’s Timaeus in the Latin version o f Chalci Chalcidi dius us transcribed transcribe d between the trans lator’s preface and the beginning of the text, an inscription of I ladrian ladria n o f a . d . 119 119,4 ,4 which wh ich perh perhaps aps figured figure d already in his 1(i. Demay,  Des  De s pie p ierre rress grav gr avies ies dans les sceaax da Moyen Moye n A g e ,   (Paris, 1877), J. Adhemar, J'.//,/ V/v‘.f antiques de Vart du Moyen Age Yran$ais,   (London, 1939) 106-09, H. Wentzel,  Jon rnall o f the Warbu Wa rburg rg and  an d  T<.limits “a l’antique” on French Medieval Gems and Seals’,  Jonrna >ourtanld Institutes , XVI (1953) 342-50, H. Wentzel, Mtalienische SJcgclstcmpcl und Siegel iir.ntiico im 13 und 14 Jahrhundcrt’,  M ittn it tnli liin in^e ^en n des Kn nstb ns tbis isto tori rish shcn cn In st itu it u ts in Flore loren n%> \ VII (1955) (1955) 73-86. " K. S. Loomis, Wales and the Arthurian Legend,  (Cardiff, 1956) 3-4. :t I. Saresberiensis, Policraticus,   ed. C. C. C. J. W eb b, 1, 1, (O xo nii, 1913 1913)) 7. British M useum , Ms. Royal, 12.i3 12.i3..xx xxii ii,, f. 2r 2r . O ne m ay add the insc insc ription fro m Lu cus 1 British ........ . copied in a twelfth century manu script from the Abb ey of Farfa, Farfa, cf. Vatican I ibi.irv, ibi.irv, Ms. Vat. lat. lat. 6808, f. 113r, 113r, R. Bartoc cini, ‘L'an hte atr o di Luc us F ero niae e ilil suo (19599-60) 60)  A t t i della Pontif Pon tifici icia a A ccad cc adem em ia Kom ana d i Archeol Arch eologi ogia a , R endiconti, X X III (195 I / I 74 7 4. .

12

THE MIDDLE AGES

archetype. Such cas cases are certainly no t very num numerou erous. s. In fact the interpretation interp retation o f inscriptions inscriptions could lead lead to ludicrous howlers. For instance in mid-thirteenth century the bronze tablet with imperio io was actually Vespasian’s L e x de imper actually identified identified by the glossato glo ssatorr Odofredus (d. 1265) as part of the laws of the Twelve Tables themselves.1 As was only to be expected, a man like Frederick II could hardly remain indiffer indifferent ent to the cal calll o f A ntiquity. His dream o f universal power made him regard himself as an emperor of clas classi sica call times and an d a direct direc t successor successor o f A ugu ugustus. stus. It was was there the re fore natural that what had been handed down from Roman times shou sh ould ld fascinate fascinate him. Little wonder, won der, then, that tha t in in 124 1240 he licensed Osberto Commenali to excavate near Augusta ‘in loca in quibus quibu s sperat spe rat firmiter inventiones maximas maximas invenire’, inve nire’,2 2 or that th at he acquired all the antique objects upon which he could lay hands. hands. Th Thus us we fin ind d him removing remov ing from Grottaferrata and forwarding to Lucera a bronze group, which had attracted his fancy, fan cy, represen repre senting ting a m an and an d a cow,3 and disbursin d isbursing g the very considerable sum of 1230 gold ‘unciae’ for a large onyx cup and other oth er antiques.4 antiques.4 These antiquarian tast tastes es were were nevert neverthel heless ess not so strong as to interfere w ith the security security of the state state.. In fact we find Frederick II ordering the pulling down of some ancient remains, in order to erect some urgently needed fortifications.5 Frederick II tried to imitate the Roman Caesars in more than one way. way. Actually Actually he came close closerr to the rulers o f the later Empire than to those of the first two centuries of our era; but that tha t is an anothe otherr question. question. These attempts to pose as as a Roman Rom an E m pero perorr led him him to encourage the revival revival of o f ancient ancient Roman Roma n art. art. Art was for him one of the means to exalting his lay state, and forr Frederick the state fo state was was what wha t mattered ma ttered above all all.. Th Thee golden ‘augustales’, where Frederick is portrayed with the attire and laurels laurels o f the R om oman an Caesars, Caesars,6 6 the trium phal arch o f Capua Capua,, now n ow represented represe nted only by some fragments in the local local m useum use um ,7 ,7cert certain ainly ly reflect more than anything else these efforts to revive the art of  1 C . I . L .   VI. I, 930, K. Burdach, I om A'littelalier %jir Reformation,   II. 5. (Berlin, 1929) 359. 2 J. L. A. H uillard-B reho lles,  H isto is tori ricc Dipl Di plnm nm atica at ica t r i d e r i c i S'ec/tn S'ec/tndi, di,  V.2, (Parisiis, 1859) 825. 3 Ibid. I , D X L V . _ 4 Ibid.  Ibid .  V. 1, 477. 5 E. M iintz, P recursort recursort e propugnatori propugnatori del Kinascim mto , (Firenze, 1920) 4. Medievali li, ser. 2, I (1928) 59-73. 6 See S. R icci, ‘G li “ A ugusta ! x” di F ed er ico II ’, Stu di Medieva 7 O n this arch see, see, for instance, C. A. W illcmsen , Kaiser Friedrich II . Tr ium pto r %t{ Capua Ca pua > Wiesbaden, 1953), E. Battisti, Kinascimento e Barocco , (Torino, 1960) 16-29.

THE MIDDLE AGES

13

ancient ancient Rome ‘ad ‘ad majorem imperii imperii gloriam’ gloriam ’. Th Thee letter and s<>me of the spirit of classicism are certainly there. Thee age Th age of o f Frederick II paved the way towards a new appre ciation of classicism, to a new period when the most: intelligent interpreters as well as the acutest students of Antiquity are to be sought among the artists rather than among the men of letters. Before the rise of humanism the real antiquarians were the artists, and classicism was an approach to form which found Iid idle le counterpart counter part in contemporary rhetoric. The letter letter o f A nti quity qui ty had been sedulousl sedulously y followed before Frederick II. But Bu t the idiom had generally remained Romanesque or Gothic, and such i( remained, rem ained, but bu t for a few exceptions, after the death de ath o f the ‘stupor stup or mund mu ndi’ i’.. F o r instance instance one could certainly consider conside r as • iich, iich, that tha t is as as translatio tran slations ns o f clas classi sical cal objects into int o a G oth othic ic idiom, the drawings of antique statuary in the well known •.ketch book o f Villa Villard rd de H onnecourt1 onneco urt1 or the drawing of an ancient ancient cameo cameo by Matthew M atthew Paris.2 In a sense sense they stand stan d to Antiquity in the sanifc^way as Brunetto Latini’s versions of some <>1 ( acer ac ero’ o’ss ora oratio tions ns in his everyd ev eryday ay speech, spee ch, whe w here re ancie an cient nt offices offices and institutions are turned into what was considered to be their iliirteenth century equivalent.3 eq uivalent.3 But Bu t then a sense sense o f historical anachro anachroni nism sm is is a modern mod ern trait. trait. E ve venn during the high Renais Renais  sance ancient heroes were often represented in sixteenth
 Rat  R atio iona na le— le — Depa De parte rteme ment nt des M anus an uscr crits its ,  A l b u m de Vuillard de Honnecourt  Honnec ourt   ,>  ,>>, h tf n fr
XXX (1844) 444-45. ' r

 I p ri m i vo lp a r i^ a m e n ti dei classici l a tini ti ni , (Fire nze , 195 1952) 2) 22. 22. * I , j j I 'rosti 'rosti del Duecento Duecento a cura d i Cesare Cesare Segre Segre e M ario ar io M a r ti , (Milano-Napoli, 1959) 1038-40. An. i. ni Arretine pottery w as later m ention ed by G iova nn i Villani, Villani, cf. cf. A . Fa bro ni, Storia */*»•/» .mtuhi vast ast fi tt il i aretint, aretint, (Arezzo, 1841) 16.

14

THE MIDDLE AGES

regarded and, furthermore, and this is not without interest, he considered them as the products of another age, quite different from his his own. It is is true that tha t what wha t really really pro prom m pted him to dedicate a chapter of his encyclopaedia to this ware was a desire to proclaim the excellence of his native town by exalting the perfection of these vases and the consummate artistry of the ancient Arretine Arre tine craftsmen. All the same, same, his his account accoun t is also indicative of a sensitivity to classical art, and of an approach to it which is is no nott so distant distant from the th e id ideal ealss of o f the Renaissance. Renaissance. It was at about the same time, during the second half of the thirteen thirte enth th century, that a succes successfu sfull rend rendering ering o f the antique was achieved achieved by Nicola Pisano and his his immediate followers. followers. W ith  Nic  N ico o la th thee imit im itaa tio ti o n o f classical classic al m od odel elss ceases to be m er erely ely skin deep deep.. W ha hatt we now have is is a th thor orou ough gh assimilat assimilation ion o f ancient models, particularly particularly o f those antique vases vases and a nd sarcophagi then lying about Pisa Pisa and now mostly mostly harbo harboured ured in the Camposanto, which were still being enthusiastically studied by artists in the day dayss of o f Cell Cellin ini. i.1 1 Nicola was was particu particularl larly y struck struck by by the sarcophagus with the story of Phaedra and Hippolytus, which was used to harbour the mortal remains of Beatrice, Countess of Tuscany. Th Thus us the Phaedra o f th thiis sarcophagus became became the Virgin of the adoration of the three Kings in Nicola’s pulpit in the Bapti B aptister steryy of o f Pisa.2 Pisa.2 N icola’s icola’s figur figures es show a deep deep and genuine feeling feeling for the antique a ntique idiom, idiom, to the po int that tha t even his his panels panels on the tomb of St. Dominic at Bologna, showing some of the Saint’s Saint’s miracles, breathe brea the this antique antiq ue spirit. spir it. His is is a p ur uree classic classic ism, ism, which is is not pu p u t out ou t o f tune by anachronism, and it is accom  pani  pa nied ed by a ne new w hi hist stor oric icaa l pe pers rspe pecc tive tiv e , un unm m a tch tc h e d a fter ft er h im an andd his pupil Fra Guglielmo G uglielmo until un til the Renaiss Renaissance ance.. Th Thus us in Nicola’s works the soldiers are attired like Roman legionaries and not like thirteenth century warriors; Christ and his followers are garbed like early Christians; and he also conforms with the conventions of early Christian art by giving no haloes to his holy characters. His recaptur rec apturee of o f the ‘gra ‘gravitas’ vitas’ o f clas classi sica call art could hardly have been carried out more successfully, and to 1 R Cellini, 1 riu,   cd. O. Bacci, (Firenze, 1901) 23. 2 Th e stro ng inf influen luence ce o f ancient sculpture is also also appare nt in the e nthrone d M adonna and Child by Arnolfo di Cambio which surmounts the tomb of Cardinal Guillaume de Brave Brave in in the the church o f San San Dom enico at O rvieto. It is is interesting interesting to note that the M adon na’ na’ss tiara, ear-rings, and necklace reproduce antique jewellery, cf. PI. II, A. Lazzarini, ‘Coscicnza E trusca in Orv iero iero m edieva le’, le’, in Sopravviven^eemem rvieto, Sopravviven ^eememorieetrusc orieetruscbe be nclla Titsiia??ie Titsiia??iedievah dievah,,  (O rvieto, 1964 19 64)) 59. T he relief w ith the ‘resurre ‘resurre ction o f the flesh’ flesh’ on the fro nt o f O rvieto C athedral an d executed c. c. 1330, 1330, ct. PI. PI. IV, shows the resurrected em erging from Rom an sarcophagi. sarcophagi.

THE MIDDLE AGES

15

11 nd a parallel parallel we m ust w ait for Donatello. Dona tello. This powerful pow erful classicism pervades also the work of Nicola’s devoted follower  I ra Guglielmo Gu glielmo,, who w ho achieved a chieved it at its its best be st in the the pulp p ulpit it o f San Giovanni in Fuorcivitas Fuorcivitas at Pisto Pistoia ia.. O n the other hand, with ( .iovanni Pisano this class classic icis ism m gave way to G othic values; his his  pulp  pu lpit it in i n Pisa Pis a C athe at hedr dral al is in a G o th thic ic id idio iom m de desp spite ite th thee in incl clus usio ionn in it of a nude figure, taken straight from an antique statue of ihe Medici Venus type.1 Giovanni Pisano was the contemporary of Giotto, and ( ,iotto’ ,iotto ’s rejection rejection of o f G othic led, led, no t to a return retu rn to Byzanti Byzantine ne models, but to a new classicism which acquired some of the spirit spirit wrhi hile le avoiding the narrow nar row letter o f antique art. W ith ( i iotto iotto the first morn m orning ing lights lights o f the Renaissa Renaissance nce begin beg in to .ippear o n   the medieval sky. 1PI. 1PI. III. M eanwhile during the late thirteen th and early early fourteen th century art in Rome "Mi'bt inspiration mainly from late antique and early Christian prototypes, cf. C. Mitchell, I'lu* Lateran fresco o f Boniface V IH \  Jour  Jo urna nall o f the Wa rburg rbu rg and Cour Co urtau tauld ld Inst In stitu itu tes, te s,   X I V Btmiface V III even went as far far as having him self represented in the { P S l) 6, n. 2. Po pe Btmiface I .iicTan cTan fresco as an e m pe for o f the the la ter em pire, cf. ibid. 6.

CHAPTER TWO

THE FORERUNNERS OF PETRARCH Dante’s deep devotion to Virgil and what he stood for did n o t carry w ith it any any feeli feeling ng for ancient remains, such as as Joh Jo h n o f Salis Salisbur bury y shows shows before or Petrarch after him. His own ow n interests never strayed from philosophy, politics, and the field of letters;  Divine Come omedy. dy. The stone antiquities appear very seldom in the  Divine tombs tom bs in the Rom R oman an cemeterie cemeteriess at Arles Arles and Pola and the gigantic  pin  p inee co cone ne o f St. P e ter te r ’s, R om omee , w er ere, e, it is tru tr u e , tu turr n e d in into to  Inferno no.1 .1 But they are the only similes of this kind similes in the  Infer in the the whole poem. Indeed when whe n he mentions the antique antique statue statue o f Mars, sti still ll visi visible ble in his his day at one end en d o f the Ponte Pon te Vecchio in Florence,2 Florence ,2 he does not n ot con conceal ceal hi hiss contem pt for w hat appeared to him to be a reli relicc of o f a superstition, superstition, stil stilll surviving in the the teeth tee th of Christianit Christianity. y. N o r were hi hiss attem attempts pts at archaeologi archaeological cal recon reco n struction particul particularly arly happ happy. y. Thus, whe n he attempted to Purgattorio orio th represent in the Purga  thee so-called so-called Justice Justic e o f Trajan,3 Tra jan,3 what wh at he succeeded in achieving was a medieval scene with a medieval Em peror surrounded surround ed by his his barons, barons, and with the the eagl eagles es o f the legions turned into the banners of the Holy Roman Empire. The visible relics of the ancient greatness of Rome left Dante indifferent, just as the new humanist rhetoric by-passed him entirely entir ely.4 .4 Similarly Sim ilarly unaffected unaffected by the new rhet rh etor oric ic was D a n te’ te ’s contem porary porary,, the Florentine chronicler Giovan Gio vanni ni Villa Villani ni.. Yet he is worth mentioning, not because he had to deal in the first  bo  b o o k o f his Cronica  with the origins of Florence, which meant repeating various legends on the subject subject then then current curre nt in the city city,,  bu  b u t be beca caus usee he oc occa casio siona nally lly r e fe ferr rree d t o an anci cien entt re rem m ains ai ns still visible visible in his day day.. A ltho ug ugh h he was was not no t really really an antiquarian in the modern sense of the word, he thought it advisable to state that some of the original paving of Florence came to light when wh en digging d igging was was done in certain quarters o f the tow n,5 and   Infer no,   IX. 112-17, XXXI. 58-59. J  Inferno, ‘ Ibid.  XIII. 146-47, Paradiso, XVI. 145-47. 3 Purgatorio,   X . 73-93. O n D ante and Rom an antiquity sec sec V. Bracco, ‘II rico rdo di Roma e del m ondo rom ano nella nel la  Divi  D ivina na Commedia*, S tu d i Kom K om ani an i , X III (1965) 281-95.  L ette te re ltal lt alia iane ne , X IX (1 4 R. Weiss, ‘D ‘D an te e l’um l’um anesim o del suo tem po’,  Let (196 967) 7) 279-90. 5 G . V illa ni, Cronica , I. 38.

THE FORERUNNERS OF PETRARCH

17

modern mode rn,, archaeology has confirmed the accuracy accuracy o f his statem ent.1 ( )n the the other o ther hand, when he indicate indicated d that the Battistero Battistero had  I>een originally origina lly a temple tem ple o f Mars,2 he merely mere ly repeate rep eated d a trad tr aditio itionn which had no foundations of fact except in the imagination of medieval medieval Florence. It may, however how ever,, be said said here in his defence i hat he neither neith er was n or pre preten tende ded d to be a scholar, a fact also vividly brought home to us by the meagre and disappointing list of the books deposited in his house.3 The age of Dante was also the age which witnessed the first dnwn dn wn o f humanism in Italy. Italy. I t was was in fact during durin g the second half i »  »ff the thirteen thirte enth th century that th at a new rhetoric, rh etoric, which carried carried along along  side with it a novel appreciation and a deeper knowledge of the elassics, was beginning to conquer a field hitherto dominated l>y a ‘ratio ‘ratio stud s tudior iorum um ’ unc unchan hanged ged for fo r centuries. centuries. T he centre c entre o f (he new movement was Padua, nor is it surprising that it happened happened there rather rath er than at Bologna. For Fo r sinc sincee the the rise rise of o f the r.lossators and the beginning of their new interpretation of Roman Law, no Attempts had been made in Bologna to extend ihis classical revival beyond the boundaries of jurisprudence. Ai Bologna Bologna rhetoric rhe toric had h ad remained rema ined the handmaid handm aid o f the Jurists, Jur ists, while poetry did not go beyond being a form of relaxation ronfined to the everyday everyday language. In Padua, on the other hand, i lie youthful youthfu l energy e nergy o f the new university univers ity succeeded succeeded in achieving what was nothing less than the linear ancestor of Renaissance humani hu manism. sm. T he knowledge know ledge o f ancient Roma Ro man n poets displaye displayed d by iIk- early Paduan humanists was unrivalled in their time, either in Ital Italy y or beyond beyon d the A lps.4 Its range may, may, in fa fact ct,, be gauged when we realize that works like the poem of Lucretius and the St/rue  of Statius, which were regarded until very recently as unknown until Poggio’s discovery of them during the second decade o f the fifteenth centur c entury,5 y,5 were prob p robab ably ly familiar to some Paduan scholars scholars during dur ing the late thirte thi rteen enth.6 th.6 Adm Ad m ittedly it was a humanism humanism which wh ich had h ad no nott entirel entirely y eliminated the G othic element element.. II was was, moreover, moreov er, a mo movem vement ent not only stimulated stimulated by memories Maetzke, Vlorentia , (Roma, 1941) 27. ■’ V il la n i, op. cit. I. 42; G . M aetzke, ‘Ricerche ‘Ricerche sulla sulla topogra fia fiorcntma nel perio do delle inii 11c ^oto-bizantine’,  A t t i della Acca Ac cadem dem ia R a ti o n a le dei LJncei— LJncei — classe classe di science morally ./..//■/v e filologiche , set*. 8, 111(1948) 103.  In vent ntar arii d i li b r i nella serie dell* de ll* Arch Ar chiv ivio io \ / aticano   (1287-1459), (Citta del I', (iuidi,  Inve Win. ;mo, 1948) 29. 1
( i.

18

THE FORERUNNERS OF PETRARCH

o f Rom an Padua, but b ut also nourished by the exceptio exceptional nal resources resources o f the the Abbey Library L ibrary o f Pomposa,1 Pom posa,1 that is to say say one o f the wealthiest repositories repositories o f the the Carolingi Carolingian an legacy. The real founder of humanism in Padua, Lovato Lovati (1241-1309), was a jurist with a passion for classical literature. A judge by profession, he even aroused the admiration of so exacting a critic as Petrarch, who openly declared about forty years after Lovato’s death, that he would have been the greatest Latin poet o f hi hiss ag agee and the preceding preceding one one,, had he given poetry  pree c ed  pr edee n ce o v e r th thee stu st u d y o f th t h e law la w .2 L o v a to to’’s bri b rill llia iann t de deco cod d ing o f Seneca’ Seneca’ss tragic tra gic metres,3 metre s,3 his role in the rediscovery o f forgo for gotten tten traditions traditions o f Livy’s Livy’s  D e c a d e s and his poetic remains do n o t real really ly concern conce rn us here. W ha hatt instead is is defi definit nitely ely of interest to us are his antiquarian tastes, which drew inspiration from the ancient traditions of o f Padua. N ow in L ov ovato ato’’s time, time, when each each commune looked for a Roman founder, and if one was not available invented one, a legend had been current in the city, attributing its its foundation to the the Trojan Ante A nteno nor.5 r.5 Little Little wonder wonde r then, that tha t when w hen abo about ut 1283 a skeleton skeleton o f impress impressive ive proportions proportion s came to light during some building excavations, Lovato had no hesitation in identifying identifying it at once once with the m ortal remains remains o f the the city’s city’s legendary forefather.6 forefathe r.6 W hat had taken place place in eleventh eleventh century Rom e,7 now hhappened appened in Padu Padua. a. Lovato convi convinced nced Padua and Padua in turn resolved to erect a tomb to its alleged founder. founde r. This cenotaph, stil still standing standing in one o f the squares squares o f the tow^n, could hardly have been conceived on less classical lines, ines, while its its inscription, inscription, contribu co ntributed ted by Lo Lova vato,8 to,8 ind indica icate tess  plain  pla inly ly th thaa t th e fo form rmu u lae la e o f classical e pi pigr graa p h y w er eree still u n  familiar to him. Ign Ignoran orance ce in this fiel field d is, is, however, how ever, hardly surprising at a time when the study and imitation of ancient inscriptions had been slumbering since the setting of the Carol ingian sun. All All the same, same, such an episode in late thirte thi rteen enth th century Padua is not unimpressive, particularly when viewed as an attem pt to give a new new leas leasee of o f life life to an ancient tradition trad ition in an idiom stil still sti stiff fflly Gothic. In mo more re than one way the tom b of  1 Ibid.  Ibi d.   161-64. 2 P ctra rca , R tr im Memoran Memorandani danim m IJ.bri, IJ.bri,   II, 61. 3 R. W eiss, ‘L ‘L ov ato L ov ati’,  Ital  It alia ian n Stud St udie iess , VI (1951) 21-22, 4 G. B iilanovich. iilanovich. ‘Pe ‘Pe trarch and the T extual T radition o f Livy ’,  jo u rn a l o f the Warbu Wa rburg rg and  an d  Conrtaidd Institutes, Institutes,  XIV (1951) 208. 5 Weiss,  Lo vato va to L o ra ti , 7-8. e Ibid. 7 Supra , 10.  Ibi d. 8 . va to } 8 Weiss,  Lo vato 20.

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19

Antenor typifies both the enthusiasm and the weakness of I’aduan humanism in its earliest stage. Thee Anteno Th A ntenorr episode episode is is the only only know kn ow n on onee in which wh ich Lovato Lova to ilie humanist huma nist turn turnss up in an antiquarian antiqua rian garb. B ut the hum humanist anist iv awakening promoted by him was also bound to produce a *Inna *In nate te favo favourable urable to antiquarianism. It is is therefore there fore no surprise i<> lind lind Rolan R olando do da Piazzola, Piazzola, a hum anist anis t and judge, and, a nd, fur f urthe ther r more, Lovato’s own nephew, sedulously transcribing while on embassy to Pope Boniface VIII in January 130.3 (that is to say in >t long bef before ore the th e ou outra trage ge at Anag An agni ni sealed sealed the fate o f this Pope Po pe .11 .1 1 id of the medieval Papacy) Papacy) an inscription insc ription which w hich had h ad particu particu  larl larly y struck stru ck him1 n o t far fro from m St. Paul’ Pa ul’ss at Rome. Rome . T ha hatt the inscription2 was apo apocryp cryphal hal does no n o t really really m atter. atte r. W ha hatt instead does matter is that Rolando read and transcribed it accurately, in fact that he bothered to read it at all, in an age when classical epitaphs were not easily intelligible and had not I >een so for a lorig lorig time. T h e difficul difficultie tiess met me t by Odofr Od ofred edus us w ith  L e x de imper imp erm m   were, i he  Le w ere, as as we saw, typical of his age. age. A nd this mi nation was also brought home quite vividly some decades  befor  be foree th thee days o f R o lan la n d o by an u n k n o w n rh rhee to tori ricc ian ia n , w h o is in>i excluded from being Boncompagno da Signa, that is to say <«ne o f th thee bright brig htes estt lights o f late medieval rhetoric. W hoe hoever ver w:is the author of the Vormula litterarum scholasticarum,  the state ment in it that ‘olim fiebant sculpture mirabiles in marmoribus l.indo’s visit to Rome, a pilgrim returning from that town <. m s e c ! a great impression in Perugia, merely because he put forward an utterly fantastic fantastic interpre inte rpretation tation o f a perfectl perfectly y straightstraightward,, bu t then unreadable, unreadable, Roman R oman inscription inscription under the high I o r ward ,ili;ir o f a local local church chu rch.5 .5 T o retur re turn, n, however how ever,, to Rolando Ro lando,, his ,mii(|uarian leanings were certainly well expressed on his tomb, Mill lo be seen seen near the th e church ch urch o f the Santo in Padua. F or several several o i l d s and ends of ancient statuary were incorporated into it, ' < ( i i r a rd rd i, i,  Rolando  Rolan do da P i a n o l a ,   (Pa do v a, 1909) 21—2. V I, 5, 6*. '( ■'

12.

1< in- >tcd tcd in G . B. D e R os si,  L,e prime pri me raccolte raccolte d'antich d'an tichee iscri^ isc ri^ion ionii compilate compil ate in R om a tra tr a i l  J, I .urnlo .urnlo X I V e i l cominciare del d el X V ,   (Roma, 1852), 4. " Si r ihe uns igne d no te 4Un a ntiq ua rio del sec. X IV ’, Giomale di emdii^iom artistka , I ( IM/ M/ ’ ) IH1. H1.

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while its inscriptions repeated words and formulas lifted straight out of Roman epigraphy.1 The antiquarian activity of the Paduans did not stop here. Thanks at any rate partly to Rolando da Piazzola, Padua wit nessed also the revival of an ancient ceremony unheard of since clas classi sica call times. T he coron co ronation ation of o f A lbertino lbe rtino Mussato,2 M ussato,2 the leading star in in the humanist hum anist firmament o f the tow to w n sinc sincee Lov L ovato ato’’s demise, demise, with w ith the poetic laurel laurels, s, was was pa partly rtly R oland ola ndo’ o’ss do doing ing.3 .3 I t was the city’s reward to Mussato for his poetic activity, for his  Ece  Eceri rini nis, s,* *  and not merely because this was the first secular tragedy written w ritten sinc sincee the the fall fall o f the Roma Ro man n Empire. Em pire. I t was was also also in a way a recog rec ognitio nition n of o f political political servic services. es. E ve ven n nearly nearly sixty sixty years after the liquidation of him and his clan, people in Padua still shuddered at the memory of the unspeakable tyranny of Ezzelino Ezzelino III da Romano. A nd now the the sinis sinister ter shadow of Cangrande della Scala, Dante’s hero and the Paduans’ most formidable enemy, was drawing too close for safety, and in Cangrande it certainly looked as if Ezzelino was treading the  Ecerinis is  Ezz earth again. again. In the  Ecerin E zzeli elino no wT wTas mean me antt as a w a rn rnin ingg against the Lord of Verona, and the play was intended above all to drive home the dangers which were looming so uncom fortably near. Th Thee revival revival o f tragedy was thus accompanied by the resurrection resurre ction o f the poetic laur laurel. el. But Bu t very litt little le that was classical survived in the actual ceremony, which was instead turned into a medieval academic function, a kind of honorary degree ceremony. ceremony. Th Thee Italian Italian word wo rd for degree, degree, laurea laurea,, stil stilll commemorates this academic travesty of a classical institution. In 1315 such an antiquarian revival could have occurred occu rred only in Padua, where humanism was well rooted in the University. Just when the first wave of this humanism was approaching its end, the accidental accidental discovery discovery o f an ancient sepulchral inscription at a date betw een ee n 131 318 8 an and d 13 1324’ 24’5 5 made ma de the Paduan Pad uanss once onc e more m ore consciou consciouss o f their clas classi sica call heritage. F o r on it figured figured the name T. Livius,6 which wh ich made it at once accepted accepted as a relic relic from the tomb tom b of o f the great Rom an histori historian. an. T he fact fact that hum humanist anist 1 A. Pros doc im i ‘L ‘L ’arca di R oland o da Piazzola sul sagra to del Santo’,  Bollettin  Boll ettino o del II (19 39 -41 ) 19-31 .  Museo  Muse o Civico d i Padova , ser. 3, i — 2 E. H . W ilkins , The Making of the Can^oniere and other Petrarchan Essays , (Roma, 1951) 21-3. 3 G irard i, op, cit.  18, n. 2. 4 A. Mussato,  EZce  EZcerin rinid ide, e,  ed. L. Padrin, (Bologna, 1900). 5 B. L. U llm an, Studies in the Italian Renaissance , (Roma, 1955) 55-6. 6 C./.L. V. 2865.

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I’adua failed to note that the epitaph bore also the surname I laly lalyss and indica in dicated ted tha th a t this Livius was a freedm free dman, an, naturally na turally :,li ,liows the still still prim itive stage of antiquarian antiqua rian studies. studies. N on onee the less, it is also indicative of a warm if indiscriminate enthusiasm, I Ir,inks to which the inscription was solemnly housed on one of ili ilie wal walls of Santa Santa Giustina. Giustina. In a way the turning turni ng up o f the  pseu  ps eudo do-L -Liv ivyy ep epit itaa p h m a rk rkee d also als o th thee en end d o f early ear ly P a d ua uann humani hum anism. sm. Th Thee impact o f the Carraresi and the collap collapse se o f the iree Commune soon scattered what had been a flourishing  j’roup,  j’rou p, w hi hile le M ussa us sato to,, th thee laur la urea eate te w h o se h o n o u r ha h a d stim st imul ulaa ted te d .1 desire desire for a similar similar corona cor onation tion in D an ante,1 te,1 was left to die an exil ex ilee in Chioggia in 132 1329. T he inheritor inhe ritor o f the Paduan P aduan traditions was not a native of the city but the Tuscan Petrarch, who in I I I in bequeathed them to Europe. During the second half of the thirteenth and the first of the Imirteenth century, cultural exchanges between Padua and Veron Veronaa were no t infrequent. infrequent. Yet Ye t at Verona, the dawn o f liuinanism liuinanism displays displays a different light.2 lig ht.2 D ra raw w in ing g its its inspira insp iratio tion n an andd •.I rength fro from m the fabulous wealth we alth o f the chapter library, it also found encouragem encour agement ent at the co court urt o f Cangrande della della Scala cala.. 11 was therefo the refore re characteristic that tha t at any rate from ab abou outt 1325-33 1325-33 i lie chancery of the Scaligeri, where perhaps Dante himself had ru led by Benzo Be nzo d ’Alessandr Ale ssandria,3 ia,3 th thaa t is is to say say a w o r k e d ,  was ruled leading figure in north Italian humanism, who was not without a (lair for antiquarian investigation. The chapter library was a collection already flourishing as ho hon n est est treasures o f the Carolingian summer. Th There ere were also i o be seen seen the fruits fr uits o f the hum humanism anism o f Ratherius Ra therius o f Liege, whos whosee failu failure re as as a bishop o f tenth-centu tenth-c entury ry Verona Vero na was tempered temp ered hy his exceptional scholarly activity in an age when the lamps lit I>y i lie Renaissance o f th thee pre p rece ced d in ing g cent ce ntur ury y wer w eree flick fl icker ering ing o u t.4 t. 4 1

 /iso,  XXV, 1-9.

R. Weiss, ‘La cultura preu m anistica Ve ronese e V icentina del tem po di D an te5, te5, ultu ra veneta veneta, ed. V. Branca e G. Padoan, (Firenze, 1966) 263-72. / ',<'1md 1mdin ini, i, l.e scoperte dei codici latini e greet,   II, 129. Bilhmovich,, ‘‘D D al Livio di R aterio (Laur. 63. 63. 19) 19) al al L ivio del Pe trarca (B.M., Harl. * t   ■ Bilhmovich  I/,/ /id Medioevaie e Vm anist an istic ica a , II (1959) 117, n. 2. rM’>if,  I/,//id

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If there was a place where all the materials indispensable to a humanist revival were available, it was the Verona chapter library. I t is therefo ther efore re scarce scarcely ly surprising surp rising tha t it was the cradle of that Veronese humanism whose first movements coincided with the reappearance about 1300 of the poems of Catullus in Verona. Th Thee arrival arrival of a volume o f hi hiss lyri lyrics cs from France pro proved ved an important event, to be duly commemorated in a Latin epigram, epigram, hailing hailing the re tur turn n home o f the poet, poe t, by a vers versif ifie ierr from Vicenza Vicenza called called Benvenuto Benv enuto Campesani. Campesani.1 1 D ur uring ing the th e fourteenth fourtee nth century the impact of the Verona chapter library could be felt even as far away as Papal Avignon, which of course means Petrarch.2 It was actually within the shadow of the Verona chapter library that the humanist passion of Giovanni de Matociis, commonly known as Giovanni Mansionario (d. 1337) from his off ffiice in the cathedral, was nurtur nur tured ed.. This was a passion which wh ich soared to its its highest in his tract,3 where he triumpha trium phantly ntly estab lished lished the existen existence ce of o f two tw o and a nd no n o t only one Pliny, Pliny, as as had hitherto hith erto  beee n co  be com m m on only ly be belie lieve ved. d. B u t e ve ven n b e fo fore re his care ca refu full re reaa d in ing g of Suetonius’ biography, prefixed to the text of the Natural History of the Elder Pliny, and of the Epistles of the Younger had revealed the truth to him, he had not been idle in the hum anist anis t fie field ld.. F ro rom m abo a bout ut 13 1310 104 4 he had actually been busy on Imperiali ialissm a vast historical compilation ranging from the  Historia Imp Augustus onwards, where he gave full scope to his humanist and antiquarian leanings leanings.. D ur uring ing the early early Trecen Tre cento to such such a Imperialis could have been produced work as the  Historia Imperialis produce d only in Verona. But Bu t w hat reall really y interests interests us us is is Giovann Giov annii the antiquarian an tiquarian rather than tha n the histor historian. ian. Th Thee former form er is shown vividly vividly in hi hiss autograph copy of the  Historia. Here He re for instance, instance, when whe n he talked about games celebrated by the Emperor Balbinus, he felt that something should also have been said about the places where such performances performances were held. held. This led him to a digres sion, wher w heree w ith the th e assist assistance ance of o f the indispensable Isidore Isid ore,5 ,5 he 1 R. W eiss, ‘Ben ven uto Cam pesani ( 125 0-55 ?— 1323 1323)’ )’,,  Bolletti  Boll ettino no del de l Museo Civico Civ ico d i Padova , XLIV (1955) 141-43. 2 Billanovich,  D a l L ivio iv io di Ra terio te rio ,   145.  L e tte tt e rs   in Verona’, 3 E. Trues dell M errill, errill, ‘O ‘O n the E ight Bo ok T radition of P liny’s liny’s  Le Classical Philology Philology, V (1910) 186-88. ti ni e greci , I, 2. T he auto grap h copy o f the  His  H isto to ria ri a 4 Sabbadini,  L e scoperte dei codici l a tini  Im pe ria lis  is  is in in the Vatican Libra ry, Ms. Chig. I. VII. 259. Gio van ni was still still w ork ing on the  His  H isto tori ria a Im peri pe rial alis is  in 1320, cf. ibid.  f. 223 v. 5 Isid  Is idor orii H ispale isp alens nsis is E pisc pi scop op i Etymo Ety molo logia giarum rum sive Origi Or iginum num L i b r i X X ,   ed. W. M. Lindsay, (Oxonii, 1911) XVIII, xxviii-xxxi.

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gave an elaborat gave elaboratee description description of a Rom an circus circus.1 .1 But this this was not enough enoug h in his his view ; he also also drew on the margins margins o f hi hiss ow n copy a neat diagram o f a circus, circus,2 2 according to the information inform ation in Isidore’s Isidore’s encyclopaedi encyclopaedia. a. A litde later, in his account acco unt of o f the Em pero perorr Philip,3 P hilip,3 he m entioned entio ned the ‘ludi theatrales et circenses’ circenses’,, which were held under him to celebrate the millenary of the foun oundatio dationn o f Rome. So again here Isidore came to Giovan Gio vanni’ ni’ss rescue, rescue,4 4 and enabled en abled him to give an acco a ccount unt o f a Rom an thea th eatre,6 tre,6 which which this this time he accompanied no t by one, but b ut by two tw o diagrams, translating into int o visual terms the th e fact factss at his his disposal.6 E ve ven n if these drawings were not his own idea but figured already in his Isidore, the reproduction of them would in itself have been quite remarkable. Th There ere is, is, however, howev er, no real evidence evidence agains againstt his paternity of them, and in view of his tastes their attribution to him seems seems quite safe. safe. These The se drawings drawing s also also br bring ing hom e to us thee primitive character th character o f G iovanni’s iovanni’s erudition. erudition. T w o or o r three three  jgenerations genera tions late la ter, r, th thee in inff o r m a tio ti o n f r o m Isid Is idoo re w o u ld h a ve be been en supplement supplemented ed by an examinati examination on o f what wha t could be gathered ga thered from i lie extant remains of the Arena of Verona. The antiquarian activity of Giovanni Mansionario did not stop at his drawings draw ings of o f Rom an circu circuses. ses. His  Historia  is really a si ring of biographies of Emperors, several of whose coins also ;ipp ;ippea earr to have been availab available le to him. Before him, therefo ther efore, re, were the features of several of the monarchs he was writing about, so that it is not surprising, in view of what we know, to find him reproducing some of these coins, with a hand still stiffened by the practice of Gothic handwriting, on the margins of his v(>l (>lume.7 A lthough lthou gh hi hiss aim was was to pro produc ducee an accurate rendering rende ring of these pieces, the lettering of the inscriptions was naturally conditioned by hi hiss own ow n scribal scribal habits. As for the por portraits traits on them, these assumed a somewhat medieval air, not unlike that which is is so obvious obviou s in the golden golde n augustales o f Freder Fre derick ick II .8  Nev  N ever erthe theles lesss th thee signific sign ifican ance ce o f the t hese se dr draa w in ingg s leaps lea ps t o th thee eye. 11ere fo f o r the t he first time in Italy we find a scholar scho lar giv givin ing g visual express expr ession ion to his antiquarian interes interests. ts. Adm ittedly already already durin duringg 1 PI. PI. V ., Vatican Libra ry, M s. Chig. I. V II. 259, f. f. 13r. 2 Ib id. 3 Ibid. id . loc . ci t.  Ibi d.   f. 15v. 1 [sidori . . . Etymologiarum   . . . U b r i X X , X V I I I ,   xlii-li. Vatican Library, Ms. Chig. I. VII. 259, ff. 15v-16r. « Ibid.   f. 15v. 7 ff. 2r, 2r, 3v~5 3v~5r, r, 6V, 6V, l l r"13r , 14r 14r etc. T he y ran ge fro m P ertina x, f.2r, f.2r, to Lew is the  Ibid.   ff.  \*u  \*u  ms, f. 236r. HSupra , 12.

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the thirteen thirte enth th century Villard Villard de H on onne neco court,1 urt,1 and doubtless other oth er artists, artists, had made sketch sketches es of ancient statuary. statuary. But Bu t their aim had been bee n differe different nt.. T hey drew d rew clas classi sical cal figures n o t because because they were ancient, b ut because because they were models w or orth th imitating. Giovanni, on the other hand, reproduced Roman coins in his volume becaus becausee of their age age and the history history behind be hind them. them. In the next stage of Veronese humanism Giovanni Mansionario’s real heir was Guglielmo Guglielmo da Pastrengo. Pastrengo. But Bu t w ith him one reac re aches hes not onl only y the generation o f Petrarch but b ut also also the the circle of that tha t great humanist. In fact he belongs belongs to the second second wave of Italian humanism. Both the Paduans and Giovanni Mansionario can hardly be considered considere d as professional antiquarians. Undeniably Und eniably an interest intere st in antiquities was aliv alivee in them. them . T he heir ir references to antiquities were, on the other hand, almost accidental, and there are no signs signs on their th eir part pa rt o f any systemati systematicc studies studies in the fiel fieldd. In them th em antiquarianism was more an attitude of mind than a really conscious conscious activi activity. ty. A n inscription insc ription migh m ightt be copied occasio occasional nally, ly, ancient coins reproduced, a skeleton identified with the remains o f an illustrious illustrious ancient. ancient. But Bu t fro from m these to the activities activities of of a Giovann Giov annii D on ondi2 di2 ha lf a century later, there is still still a long way to go. N or is this this surprising, surprising, for Petrarch stands stands between them and Dondi. This distance is also brought home to us by the pursuits of Benzo d’Alessandria, who settled in Verona only towards the end of o f his life life.. His employm ent as as head o f the chancery of Cangrande and his successors lasted only from about 1325-33,® tha t is to say say practicall practically y until his his death. B ut Verona had ha d also also  been  be en in insp spec ecte tedd by h im a t an earl ea rlie ierr stage sta ge,, p ro robb a b ly d u r in ing g th thee early early years of o f the centur c entury y and certainly befo before re 1310. 1310.4 4 D ur urin ingg this visit visit he had the opp opportunity ortunity o f handling the treasures treasures o f the chapter library, in the same way that a journey to Ravenna enabled him to examine other oth er volumes volum es almos a lmostt as venerable.5 vene rable.5  Histo ria Augu Au gusta sta ,6 and Verona revealed to him Catullus and the  Historia it has been suggested that he was able to take away from the chapt chapter er llib ibrar rary y a manuscri manuscript pt of o f Ausonius. Ausonius.77 Yet he hard hardly ly  Ib id.. 13. 1 Ibid * In fr a ,   49-53.  D an te e V eron er ona a pe r i l vi i centenario della del la nascita, nasci ta,   (Verona, 1965) 36-37, 146-47. 8 Dan l a t h i e greci, grec i,   II, 146. 4 Sabbadini,  L e scoperte dei codici la * Ibid  Ib id..  II, 132, n. 23. * Ibid  Ib id..  II, 144-5. 7 Ibid  Ib id..   II, 146-9.

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 be longs  belon gs t o th e V e ro rone nese se g r o u p . R a th thee r h e sho sh o u ld b e vi view ewed ed as an independent scholar, whose intellectual appetite did not need  10 be whetted by continuous contact with an ancient tradition. I lis lis tastes and intere in terests sts were w ere certainly c ertainly catholic, c atholic, and d ur urin ing g his i rav ravels els his eyes eyes were we re alert fo forr the th e unu unusual, sual, which wh ich in i n his case case ranged from the newly completed tomb of the Emperor Henry VTI at Pis Pisa1 a1 to the salmon trou tro u t of o f Lake Garda.2 G arda.2 This and a nd other oth er information gathered in his travels in north and central Italy was po poure uredd by him into in to his his encyclo encyclopaed paedia. ia. Th Thee execution o f this huge compilation was started while he was employed as a notary in Como by Bishop Leone Lambertenghi, whom he served served about abo ut 1312 1312-20, -20,3 3 bu butt it was completed com pleted in Verona Ve rona du during ring 11 is headship o f the local chan chancery cery.. U nfortun nfortunately ately only part pa rt o f it survives now; but this is amply sufficient to reveal to us his scholarly curiosity and his exceptional critical powers, especially in the discussion o f historical sources and legends.4 legend s.4 Whene Wh enever ver lie was on the m ove he was generally generally careful to note no te a description descr iption of the seals of the towns which he saw, naturally for future referen ref erence ce in his ‘m ‘m agn agnum um opu o pus’. s’. Th Thus us he mention me ntioned ed that tha t in hi hiss day the seal of Florence bore a Hercules holding a club and the inscription h e r c v l e a c l a v a d o m a t f l o r e n c i a  p r a v a . 5 This of course suggests an antique model, if not actually an ancient engraved gem w ith a medieval medieval inscription. inscription. M ore than once he appears appears impressed by ancient remains. A t Pavia Pavia he naturally *lid lid n o t fai faill to note no te the ‘Regisol’.6 A t Borgo B orgo San D on onni nino no he even decided to copy an ancient inscription seen on the front of i he main church.7 church .7 N or or,, needl needless ess to say, say, did did he om omit it to m ention i he ‘Laberinthum’ of Verona, ‘quod nunc Harena dicitur’, or to  poi  p oint nt o u t th t h a t its o u tsid ts idee walls wa lls ha h a d be been en da dam m ag aged ed by eart ea rthq hqua uake kes, s, and that the fallen blocks of stone had been used to build part o f the city city walls. walls.88 Rom an topography topogra phy was ava avail ilabl ablee to Benzo Benzo t h ro roug ughh the Graphia aurea Urbis liomae.9 But of o f Rom e he left left no description, unless one was included in the now lost parts of his encyclopaedia.  Ibi d.   II, 133, n. 29. 1 Ibid. II , 132, n. 19. 2 Ibid.  Ibid.  Ibi d.  II, 131. 1 Ibid.  Ibid .  II, 134. h Ibid.   II, 132, n. 21. 21. O n this seal seal see N. Ru binstein, ‘Vasari’s ‘Vasari’s pa inting o f the Foundation of I'lorence  in the Palazzo Vccchio’,  Essa  E ssays ys in the H isto is tory ry o f A rchi rc hite tect ctur ur e presente pres ented d to R u d o lf  II ittkower , (London, 1967) 67, n. 47. * Sa bb ad ini,  L,e scoperte dei de i codici la tin ti n i e greci,   II, 133, n. 33. 7 Ibid.   II, 132, n. 26. H Ibid,   II, 133, n. 30. * Ibid.  Ibid .  II, 136, n. 48.

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Benzo undoubtedly had antiquarian antiquarian tast tastes. es. It must, m ust, however, howe ver,  be b o r n e in m in indd t h a t h e was wa s a bo bove ve all a h u m a n ist, is t, n o r m u st w e  bee surp  b su rpri rise sedd if a n tiq ti q u a r ian ia n de deta tails ils in hi hiss en ency cycl clop opae aedi diaa n e v e r g o very deep. This of course makes him really not so dissimilar on one side from the scholars of Padua and Verona, and on the other from his contemporary Opicino de Canistris, who was, however, much less of a humanist, if perhaps more of an anti quarian quar ian.. In 1330 Opicino Op icino completed completed in the A vigno vignon n of Pope  Li berr de laud laudib ibus us civitat civitatis is Tici Ticine nens nsis, is,  a work only John XXII his  Libe recently recently ident identifi ified ed as as his.1 his.1 T he scope scope o f this this treatis treatisee was was quite differen dif ferentt from fro m Benzo’s Benzo’s whose wh ose aims aims were purely the advancement o f learning. O picino’ picin o’ss aims aims were much muc h m ore immediate; immed iate; hi hiss  bo  b o o k was wa s in fa fact ct a de defe fenc ncee o f his h is na nati tive ve Pavia Pa via,, ag agai ains nstt th thee pa papa pall interdict for siding with the excommunicate Emperor Lewis IV of Bavaria, whose coronation in Rome by the syndics of the Roman people was supposed to have followed the pattern of the Rom ans’ allege alleged d gift gift o f the Em E m pire to Charlemagn Charlemagne. e. Accord Ac cord ingly, Opicino conjured up the vision of Pavia sanctified by its numerous num erous churches and an d monasteries monasteries.. As a description of a tow n it therefore there fore belongs belong s to the th e same category as as the Carolingian Carolingian descrip descrip tion o f Verona Ve rona,2 ,2 to which should shou ld also also be assigned assigned perhaps the  De magnalibus urbis Mediolam*  written a little before Benzo by Bonvesin da Riva, and in which antiquarian interest is conspicu ous by its its absence. W ha hatt Opici Op icino no really gives is is a ‘Papia ‘Papia sacra’. It would nevertheless be inaccurate to assert that he turned a completely completely blind ey eyee to the remains remains o f A ntiquity. In fact his his tract included a by no means uninteresting account of the ‘Regisol’, Regisol’, which he say says had been be en rem oved fro from m Ravenna by the  pee o p le o f P a vi  p viaa .4 H e also als o h a d a s h o t a t ex expl plai aini ning ng its s tra tr a n g e name, but his interpretation remains unconvincing despite its ingenuity. Th Thee figure figure of the ‘Regisol’, Regisol’, standing standing on o n the to top p of a  pilla  pi llar, r, was wa s also als o in incc lu lud d e d by O p icin ic ino o in hi hiss larg la rgee d ra raw w in ing g of Pavia Cathedral Ca thedral and an d its its square squ are,5 ,5 an achievement achieveme nt which wh ich should sh ould make us forgive him for not having been more communicative about ab out the Rom an remains remains of the town. town . Stil Stilll he actuall actually y menmen1  In F. Gianani, Opicino de Canistris VAnonimo Ticinese , (Pavia, 1927). * Supra, 6.

8

‘Bo nvicini de Ripp a de M agn alibus U rbis Mediola. Mediola.ru’ ru’,, ed. F. N ov ati,  Bid  B id kt tin ti n o (1888). ). O n such descriptions o f tow ns see J. K. H yde, deW Istituto Storico Italiano , N o. 20 (1888 ‘M edieval D esc riptions o f Cities’, Cities’,  Bul  B ulle leti tin n o f the John R ylan yl ands ds L ib ra ry , XLVIII (1966) 308-40. 1 Anonymi Ticinensis LJber de laudibus Civitatis Ticinensis , ed. R. Maiocchi and F. Quintavalle, (Citta di Gastello, 1903) 18. 6 R. Salom on, Opicinus de Canisiri$y  (Lond on , 1936) 1936) pi. II.

THE FORERUNNERS OF PETRARCH

27

(ioned some old statuary then to be seen about Pavia,1and when lie dealt with the ancient basilica of S. Pietro in Ciel d’Oro, he did not forget for get to stres stresss the tombs tom bs o f St St. Augustine A ugustine and Boethius Boethius inside it, going even as far as to give the epitaph on the tomb of ihe latter latter placed placed there by the E m pero perorr O tho II IIII and his his tu to torr ( ierbert, later later Pope Pop e Sylvest Sylvester er II, in 99 998 and using the inform info rmation ation supplied by this inscription.2 To find a parallel to such a use of an inscription before Petrarch, it is necessary to move southward and enter the secluded secluded fiel fieldd of G reek ree k studies studies.. I t may perhaps be opportu opp ortune ne to recall here that before Petrarch this was a field entirely foreign 1 0   humanism. T o start star t with, in Italy it it was restricted to the ( ireek-speaking ireek-speaking zones zones in the south sou th and a nd in Sici Sicilly, that tha t is is to say say territori territories es controlled by Angevins Angev ins and Aragonese. A t the court cou rt of Naples translators from the Greek hailing from the south were active active at a t least from the time o f Charl Charles es II (1285 (1285-1309 -1309).3 ).3 During the reign of his successor Robert I (1309-43), a king who w on the contempt contem pt o f Dante Da nte and the paneg panegyri yrics cs o f Petrarch,  boo th hu  b h u m a ni nist stss a n d tra t ran n sla sl a to tors rs a dm itte it tedd ly en enjo joye yed d his hi s pa p a tro tr o n a g e , hutt their hu the ir activities activities lay lay in separate separate fie field lds. s. Th Thee translators m ove ovedd among the physicians and the theologians, while the humanists were mainly concerned with rhetoric and looked to the law for a living. living. Antiquities do n o t figure figure in their writings, and an d it it was was left to one of the translators in Robert’s pay, the physician  Nicc  Ni ccolo olo di D e o p r e p io o f R e g gi gio o , to ap appl ply y his o w n lear le arni ning ng t o (urn into Latin the Greek inscription on the front of the temple o f the Dioscur D ioscurii at Naple Naples. s. Th Thee now na namel meles esss writer o f the earliest section of the Cronacha di Partenope, who was probably writing writing in in the days days o f K ing Robert, Ro bert, mo moved ved rather ra ther by civic civic pride than humanist and antiquarian considerations, had deemed it essential to mention the ‘mirabile templo de marmore’, which was was stil stilll standing standi ng so conspicu con spicuously ously in the city.4 c ity.4 W ha hatt baffl baffled ed him naturally naturally was was the Greek Gre ek inscription on the fro front. nt. He accordingly turned for help to Niccolo, who promptly obliged with a Latin rendering of it, and straight away inserted it in vernacul vernacular ar attire into the Cronacha, not without an acknowledge ment of Niccolo’ Nicco lo’ss help.5 N otw ithstand ithsta nding ing the inclusion o f this this 1 Anonym't  Anon ym't Ticinensi Tici nensiss L ib e r de laudib l audibus us C ivit iv ita a tis ti s 'Ticinensis,   18-20.  Ibi d.   12-13. “ Ibid. J R. Weiss, Weiss, ‘Th ‘Th e Tran slators from the G reek o f the A ngevin C ourt at Na ples’, ples’, Kinascim.nto,  I (1950) 195-226. 4 A. A ltam ura, Testi napo napole leta tani ni dei dei se secoli X I I I e X I V ,   (Napoli, 1949) 153. r*F. L o Pa rco ,  Nicc  Ni ccolo olo da Reggio grecista ital it alio iota ta del sec. sec. X l V e Vin terpre ter preta^ ta^ton tonee delV de lV epigrafe epigra fe  y r n a del de l tempio temp io dei D ioscu ios curi ri di d i N a p o li ricordata ricord ata nella n ella iCronaca d i Partenope*, (Napoli, 1909').

28

THE FORERUNNERS OF PETRARCH

inscription, the Cronacha  remains a late medieval document, offering the most ludicrous legends as truth. Yet this translation really really constitutes constitute s a landmark. landm ark. It is is very probably proba bly the firs firstt version ever made of a Greek classical inscription, and to find such translations translations again again we must m ust wait w ait until the fifteen fifteenth th century.1 As will be seen,2 seen,2 it was was King Kin g R obe obert rt who w ho prom p rom oted the  poe  p oetic tic c o r o n a tio ti o n o f P e tra tr a r c h in a R om omee fo forr sak sa k en by P o pe an andd Em pero peror. r. Despite De spite its its desolati desolation, on, so vividly vividly br brou ough ghtt hom homee by Petrarc Pe trarchh in one o f hi hiss m ost famous ‘canzoni’ can zoni’,,3 antiquarianism antiquaria nism was n o t altogethe altog etherr extinct in the city city.. Th Thee traditions traditio ns codified codified by the  Mirabilia  and the Grapbia Aurea were still alive and a source of inspiration, to which the first Roman humanists seemed to  Lib er Vontif Vontifica icalis lis,4 Y et it was in have preferred Livy and the  Liber these days that one hears for the first time of a collection of antiques on o n almost Renaissance Renaissance lines lines.. Collectors had of o f course existed before. But the activity activity of o f O liviero Forze Fo rzetta tta is is really really the earliest known instance of a systematic chase after ancient objects, not because their shapes were unusual or their materials were uncommo uncom mon, n, but bu t simply simply becaus becausee they were old. old. W hat must mu st strike us at once is that Forzetta did not hail from Rome or Ravenna, that th at is to say from a cit city y dominated domina ted by ancient m em or ies and still basking in the sunshine of ancient glory, but from Treviso, a town until three generations earlier the centre of a tradition of chivalry and courtliness, still recalled with nostalgia  by  b y D a n te. te . T h e r e was n o t, ho how w e ve ver, r, m uc uch h c ou ourt rtlin lines esss a b o u t Forzetta, Forze tta, who w ho was no t even a scholar scholar,, but b ut a moneylender mone ylender and the son and grandson grandso n of o f usurers. usurers. T hro ug ho hout ut a long long li life (h (hee died died in in extreme wealth in 1373, that is to say just before Petrarch) Forzetta collected every antique on which he could lay his hands. hand s. H e was already indulgi indu lging ng in hi hiss pastime as early as 1335 1335,, when he was busy gathering marbles, bronzes, coins, engraved gem s,5 and even trying to secur securee ‘qua ‘quattuor ttuor pueris de de Ravenna lapide lapideis is qui sunt taglati taglati Ravenne in Sancto Sancto Vitale’.6 Vitale’.6 His His death 1 In fra, 142, 2, n. n.9. 9. 2  Ibid. fr a, 14  Ibi d. 32.  R erum um vulgarium vulga rium frag fr ag m en ta , 53. 8 Petrarca,  Rer  It alia ia Medioevale e Lm anist an istic ica, a, I 4 G . Billanovich, ‘G li um anisti e le crona che m cd ioev alf,  Ital (1958) 103-37. 6 A. Se ren a,  L a ctdtura ctdt ura umams uma mstic tica a a Treviso Tre viso nel seco secolo lo decimoquint de cimoquintoy oy (Venezia, 1912) 321-22. A no ther collection collection o f curiosit curiosities ies and antiques, including ancient coins co ins,, three Rom an inscriptions found at Treviso, and two swords was assembled by Marin Falier, who was D og e of Vcnice from 1354-5 1354-55. 5. Cf. Cf. G. M. de Gh eltof,  L a colle^ione del doge oge M arino ar ino F alie al ie r e i tesori di Marco Polo , (Venezia, 1881), C. A. Levi,  Le  L e colle^ion coll e^ionii vene^iane d 'art 'a rtee e d'a d 'ant ntic ichi hita ta da l e n ez e z ia ia , 19 19 0 0 ) X X X V I - X X X V I I . secolo X I V ai nostri nostri gior giorni ni,,   I , ( V en 6 S ere na , op. cit.   322.

THE FORERUNNERS OF PETRARCH

29

led to the dispersal of his collections, which could doubtless have compared not unfavourably with those assembled during i he next century. c entury. In fact his his preoccupa preoc cupations tions as a collector disclose a discrimination which was unknown in his time except among bibliophiles and lovers of jewels. One may agree that the frame of mind behind Forzetta’s collecti collecting ng was was no t that tha t of o f Petrarch, whose who se antiquarianism antiquarianism was the corollary of his classical scholarship, and one may well ask whether it carried with it Petrarch’s almost religious veneration lor even the the crumbs crum bs o f Antiquity. T o expect expect this this is is, however, how ever, to expect too much. Such a ve vener neration ation really really belongs to a later age, and even during the high Renaissance it was restricted to com  para  pa rativ tively ely fe few w in indi divi vidu dual als. s. I n th thee fo fouu r tee te e n th c en entu tury ry th thee spir sp irit it which had led earlier to the transformation of ancient statues into Christian saints, saints, had not no t quite disappeared. W he hen n in in 133 13355 the ‘Regisol’ was returned to Pavia after its Milanese exile, it was regilded regilded and restored. restored. But medieval medieval restorers were n ot swayed  by a nt ntiq iquu a ria ri a n niceti nic eties es.. I t was clear cle ar to th thee m th thaa t th thee stat st atue ue represented represented a Roma Ro man n Emperor. Emp eror. They The y w ould therefore see see to it (hat it was was given the trappings trapp ings o f an Em pero peror, r, even if these were rather rather up-to-date.1 up-to-date.1 This anachroni anachronist stic ic approach approach als also o vanished vanished during the Renaissance. 1 G. de La Flamm a, Opusculum de rebus rebus gestis ab A%one, Luchi Luchino no et Jobanne Jobanne Vicecom Vic ecom itum , ed. < . Ca stigiioni, (Bo logna , 1938 1938)) 14, 14, M. Cag iano dc A zev edo ,  II gusto net restauro restau ro delle opere opere

(Roma, 1948) 11-12.

CHAPTER THREE

THE AGE OF PETRARCH Petrarch was not only the restorer of classical scholarship. H e was als also o the initiator o f a new approach in antiquarian stud st udies ies:: if Biondo was the father of Roman archaeology, Petrarch was certainly certainly its its grandfather. This should sh ould no t be taken to imply imply that tha t as an archaeologist he achieved the same heights he reached as a textual critic, critic, for this this was certainly no nott so. so. But Bu t then as a critic o f ancient texts Petrarch had no rivals until the second quarter of the fifteenth fifteenth century and the appearance appearance of o f Lorenzo Loren zo Valla; V alla; more mo re over, ove r, Valla Valla had Petrarc P etrarch’ h’ss achievement behind him. Little w ond onder er then, that even to-day to-day editors o f Livy, Livy, Cicero Cicero,, the the Lati La tinn geographers, and other texts, can overlook Petrarch’s work on these authors auth ors only at their ow n risk. risk. Here He re was was an an achievement unique in the chronicles of scholarship; for no scholar of his time, or for that matter of any other, did so much with so little to help him. him. A pa part rt from anything a nything els else, it is to him that we owe the merging and rescuing of the slender streams of textual traditions, dating back to the Symmachi and Nicomachi in fifth century Rome and to the Ravenna o f Theodoric The odoric the Goth.1 Go th.1 But as an archaeologist his critical powers, though certainly not dorm do rman ant, t, were not no t as as sharp.2 sharp .2 F o r his his evidence he relied relied mainly on literary sources and was often ready to believe what he was told  by  b y such su ch d u b io ious us gu guid ides es as th thee  Mirabilia   and the Grapbia Aurea. Such a weakness, so striking when viewed against his achieve m en entt as a textual criti critic, c, is, is, how ever, eve r, understandable. understand able. Despite De spite his veneration for the relics of Antiquity, Petrarch did not feel for them that boundless enthusiasm with which he approached ancient literature, and even here his attitude towards Greek remained rema ined rather rathe r lukewarm,3 lukewa rm,3 compared com pared to hi hiss passionate passionate love for  1 B illano vic h, Petrarch and the Textual Tradition of L.ivy\   passim, G. Billanovich, ‘Dalla antica Ravenna alle biblioteche umanistiche’,  Aev (1956) 56) 343-50, G. Billanovich,  A ev iim ii m , X X X (19 Petrarca e il Petrarch Petrarchismo ismo —A .t ti del I I I Cong Congre ressso dell ’ Asso ciatio ns ‘Petrarca e i classici’, Petrarca  Intern  Int ernat atio iona nale le pe p e r gli g li stu di d i lingua li ngua e let l etter terat atur ura a ital it alian ian a , (Bologna, 1961) 21-33. 2 O n this see also R. W eiss, ‘Pe trar ch the A nti qu ar ian ’, Classical ,  Mediae  Med iaeval val and a nd Renaissance Renaissan ce Studies in Honour Honour o f Berthold Berthold Tom s Ullm an,   II, (Roma, 1964) 199-209. me morie della Acca Ac cade demi mia a Petrarc Pe trarca a d i let l etter terey ey 3 R. W eiss, ‘P etrarc a e il m on do gre co ’,  A t t i e memorie a r ti e scie scienc nce, e,  N.S. XXXVI (1952-57) 65-96, A. Pertusi, L eon^io Pilato tra Petrarca e Boccaccio , (Venezia-Roma. 1964) passim.

THE AGE OF PETRARCH

31

the great the great Rom Ro m an writers. writers. His devotion devo tion to Virgil, Livy, Livy, and Cicero Cicero,, was never dimmed by his his liaison liaison w ith Hom H omer, er, tho thoug ugh h we must remember here that Homer was intelligible to him only in a third-rate Latin version. H ad Petrarc P etrarch’ h’ss interest in ancient art  been  be en as o v e rwh rw h e lm in ing g as hi hiss in inte terr e st in b ib iblio lioph phil ily, y, he w o u ld  prob  pr obab ably ly ha have ve left le ft b e h in ind d th thee g re reaa test te st ar arch chae aeol olog ogic ical al co coll llec ecti tion on ever seen before the Renaissance, side by side with that magni fice ficen nt library of o f his, his, where w here some o f even the rarest texts could be found in duplicate and in triplicate. As an antiquarian, Petrarch was not above accepting some  puee rile  pu ri le tra tr a d itio it ionn s. N o r was wa s it n a tu tura rall fo forr hi him m , as it is to us, t o  perc  pe rceiv eivee an o b v io iouu s an anac achr hron onis ism m , such su ch as, f o r in insta stanc nce, e, th thee representation of Roman soldiers in the garb of medieval warriors. Stil Still, l, an attraction attra ction toward tow ardss w ha hatt was was left o f clas classi sica call antiquity, antiqu ity, was certainly exceptionally exceptionally developed deve loped in him. Th Thus us his notes on the margins of his sumptuous Livy, now in Paris, indi cate cate an interest interest in the topography topograp hy o f ancient ancient Italy.1 Italy.1Those Those w ritten on hi hiss copy of o f Eu Eusebius’ sebius’ss chronicle chronicle in the Latin attire a ttire supplied by Saint Jerome, show a similar feeling for the more famous  build  bu ildin ings gs o f a nc ncie ient nt R om ome. e.2 2 F u r th thee r m o r e th this is same sam e text te xt o fte ft e n  pro  p rov v e d o f gr gree a t he help lp to hi him m in th thee solu so luti tioo n o f som so m e ar arch chae aeo o logical problems. He may have preferred texts to buildings and literature literature to art.3 ar t.3 Th There ere is, is, however, how ever, no do doub ubtt that tha t the the ancient ruins rui ns spoke to him very deepl deeply. y. T o him they were nothin no thing g less less than the skeleton of the past rising before his eyes, like the  prov  pr over erbi biaa l skel sk elee to tonn a t th thee R o m a n fe feast, ast, to a d m o ni nish sh a n d re rem m in indd the present, as well as a tangible commentary on what was being confide conf ided d to him him by his his reading of o f the great ancien ancients. ts. His love f o r them was enhanced in 1337, when at last Rome was revealed to him, so that he was able to see what till then had been familiar to him only from literature. The remains of ancient Rome aroused Petrarch’s enthusiasm  becaus  bec ausee th thee y w er eree a nc ncie ient nt ru ruin ins, s, a n d be beca caus usee th thee y w e re th thee r u in inss o f Rome. Th Thee walls walls,, the arches, arches, the baths, the am phitheatres, in fact all the visible relics of Roman power, moved him deeply. T o him they proved pro ved also also a source o f inspiration, inspiration, and in fact fact gave 1P. D e Nolhac, Petrarque Petrar que et Vhitmani Vhitmanisme sme> >  2nd ed., II (Paris, 1907) 29. 2 G . Billano vich, Un nuo nuovo vo esempio esempio delle scop scoperte erte e delle letture del d el Petrarca. Petrarc a. U E u se bi o — Girolamo— Girolamo— Pseu Pseudo do Prospe ro\   (Krefeld, 1954) 48-50. 3 It is interesting to n ote that P etrarch m ade a careful study o f Vitruvius , cf. L, Ciapponi* Ciapponi* al ia Medioevale e Umanistica,. Umanistic a,. lll lll “ De Arc hitectura” di V itruvio nci primo um anesim o’ o’,,  It alia Ill (1960) 59-99.

32

THE AGE OF PETRARCH

streng stre ngth th to hi hiss resolv resolvee to compete with the great Roman w riters, riters,  A fric ica a  and with Livy in the  De viris viris illustrib illustribus, us, w ith Virgil Virgil in the  Afr as well well as sharpenin shar pening g his desire fo forr the poetic laurels. laurels. Th Thee corona cor ona  tio n o f A lbertino Mussato1 M ussato1 had revived an ancient institution and created a precedent. A lthoug ltho ugh h only a municipal occas occasion ion,, it had aroused arou sed interest interest throu thr ough ghou outt Italy, Italy, to the point p oint that tha t after after it poets, from Dante downwards, began to crave a similar honour for themselves. Naturally such a desire desire did no t pass pass Petrarch Petra rch by. by. A nd in him the longing for the poetic laurel laurelss was increased increased by the the connexion between Apollo’s tree and Laura’s name and the •de •desire to be ho honou noured red like like a po poet et of Antiquity. I f the ceremony had been revived for Mussato, Mussato, it could also also be revived for fo r him ; his influential influential friends friends w ou ould ld see see to it. it. Th They ey did, and in 134 1341 the great event too tookk pl place. ace. K ing R obert of o f Naples consented consented to sponsor the ceremony and publicly examined Petrarch before his court. But the actu actual al crow ning took too k place place in Rome, in the the audience hall of the senatorial pala palace ce on the Capitol Capitol on o n April A pril 8th.2 As in Mussato’s, so in this coronation the classical element was •some somewh what at thin. Ev Even en more m ore than before, it had dwindled dw indled into a kind of university graduation, the university element being  paa rtic  p rt icu u larl la rlyy emph em phas asiz ized ed n o w by K in ing g R o b e r t’s pr pree lim in inar aryy examination and by the award of a diploma as well as his laurel crown to the new laureate. During his first visit to Rome in the spring of 1337, Petrarch had the opportunity to wander to his heart’s content among the ruins. His companion comp anion and guide in these sentimental sentimental journeys journeys was the Dominican Giovanni Colonna, who shared Petrarch’s tastes for Antiquity and interest in Livy, thus proving a most congenial conge nial companion to him. Shortly after leaving leaving Rome Rom e Petrarc Pe trarch h wro w rote te to Colonna, and in his his letter to him3 he recalled recalled their the ir wanderings o f a few weeks befor before. e. Like m ore than one great writer after him (the names of Goethe and Stendhal leap naturally at once to one’s mind) he delighted in setting down in w riting hi hiss ‘promenades ‘promenades dans Rom e’ e’,, no r did he omit om it to remind rem ind his correspondent of their stops and conversations in the Baths ■of D iocletian, after they had walked wa lked themselves themselves out. o ut. W ha hatt we 1 Supra , 20. 2 W ilkins , The M akin g o f the Can^on Can^onier ieree and other other Petrarchan Petrarchan Studies , 9-69. 3 Pe tra rca ,  Rer the date o f this this letter and this visit visit to  R erum um F am ilia il ia rium ri um L i b r i , V I. 2. Fo r the Rome see Billanovich, G li u m am sti e le cro 129. A different da ting is assigned crona nach chee medioevali> medioevali>129. to the letter in E. II. Wilkins, ‘On Petrarch’s Ep. Fam. VI. 2’, Speculum , XXXVIII (1963) •620-22.

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have here is is a diary diary rather rathe r than a letter, in which Petrarc Pe trarch h re-lived the wonder and awe that he had felt in the presence of ancient Rome. Rome. We can see see Petrarch movin m oving g among amo ng the antique antique remains, his imagination stirred by the pages of Virgil and Livy, seekings to identify the very spots where the greatest events in Roman history had occurred. O ften these identificati identifications ons were quite off the mark, but this does not really matter; for to him they were the truth. Petrarch’s letter is not a guide to old Rome, nor does it set out to bbee one one.. He does no nott try to ddesc escri ribe be the monum m onum ents; instead he just mentions them, and with them he also recalls memories of the early early Christian Christian city city.. Q uite obviously he had the  Mirabilia  Mirabilia  handy, or at any rate he had read it very carefully. Thus when he mentions the legend of Augustus and the Sibyl, or states that the ashes of imperial Caesar were inside the sphere on the top to p o f the Vati V atican can obelisk, obelisk, one see sees projected the mendaci mendaci ous shadow o f the  Mirabilia. His reliance reliance on so so tainted tainte d a source source is, however, how ever, just justifi ifiabl able. e. W here, here , apart apa rt fro from m the  Mirabilia   and the Graphia Aurea   could Petrarch have turned for guidance on Roman top topogr ograp aphy hy?? It is is quite quite true that Giovanni Colonna Colonna had been his de devote voted d guide in in Rome. Rom e. But, characterist characteristical ically, ly, h e trusted his his texts texts much more than he trusted trusted Colonna. A nd if he had consented to rely upon him, this was not because Colonna was was a Roman Rom an and member m ember o f one o f the most pow erful baronial baronial families in the city, but rather because he was aware that he too from fr om his his youth youth had felt felt the appe appeal al of the anti antiqui quiti ties. es.11 As a matter of fact Petrarch had no illusions about the ignorance and lack of interest of the Romans in their own city, and had told Colonna Colonn a so so in in his his letter to him.2 So when wh en Colonna indicated to him as a temple of the sun an old and impressive ruin incor  po  p o ra rate ted d in into to th thee m on onaa ste st e ry o f San G r e g o r io al Celio, Ce lio, h e re refu fuse sedd to accept such an identification and, thanks to St. Jerome’s text of the chron chronicl iclee o f Eusebiu Eusebius, s, he was able able to write to him trium ph antly: ‘Hoc Severi Afri Septizonium, quam tu sedem Solis vocas, sed meum nomen in historiis scriptum lego’.3 Giovanni Colonna did not take Petrarch’s strictures to heart. historiarum rum, a vast and incredibly dull 1nstea nst ead d in i n his  Mare historia du ll historical 1Petrarca,  Reru  Re rum m T a m ilia il iari rium um L i b r i ,   VI. 2. 2A similar similar com plaint was uttered by Petrarch to an other Rom an noble, Pa olo Annibal Annibaldi, di,.. cl. Petrarca,  Epi  E pist stol olee M e tr k e , III, 13. 3 Pe tra rca ,  Rer  R erum um F a m ilia il ia ri u m L,ibrsy L,i brsy  VI. 2, Billanovich, Un nuovo esempio delle scoperte e delle letture del Petrarca , 19, 68.

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com pilation, pilatio n, on o n which he was stil stilll busy in 134 1340 and which w hich is, is, no nott •surpr •surprisi isingl ngly, y, still still unpublished unpub lished,, he h e accepted a ccepted Petra Pe trarc rch’ h’ss corrections. corre ctions. ■*Edificavit preterea’, he said here of the Emperor Septimius Severus, ‘Rome Septizolium ut ex Africa venientes suum opus videre vid erent’ nt’..1 As for the the temple of the Sun, Sun, he now attributed a ttributed it to thee E m pero th perorr Aurelian, Aurelian,2 2 w ithout, however, how ever, committing com mitting himself as to its its precise precise location. location. O ther the r R om oman an buildings were also also historiarum rum  and were accompanied by mentioned in the  Mare historia topogra topo graphic phical al detail details, s,3 3 derived from what wh at was was the then n curren cu rrentt know ledge in Rome. O f course Colonna was was not alwa always ys accurate. B ut then the n Petrarch Pe trarch also also had hi hiss limitations limitations.. A pa part rt from failing to distinguish between imperial and republican walls, he accepted the traditional identification of the pyramid in the Borgo N uo uovo vo as the tom b o f Rom ulus,4 a tradition which w hich did not save it from demolition in the days of Pope Alexander VI. I f Poggio Pog gio is to be believed,5 and there th ere are no strong stro ng reasons reasons why he should no t be, Petrarch also also accepted accepted the c urren urrentt view view that tha t the  py  p y ra ram m id o f Cesti Ce stius us was wa s th thee to tom m b o f R emus em us.. A m u c h m o r e ■se ■serious mistake was the a ttributi ttrib ution on o f Ponte Po nte Sant’ Angelo An gelo to T ra raja jan n ,6 in view view’’ o f the fact tha th a t Had H adria rian’ n’ss name nam e was clearly inscribed on bo both th side sidess of o f it in in very large large letters letters.. He also also believed Trajan’ Tra jan’ss column to have been the tom b o f this this E m pero peror,7 r,7 an ■errror which ■e wh ich can be ultimately traced to the Chronicle Ch ronicle o f Eusebius, Euseb ius, where he had read that Trajan was the only Emperor buried in R om e.8 B ut one could go on o n for some some time noting notin g Petrarch Pe trarch’’s archaeological slips, which range from his following the tradi tional identification of the Pantheon with the temple of Cybele,9 to a belief that the Vatican obelisk was dedicated ‘divis imperatori to rib b u s’.1 s’.10 Some o f these these inaccuraci inaccuracies es were, we re, however how ever,, realized realized a n d recti rectifie fiedd by him later. later. Th Thank ankss to Suetonius, Suetonius, he corrected in liis  his erro the  De remeclii er rorr abo a bout ut the Panth Pa ntheo eon,1 n,11 1 while in the  A rchi hivu vu m 1 S. L. F orte , ‘Jo hn Co lonna O. P .— Life and W ritings (1298—c. (1298—c. 1340)’ 1340)’  Arc ilistoricum Yratrum Praedicatorum , XX (1950) 409-10.  Ib id.   410. 2 Ibid. 3 Ibid. Ibid. 409A 0 . 4 Petrarca,  Rer  R erum um I 'am 'a m ilia il ia ri um L i b r i ,   VI, 2.

5 P. P. Tro m pe o and G . M artcllotti, ‘Cartaginesi ‘Cartaginesi a Rom a’, X 'nova Antologia , (1943) 262, n. 1. 6 Weiss, Petrarch the Antiquarian , 204. 7 Ibid.  Ibi d.  loc. cit. 8 liusebius Werkc , Siebenter Band-Die Chronik des Hieronymus , ed. R. Helm, 'Berlin, 1956) 197. 9 Pe tra rca ,  Rer  R erum um V am ilia il iari rium um I J b r i , VI, 2. 10 Ibid.  Ib id.   loc. cit. 11 Petrarca,  De  D e remediis remedii s utriusque utriu sque fortunae fortu nae^^   I, 118.

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marginal notes of his Eusebius he recorded ‘Nam et Capitolium regium regiu m opus est et P an anthe theon on A gr gripp ippe’. e’.1 1 Similarl Similarly y in th thee  De remediis the ‘Palatium Palatium A ntonini’ ntonin i’ o f the letter to Giovanni Giovan ni Colonna C olonna now became, more correctly, the ‘Balneum Antonini’.2 A few years after writing his letter to Colonna, Petrarch returned to the topography topography o f ancien ancientt Rome. Rome. He had decided decided to  A fric ica a   an imaginary tour of represent in the eighth book of his  Afr Rome made by the Carthaginian envoys to the Senate, which meant of course a reconstruction of the Rome of the Scipios. This naturally implied a marshalling of all his archaeological knowledge. Yet, archaeolo archaeologica gically lly,, the outcome was hard hardly ly a succe success ss.. P etrarch etra rch’’s repu republican blican city city is no t only to too o magnificent for the Rome of the Punic Wars, but, moreover, it is also made to include buildings and monuments that were certainly not  Dioscuri there at the time. time. F or example example,, he placed in it the tw o  Dioscuri of the Quirinal, whom he believed to be by Pheidias and Prax  Mirab ilia , itel iteles es,, thus showing at a t any rate an improvem im provem ent on the  Mirabilia where the statues were given as representing two young  ph  p h ilo il o sop so p h e rs so n a m e d : a nd h e slip sl ippe ped d ba badl dly y by in intr troo d u c in ingg into it the Pantheon, which he still believed then to have been the Temple Tem ple o f Cybe Cybele le.. O n the other o ther hand, one can say say to hi hiss credit tha thatt neither the the Septizoni Septizonium um nor no r the Antonine Anton ine and Trajanic columns figure in his panorama of the city in republican times.3 The archaeological interests of Petrarch naturally extended also to classi classical cal art. Th Thus us the th e ‘Re ‘Regisol’ gisol’ o f Pavia was described by him to Boccaccio in admiring terms in a letter, where he also showed show ed himself him self ful fully ly aware of o f its its origin o rigin in Ravenna.4 R avenna.4 A lso much m uch admired adm ired by him were the bronz b ronzee horses o f St St. M ark’ ark’ss, Venice.5 V enice.5 It is therefore strange that he made no mention, either in his letter to Colonna or o r else elsewher where, e, o f the equestrian equestrian statue statue o f Marcus Aurelius and the other classical statuary, then placed on the top of pillars outside St. John the Lateran and now in the Capitol. He seems to have studied some of the portrait busts of the Au gusta sta Roman Emperors; hence when reading in the  Historia Augu that tha t Gordia G ordian n the Y oun ounge gerr had be been en ‘form ‘formaa conspicuus’ conspicu us’,6 ,6 he felt felt compel compelled led to intervene on the m argins argins o f his his ow n copy and  1 Billa nov ich, Un nuovo nuovo esempio esempio delle scoperte scoperte e delle delle letture le tture del Petrar P etrarca ca , 48. 2 Pe tra rca ,  D e remediis remedii s utriusqu utri usquee fortunae>  I, 118. 3 Tro m pe o e M artellotti, artellotti, op. cit.  254-64.  R erum um Sen iliu il ium m L .ib .i b ri , V, 1. 4 Petrarca,  Rer 6 Ibid.  Ib id.   IV, 2. 6 Scriptores Historiae Augustae , Gordianus , 17.

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note £Si hoc verum veru m fuit malum habuit hab uit sculptorem .’1 .’1 Statu Statues es were remedii ediiss,2 although here his not forgotten by him even in the  De rem appreciation of them was naturally distorted by the ascetic climate climate o f the treati treatise. se. N o r was hi hiss taste taste for art restricted to that tha t o f the clas classi sica call period. period . Early Ea rly Christian m onu onum m ents also met with his praise, and the most prominent Christian relics had not  been  be en o v e rlo rl o o k e d by h im d u r in ing g his visits vis its to R o m e ,3 w he here re he is also known to have admired the Cemetery of Callixtus.4 Ancient inscript inscriptions ions were no nott neglected by Petrarch. Yet epigraphy was a field where, one feels, he did not do himself full ju just stice ice.. N o t that he he was uninterested in it, on the contrary and an d indeed in his his old age he stil stilll recalled recalled that tha t in his his you y outh th he had  been  be en sho sh o w n in R imin im inii th thee o ld in insc scri ribe bed d ston st one, e, m a rk rkin ing g th thee s p o t where Caesar was alleged to have addressed his army after cross ing the R ubicon.5 ubic on.5 Inscriptions were actual actually ly often noted and a nd remembered remem bered by him hi m : to the po point int that when it came came to w riting riting a Latin La tin epitaph fo forr Tom m aso Caloiro,6 C aloiro,6 the Sicili Sicilian an friend o f his Bologna student days, he included in it a pentameter borrowed from an early Christian inscription in the Roman church of Sant Santaa Maria Maria in Trastevere.7 Some Some li lines from an epig epigrap raphi hicc elogium ,8 which he believed believed to be of o f the elder Drusus, Drus us, may be remediis. is.9 9 It is therefore surprising to find him seen in the  De remedi accepting unquestioningly as Livy’s tombstone the epitaph  pre  p ress e rv rvee d in P a d u a ; so m u c h so th thaa t he e ve ven n da date ted d his fictit fic titio ious us letter to the great Roman historian ‘in Vestibulo lustine Virginis et ante ipsam sepulcri tui lapidem, VIII Kal. Martias MCCCLI’.10 Together with his friend Gabrio dei Zamorei he accepted an inscription inscription on the front fro nt o f Parma Cathedr Cathedral al as the epitaph o f the R om oman an w riter rite r M acrobius,11 acrobius,11 which wh ich is not no t so surprising surp rising in G ab abrio, rio,  bu  b u t is p e rh rhaa ps s u rp rpri riss in ing g in P etra et rarc rch. h. F a r less s u rp rpri risi sinn g is hi hiss conformity to the traditional types and his avoidance of any classical formulae in those Latin inscriptions which he himself  1 D c N o l ha h a c , op. c i t  II, 59. 2 Pe tra rca ,  De remediis remedi is ntriusque ntrius que fo r tm a e ,   I, 41. 3 Pctrarca,  Rer  R erum um F am ilia il iari rium um U b r i ,   VI, 2.  Ib id.   loc. cit. Petrarca, F.pistole Metrics , II. 5, 97-100. 4 Ibid. 5 A. Ca m pan a,  II  I I cippo riminese rimine se d i Giuli Gi ulio o Cesare , (Rimini, 1933) 10-13. 6 Poesie minori del Petrarca , ed. D. de’ Rossetti, III, (Miiano, 1834) Appendix, 4. 7 In sc ri p tio ti o n s Christi Ch ristianae anae V rb is Romae Ro mae septim sept imo o saec saeculo ulo anteriores anterior es , ed. I. B. De Rossi. II. 1> (Roma, 1888) 316. S C . I . L .   VI. 1, 1207. 9 Pe trar ca ,  De  D e remediis reme diis utriusque utriu sque fort fo rtun un ae , I, 114. 10 Pe tra rc a,  Rer  R erum um F am ilia il ia r ium Libri , XXIV, 8. 11 Weiss, Petrarch the Antiquarian , 206-07.

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dictated,1 as can can be seen seen,, for instance, instance, in the the epitaph e pitaph he wrote w rote for his his little little grandson, grands on, Francesco da Brossano, the original stone of which, still to be seen at Pavia, was furthermore engraved in Gothic characters.2 While the study of ancient inscriptions did not take much of a step forward with Petrarch, his study of ancient coins shows a definite definite advance on G iovanni iova nni Mansionario. M ansionario. As we saw,3 saw,3 Giovanni had not gone beyond drawing some of the ancient imperial imperial coi coins ns availabl availablee to him. him. Petrarch Petra rch went wen t fur furthe therr than tha t; he used them as historical sources and became known as some thing of o f an authority on the subj subject ect.. Th Thee digger in Rome who w ho unearthed an antique gem and some gold and silver coins, knew what he was was doing doing when he broug bro ught ht them to Petrar P etrarch ch for identi identi fication fication an andd possibly purch purchase.4 ase.4 N o t surprisingly, Petrarch Petrarc h actually assembled a small collection of Roman coins, of which he sedul sedulousl ously y studied studied the iconography iconogra phy and the the inscripti inscriptions. ons. T o him they they reall really y were a smal smalll portra por trait it gallery gallery of o f Rom an Em E m pero perors, rs,  plaa cing  pl ci ng b e fo fore re his eyes th thee d e p a r ted te d g lo lory ry o f R om ome. e. I t was  becaus  bec ausee o f th this is,, be beca caus usee o f th thee m essa es sage ge th thee y c on onve veye yed, d, th thaa t he  pre  p rese sent ntee d a sele se lect ctio ionn o f th thee m to th thee E m p e r o r Char Ch arles les I V w h e n he met him in Mantua in 1354, saying at the same time ‘ecce, inquam qua m , Caesar, quib quibus us successisti, successisti, ecce ecce quos imitar im itarii studeas,’ studea s,’55 which make makess us hope that the most m ost disreput disreputable able Roman Emperors Em perors were no nott represented represen ted in in this gif gift. t. Incidentally Incidentally the golden golde n bull of Charles Charles IV w ith its its view of o f ancient Rome Rom e aroused the adm iration o f Petrar Pe trarch ch,6 ,6 whose wh ose deligh d elightt was increased by seeing seeing ‘Aurea Au rea R om a’ written on it, because, as he gravely explained to the Bishop of Olmiitz, he had employed those very words in his  Africa."1 There is ample testimony to Petrarch’s use of coins as Memoran randar darum um L ib r i  we find historical historical evidence. evidence. In the  Rerum Memo him appealing to the golden and silver coins of Vespasian in connexion with that E m per peror’ or’ss features,8 showing at the same same time time the the knowledge know ledge that such pi piece ecess were very commo com mon. n. A coin o f Faustina led to his writing w riting in the margin marg in o f the passage passage ‘U ‘Uxo~ 1See for example Poesie minori del Petrarca , III, Appendix, 4, 6, 8, 10. letteraria aria — Stu S tu di sul Petrarca Petrarca e sid Rinascimento Rinascimento , (Firenze, 1930) 2 V. R os si, Sc ritti di iritica letter 70 81. 3 Supra , 23. 4 Petrarca,  Rer 8. O n Pctrarch as a num isma tist see A.  R erum um Y a m ilia il iari rium um U b r i , X V III, 8. M ag nag uti, ‘11 Pe trarc a n um ism atic o’,  Riv  R ivis ista ta Ital It alia ia na d i K u m ism is m at ica, ic a,   XX (1907) 155-57. 6Petrarca,  Reru  Re rum m Y a m ilia il ia rium ri um L i b r i , XIX, 3. the bull bu ll see se e Erbe n, op. cit.   83, 111-12.  Ibid.  Ibi d.   X X I, 2. O n the 7Petrarca,  L e Y a m il ia r i , ed. V. Ros si, IV , (Firenze, 1942) 1942) 53, n., Pe trarc a,  A fr i c a ,  V I, 883. 883.  R erum um Memo Me moran randar darum um L i b r i , il, 73. 8 Petrarca,  Rer

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rem Faustinam A ugustam appellari appellari a senatu pe perm rmisit’ isit’ in his copy Augu sta   now in Paris, the observation TIac of the  Historia Augusta appellatione est Faustina major me penes, in auro, similiter et minor, sed eo amplius amplius Pii Pii Aug. Au g. fil. fil.’’1 A no nothe therr time, time, for example, example, a gold piece of Agrippina, presented to him by the Augustinian Luigi Marsigli, enabled him to elucidate a passage in Suetonius, which had baffled him.2 Much more than Roman inscriptions, Roman coins show Petrarch Petrarc h as a tru truee antiquarian. His study of o f them the m shows him able able to make full use of the evidence available in them, just as it discl di sclos oses es to too o his deep interest inter est in ancient icono iconograp graphy. hy. I t is is therefore not surprising, in view of this, to find Petrarch’s shadow lurking behind the decoration of the cSala Virorum Illustrium’ ordered by Francesco da Carrara the Elder, the Lord o f Padua. Padua. F o r the fresco frescoes es in it seem seem to have ha ve been inspired by ir is lllustribus,  the very work in which he had Petrarch’s  De V iris seen seen himself him self as a new L iv ivy y ; while the Compendium o f this treatise may well have been meant as a guide to these decorations, in which the Rom an monum ents that tha t figure figure in more than one scen scenee were also also derived in all all probability from inform ation supplied by the great hum anist.3 anist.3 The Paduan hall of great men was a pictorial glorification of ancient Rome Rom e in a medieval idiom. Despite De spite Petrarch’ Petra rch’ss pa part rt in it, it, the various v arious figures were attired n ot in clas classi sica call bu t in fourteenthfourtee nthcentury garb. In fact fact,, apart from their the ir subject matter, ma tter, the decorations o f this hall were as distant from the spirit o f A ntiquity ntiqu ity as the revolution of Cola di Rienzo, whose two tribunates were never more than a pathetic caricature of the classical original. Yet at the th e beginning be ginning o f Cola’s Cola’s rule rule even Petrarc P etrarch h had hailed hailed it as the genuine genuine article, article, th thou ough gh no t for long. Stil Stilll A ntiquity ntiqu ity undeni und eni ably had a tremendous appeal for Cola di Rienzo, the ill-fated tribune of Rome, whose dramatic career inspired an opera by Wagner and a novel by Lord Lytton, if not one of Petrarch’s ‘canzo can zoni’. ni’.4 4 Cicero, Seneca, an and d Valerius Maximus, Max imus, and above abo ve all all Livy were we re Cola’s Cola’s inspirers. But, Bu t, as as sources of his enthusiasm for Antiquity, they were outdistanced by the ruins of Rome, 1 D e N o l h a c , op. cit.  II, 64. li a Medioevale e Umani Um anisti stica ca , III (1960) 2 G. B illanovic h, ‘Nella bib lioteca del P etra rca ’,  It a lia 49-50. 8 T. E. M om m sen, ‘Petrarch and the De coration o f the Sal Salaa V irorum Illustrium Illustrium in in Padua’, The A r t Bulle Bulleti tin, n,  XXXIV (1952) 95-116. 4 It is no longe r believed tha t Cola was the recipien t o f Petrarca,  Rer  R erum um vulgariu vulg arium m frag fr ag menta , 53.

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which he saw daily, rising everywhere among the churches, the fortresses, the mean hovels, and the grazing plots, which formed the medieval m edieval city. city. I t was abo above ve al all these ruins which made him see see the past as a lost paradise, paradise, and a return retu rn to t o the ancient institu tions the only way to save save Rom e from its its anarchy and desolation and perhaps even make it once once m ore the ‘caput ‘caput m un undi’ di’.. N on onee of of Cola’s contemporaries, not even Petrarch, felt so powerfully the impact of these remains or studied them more enthusiastically: ‘tutta die se speculava nelli intagli de marmo, che iaccio intorno a Roma’ Rom a’11 w rote hi hiss contemporary biographer. In an age when very few could make anything of an ancient inscription, his epigraphic competence was bound to impress his fellow citizens. The unknown contemporary who wrote his life was therefore repeating what must have been common talk, when he stated: ‘Non c’era aitri che esso che sapessi leijere li antichi pitaffij. Tutte scritture antiche vulgarizzava; queste fegure de marmo iustamente interpretava.’2 Strangely enough, Cola’s living in such an antiquarian make believ  bel ievee h a d litt li ttle le in influ fluen ence ce o n his lite li tera rary ry style. H is L a tin ti n ne nevv e r achieved a classical flavour, remaining to the end a faithful echo o f the flamboyant flamboyant phraseology o f the ‘dictatores’. dictatores’. This was of of course the inevitable inevitable legacy legacy of the the notarial n otarial art, which wh ich gave him a training and supplied him with a livin living. g. I t was a contradiction, contrad iction,  bu  b u t o ne w hi hicc h was wa s n o t in c o n tra tr a st w ith it h hi hiss a n tiqua tiq uari riaa ni nism sm.. F o r his vision vision was no n o t tha t o f a Petrarch Petrarc h ; it was was no t a desire desire to revive classical learning, but to lead Rome back to its ancient glory. I fence his was really really a hum h umanism anism which wh ich by-passed literature literatu re and concentrated instead upon politics, with the result that his two short-lived tribunates show, besides the corrupting influence of absolute power and a good deal of charlatanry, a desperate attempt attem pt to make ancient Rome Rom e a present prese nt real realit ity. y. N o t surprisingly, surprisingly, his pathetic effo effort rtss to rule in fourteenth-c fourtee nth-centur entury y Rome R ome according t<) the precepts precep ts o f Livy and the visionary vision ary dreams o f the latter-day saints of Joachim of Flora, tempered by despotism and corrup(ion, (io n, pro prove vedd too w eak for the realit realities ies o f the day. day. His formula to sway the masses was to appeal to the example of the ancients. But the example of the ancients worked in Rome only as long as things went well, and with Cola things did not go well for long. lon g. Y et it was an appeal that tha t was still still powerfu pow erfull in Italy. Italy. Only On ly 1 A n on o n im im o R o m a n o ,  L a vita vi ta d i Cola d i R ieti^p,   ed. A. Frugoni, (Firenze, 1957) 33. -  Ibid.   loc. cit.

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a few years after Cola’s death, Iacopo Bussolari, the Austin Friar who made himself the ‘Savonarola’ of Pavia a century  bee fo  b fore re th thee ap appe pear aran ance ce o f th thee gr gree a t re refo form rm e r o f F lo lore renc ncee , was wa s able able to encourage the inhabitants o f besieged besieged Pavia to resist resistance, ance,  by  b y re recc alli al ling ng to th thee m th thee ex exam ample ple o f th thee an anci cien entt R om oman ans.1 s.1 Cola’s Cola’s antiquarian antiquarian passion rem remained ained unabate u nabated d to the end, and even when in prison in Avignon after the collapse of his first tribunate, tribun ate, he sough so ughtt consolation from the th e pages pages of o f Livy.2 I t was was a passion that tha t found foun d its supreme expression expression in politi politics, cs, led him to absolute power, pow er, and yet was since sincere. re. A lthoug ltho ugh h the collection collection o f inscriptions inscrip tions ascribed to him is no lon longe gerr believed to be his his w or ork,3 k,3 his epigraphic pursuits made, as we have already seen, a deep impression in Rome, where he was unanimously considered the leading leading authority author ity in the fie fielld. T o Rom R oman an imperial coins coins he owed his knowledge of the ancient cult of Rome, and on them he noticed how the personified city was often represented as enthro en throne ned.4 d.4 But the clima climax x of his antiquarian activit activity y occurred in 1346 or thereabouts, when he found in St. John Lateran the imperio rio.. Here  bro  br o n z e tab ta b let le t w ith it h V espa es pasia sian’s n’s  L e x de impe He re was was the very tablet which Odofredus a century before had been unable to read, a detail which had not stopped him from identifying it as part o f th thee law of o f the Tw elve Ta Tables.® Cola, however, howev er, was able to read it and he was quick to see in it a most effective  prr o p a g a n d a w eapo  p ea pon. n. H e re w as, as , he th thoo u g h t, th thee p r o o f th thaa t supreme power had belonged to the Roman people, who had merely merely deleg delegated ated it to the Em perors. There The re could then be no  bee tte  b tt e r way wa y to m ak akee th thee R om oman anss c on onsc scio ious us o f th thee ir w o n d e rfu rf u l  po  p o w e r. Cola Co la cert ce rtain ainly ly t o o k th this is vi view ew,, a nd a cted ct ed o n his belief. belie f. As a mass mass agitato a gitatorr he had ha d already employed allegorical allegorical paintings. pain tings. This time he saw that the tablet ‘la quale nullo sapeva leijere ne ’nterp nte rpre reta tare re,, se n o n solo esso’,8 esso’,8 was fixed on a wall inside St. John Lateran and, furthermore, he instructed a compliant  paa in  p inte terr t o fres fr esco co a r o u n d it th thee R om a n senate sen ate c o n fe ferr rrin ing g th thee ‘imperium’ impe rium’ up upon on Vespasian Vespasian.. His next step was to sum m on the Romans to come and listen listen to his interpretation interpr etation o f the discovery. discovery. This took place in St. John Lateran where, on 20 May 1347,  L ib e r gestorum gestor um in Lo m ba rdia rd ia , ed. F. Cognasso, (Bologna, 1926-39) 120. 1 P. Azarius,  Lib 2A nonim o Rom ano, op. cit.  168. 3A. Silvagni, ‘Se la silJoge signoriliana possa attribuirsi a Cola di Rienzo’,  Arc  A rc h iv u m (192 924) 4) 175175--- 83.  L a ii n i ta ti s M edii ed ii A e v i y 1 (1 4 K. Burdach, R [forma- R inascimento-XJmanesimo,  (Firenze, 1935) 66. 6 Supra, 12. 6 A nonim o R om ano, op. cit. 42.

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bef before an an audience audience of of friends friends and and foe foes s and and merely merely curio curious onl nlo ookers, he opene opened d the procee proceedings dings wi with a speech in whi which, ch, as coul could d be ex expected, pected, he made th the e usual usual cont contra rast st between between the the glorio rious pa past and the misera serable ble prese present nt of of the city. city. After this this Cola Cola had had the text of of the ‘lex’ read read alo aloud. ud. Then hen he he spoke again in.. He outli utlined the imme immediate prospects prospects of of the city, city, remin remindi ding ng his his audience udience th tha at the jubi jubillee of 135 1350 was drawi drawin ng near. Huge uge masse sses of pil pilgrims would would then then desc desce end upon Rome Rome. Y et no plans plans we were being being made, de, and unle unless some someth thiing was done done th there ere wo woul uld d not not be onl nly y dang dange ers to the the city, city, but also also a conside considera rable ble loss.1 loss.1 Col Cola’s effort went down wel well. It was the first time that a class classica icall in inscripti scriptio on had had furnishe furnished d a text text fo for a pol politica ticall sermon, and its its succ succe ess ma may be ascribe scribed not not onl only y to the ex extraordi traordinary nary eloque eloquence nce of the the spea speaker, but al also to the the fact that, despit despite e the Roma Romans’ indif indifference rence to th their eir past past tha that Petra Petrarch rch had had bee been quick to noti notice ce,2 ,2the the memory of ancient ncient pow power wa was sti still in the their ir minds minds.. From the time times of of Pope Bonifa Boniface VIII until until Cola Cola’s ’s discove discovery of it, th the e bronze bronze tablet tablet wi with the "Lex "Lex de de imperio’ mperio’ had had bee been resti resting ng with wit h the writt written en side against an an alta ltar. Thi his s had had bee been due due to the the action ction of of a builde builder. r. But in this this Cola Cola saw a pol politi itical cal moti motiv ve, and and in 135 1350, while while a prisoner prisoner in Pra Prag gue, ue, he said in his his long long--winded apol pologia to Archbishop Archbishop Ernst rnst vo von Pardu Pardubi bitz tz tha thatt the the tablet tablet had bee been purposely purposely hidden hidden by Pope Bonifa Boniface VIII from hatre hatred d of of the Em Empire and that that he, he, Cola Cola, had had broug brought ht it it to light again and and pla placed ced it it where it co coul uld d be see seen by everyone.3 everyone.3 With Cola Cola di Rienzo Rienzo’’s short-li short-liv ved rise to pow power in 1347 a new new ant ntiiquari quaria an clima climate perm perme eated the cit city’ y’s s government. ernment. It found expre express ssio ion n in Cola’s Cola’s assum ssumpti ptio on of the titl title e ‘T ‘Tribunus  Aug  Augustus’ ; it was present in his theatrical assumption of knight hoo hood, which in incl clude uded d his present presentiing hi himse msellf as a ‘candi candida datus’ tus’ wea wearing ring the the cla classica ssical 4vestis triumph triumphali alis’ s’ and his bathing bathing in in the the font, where where it was comm commo onl nly y bel believed that Constantine Constantine had had be been cleansed nsed from rom leprosy eprosy by Pope Syl ylv vester. ester. Thi his s was a perfo perform rm ance nce in which the infl influence of the teaching of of Jo Joachim chim of of Flo Flora’ ra’s ext xtre remist mist disc disciiples was also also evide ident, and to whi hich ch reli relief wa was broug brought ht by a banque banquet. t. More cere cerem monies onies to too ok pla place on Aug August ust 15th, 1347, when when Cola Cola was gi given the ‘la ‘laurea tribu ribuni nici cia’ a’.. These hese resu result lte ed in in a mix mixtur ture e of of il ill-di l-dig gested ested me memories of of ancient ncient ' Und.  41-6. 2 Supra, 33. 3Burdach, V om Mitte II. 3, 258. ttelalte alter %ttr Reformatio ation, II.

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tri triumphal umphal custo custom ms contam contamiinated nated by medi medieval eval ceremoni ceremonia al, during during whi hich ch Cola rece receiv ive ed not not one but but six crowns crowns.. Fi Fiv ve of them were of fo foliage and symbo symbolliz ize ed his vario rious achieve achieveme ments. The sixth, sixth, which wa was of of sil silver, and had bee been zea zealously wa watched by the Archbishop Archbishop of Na Naples, ples, lest some someone ma make awa away with with it, it, sym symboliz bolize ed the the seven ven gif gifts ts of of the Holy Ghost,1 Ghost,1 the very gif gifts ts which which Cola Cola so so markedly markedly la lacked! cked! No doubt doubt Col Cola’s ant ntiiquari quaria an behavio behaviour ma made a dee deep impres sion sion in Rom Rome. Even if his his care caree er had had a misera miserabl ble e end, his example xample was not fo forgo rgott tten. en. A century later Ste Steffano Po Porcari rcari,, himself hi mself a humani humanist st and antiqua antiquari ria an, tried tried to make make hi himself mself a new Col Cola and ende ended d even more miserabl miserably. y. In fa fact during during the Renai Renais sance an enthusia enthusiasm sm for Ant Antiiquity quity prov proved a sti stimula mulati ting ng fo force rce behi behind nd pol politica ticall conspiracies conspiracies.. But suc such h huma humani nist st conspiracies conspiracies inv nva ariably fa faile iled, both in in the Rome of Pope Nichol Nichola as V and in the Mila Milan of the Sforzas orzas. Cola Cola di Rienzo was not not the only only Ro Roman of of his time time who drew inspirati nspiration on from from the ruins ruins of of Rome Rome. Anothe notherr Roman who fe felt their impact impact wa was Gio Giova vanni nni Ca Cavallini llini dei dei Cerr Cerroni oni,, Canon of of Santa Mari Maria a Roto Rotonda nda,, i. i.e. the the Panthe Pantheon, on, and ‘S ‘Scriptor criptor Apostolicus’ licus’ at at the Avignon ignon Curia Curia.. Giova iovanni nni wa was enoug enough h of of a hum humanist to coll collate hi his s Valerius Maxi xim mus wit with h ot othe herr ma manuscripts2 nuscripts2a and to gath ther er info nforma rmatio tion abo about ut copies of of the Latin tin class classics ics at at Monteontecassino ssino.. His beli belief that that Cice Cicero’ ro’s s De  De Kepublka  and the the seco second nd Decade of Li Livy were were to be found there there,, was of of cour course se the result result of fa faulty inform informa ation.3 With With the topog topography of of anc ancie ient nt Rome Rome he was obv obvio ious usly ly on on sa safer gro ground; und; but only only up up to a point, point, for his hi s topo topographi raphica call directory directory wa was nothi nothing ng better better than than a copy of of the Grap rapbia A urea, ‘que est apud eccles ecclesiiam sanct sancte e Mari Marie e nov nove de Urbe Urbe, quam vidi et leg legi piuri piuries’ es’.4 .4 The archa archae eolog logical ical interests of of Gio Giov vanni Ca Cavallini lini are are main inly ly to be sought in his his P  Po olistoria, a work aiming iming at the exalta exaltati tio on of of Roma Roman traditi traditions, written written or at at any rate rate com completed betwe betwee en 1343 and 1352 1352, and where he suppl suppliied details details about bout the the gat gates, hillls and hi and regions, of ancie ancient nt Rome Rome,5 ,5no nott so long after ter the main classica classicall buil buildings dings of of the city city had been represe represented nted on the go golden nzo, (Milano, 1934) 97-113. 1P. Piur, Cola di Rienzo, 2 Sabbadini, T e scoperte rte dei codic odici lati atini egreet, II, 47, n. 19. xtu ual Tr Tradition of T hy^169. 3 Ibid.  il, 49, n. 29. Billanovich,  Petrarch and the Text 4 Sabbadini, T e scoperte rte del codic odici lati atini e grcci, IF, 50, n. 43, Cudiie topografic rafico della ci citta tta di

 Ro  Roma, IV, 27,

* Ib Ibid.  IV IV , 20 20 54.

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bull of of the Emperor peror Lewis of Ba Bava varia ria.1 .1 One would, however however,, loo look in vain, despite despite his his use of of Li Livy and and me medieval dieval source ources and and records records,, for any any serio serious us step step fo forw rwa ard from from the pueril pueriliitie ties of the Grap raphia Au A urea. In fa fact his onl only y signif significanc icance e is that that he shows shows that Petrarch trarch was not the only only one one in his time time to employ mploy literary source sources in orde orderr to identi identiffy ancient rem remains. As a matter matter of of fa fact such sources sources also appear ppear to ha have bee been used used by Bo Boccacci ccaccio o, whom whom Cavalli Cavallini ne never met and and Petrarch trarch bef befriende riended. d. To a man wit with h Bocc Bo cca accio ccio’’s wide huma humanist inter intere ests, it was natura natural that that Ant Antiiquity quity shoul should d have exerted exerted its appea appeal upon upon hi him. m. Y et as a humani humanist st he lagge agged d behi behind nd Petrarch. Petrarch. The rea reason son for this this wa was not not so much a questi questio on of of lesser lesser int intell elliigence as of of a dif diffferent rent temper tempera ament and and approach. pproach. There was also also the the fact that that their upbri upbringin nging gs had had not not been the same. Whereas Petra Petrarch rch had had bee been bro brought up in in cosmo cosmopolit polita an Av Avignon, non, when hen this this tow town wa was the ackno acknow wledge ledged centre centre of of the Christi Christia an and humani nist st worl worlds, ds, Bo Bocca ccaccio had had bee been educa ducated in the narro narrow w ci circle of the Flore Florenti ntine ne co colony lony in Ang Angevi evin n Naples. Naples. Little wonder wonder then, tha that when Petrarch Petrarch was busy resurr resurre ecting cting som some e long long fo forgo rgotten books books of of Li Livy, Boccaccio ccio was stil still flirti lirting ng wit with h Ovi Ovid d and and the tarnishe tarnished d cha charms of of the ars dktaminis. The ‘Zibaldone ibaldone Laure urenzia nziano’ of of Bocca Boccaccio ccio,, that that substa substanti ntia al comm commonplace onplace boo book into into which he copie copied anythi anything ng of of parti particular cular inte interest rest to him, him, betra betrays ys a predil predile ectio ction fo for just the kind kind of writi writings ngs whi which ch the new new huma humanism was putti putting rapi rapidl dly y out out of of fashion,2 shion,2 and is is indica indicati tive ve of a wide variety of of intere interests as wel well as of of a selflf-made culture, culture, wit with h a definite inite bent bent for encyclo ncyclo-pae paedism and a taste taste for genea genealogies, both both div divine and and huma human, in fact the very fe features tures w whi hich ch are are so so conspi conspicuo cuously usly behi behind nd his massive ssive Latin treati treatises ses.. Bo Bocca ccacci ccio o’s great reat achieveme chievement nt as the rescu rescue er of of much much of of Ta Tacitus citus and Apul Apuleius eius must must now now be be hande handed d over to the in inffin iniitely le less gifted, but but stea steadier Za Zanobi nobi da Strada trada.3 .3 On the other hand, the ro role of of Bocca Boccaccio in in the ea early rly humani nist st study of Gre Gree ek is just beginni beginning now now to appea ppear fa far grea greater ter than than had bee been hith hitherto erto suspe suspected.4 cted.4 The appea ppeal of Anti Antiquity quity was alrea lready fe felt very powe powerf rfull ully y by Bocca Boccaccio during during his Neapolita politan n youth. Even ven if if Filippo Filippo Vil Villani’ lani’s s story story about about his decisio decision n to dedica dedicate te hi hims mse elf enti entire relly to po poetry 1Erbcn, op. cit. pi. III. radi^ione delle opere lat latiine di Giovanni Boc Boccaccio, 1, (Ro 2 See V. Branca Branca,, Tradi^ (Roma, ma, 1958) 958) 201201-03. 3G. Billanovich,  I primi imi umanisti e letraii^ ii^ioni dei classici latini, (Friburgo, 1953), 30-33.  JLeon^io Pil Pilato fra Petrarca e Boccaccio, passim, 4 Pertu Pertusi, si, JLe passim, G. G. Bil Billano lanovi vich, ch, C I1 Petrarca Petrarca e i  Italia Mediocvalee Umanistica^ V (1962) 119-2 rctori latini minori’, Ita -22 2.

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after ter a visit isit to the alle lleged tomb tomb of of Vi Virgi rgil at Merg Merge ellin llina a,1is ,1 is to be disca discarde rded d as a fairy tale, tale, his in intell tellectua ectuall intere nterests duri during ng this this period period are are clear, clear, and are are obvi bviously advertised advertised by the subscript subscriptiion ‘sub mont monte e Fale Falerno rno apud apud busta busta Maronis Vi V irgil rgilii’2in his earlie rliest letters whi which ch have rea reached ched us. us. Already ready by then he had had developed developed an interest nterest in ancient inscriptio nscriptions. That hat this wa was actually ctually so, is testi testiffied by his earlie rliest know known La Latin tin poem poem, the soso-ca called el elegy egy for for Costa Costanza nza,,3whi hich ch was modelle modelled on the first century a . d . inscrip tio tion of of Claudia Claudia Hom Homonoe onoea,4f ,4fifte iftee en lines lines of of which actua actuall lly y fig figur ure e in it. it. There here are no deta detail ils s of of how how Bo Bocca ccaccio cam came to know know this this epigraphi epigraphic c text text,, whi hich ch la later prove proved so popul popula ar with with Renaissa Renaissance nce huma humani nists. sts. Stil till, whether he had had acce ccess to the the origin riginal al stone, or mere merely ly to a transc transcript ript of it, it, his use of this inscripti nscriptio on is rema remark rk able ble and certain certainlly expl expla ains his his later intere interest st in in the alleged sepul sepul chra chral inscription inscription of Liv Livy y at at Pa Padua.5 The text text of this epita epitaph ph wa was alre lready include included d by Boccacc Boccaccio io in the line lines s on Li Livy, which he wrote rote in his ‘Z ‘Zibaldo ibaldone ne’’ now now at Flore Florence nce in the Laure urentia ntian Library.8 brary.8 These hese very lines lines we were later incorpora incorporated ted by Boccaccio ccio into in to his abridg abridge ement of of the lives of Sueto uetonius nius.. Bu Butt th this is time time instea instead of of gi giving the inscription inscription he he merely rely wrote wrote ‘E ‘ETC.’ in its pla place.7 Eventuall ventually y the pass passa age on Li Livy wa was rere-elabora laborate ted d by Bocc Bo cca accio ccio into a short short bio biography raphy of of the great reat historia historian. n. By then then the authenti authentici city ty of of the epit epita aph, whi hich ch Pe Petrarch trarch had never doubt doubted,8 ed,8 seemed no longer nger so so certa certain in to him. Hence Hence in the bio biography raphy the text text of of the inscriptio inscription n wa was now now follo llowed by the cautio cautionary ‘qua quas [i.e. [i.e. liter itera as] in in suum suum epytaphium pytaphium sculpta sculptas credunt’.9 The epig pigraphi raphic c intere interests sts of of Boccacc Boccaccio io did not not stop at at iinscri nscrip p tio tions in La Latin. tin. One in Gre Gree ek, the then n at San Fel Felice ad Ema, just outside utside Fl Flo orence rence,, also att ttra racted cted the mind mind of the man who who had had done done more for Gre Gree ek studies studies than than any any of of his Itali Italia an contemporcontemporPhilippii V iliam iliamL iber clec lecivitatis vitatis V lore lorentiaefamosis famosis em embus, ed. 1 'Philipp ed. G. G. C. Galletti, (Florentiae, (Florentiae, 1847) 847) 17. 17. For Boccaccio as an antiquarian see see C. C. G.n G .niiter, 'Boccaccio’ Boccaccio’s s archaeologi archaeological cal knowledge’,  A merican journal of A rchaeology  , XL X L I (193 (1937) 7) 397- 405. 2G. Boccaccio,Operelatine Massera, a, (Bari, (Bari, 1928 928) 110,1 10,114,124. 14,124. T hrough hrough atinermnori rmnori,,cd. A. F. Masser out his life Boccacc Boccaccio io never lost his interest interest in Virg Virgil il’s ’s birthplace, birthplace, cf. loan loannis Boccatii IJE PI  rE N IiA ^O riA S V con;ni . . . ciittde ttdemdemontiw ontiwn sylvariw variwi . . . et marium mariumnowihibns, hibns, (Basileae  (Basileae,, uttele opere di Giovanni Boccaccio a cura di V ittore Branca, I, 1532) 532) 466, 466, or or in V irgii irg ii’s ’s rorab, rorab, cf. T utte (Milano, (Milano, 1967 967) 377, VI V I, (Milano, (Milano, 196 1965 5) 44-45, 44-45, E. E . Cocchia, ‘L ‘L ’elemento ’elemento osco nella nella Camp Campan ania ia rainra e belle lle arti arti di N apoli, e la tomb tomba a di Virgilio\ irgilio\  A tti della R.  R. A ccademia di archeolooia, letterainra N .S. IV. 1 (191 (1916) 259259-64 64.. radi^ione delle opere lati latine ne di Giovanni Boccaccio, I, 201-29. 3Branca, Tradi^ 4C.L L. VI. 2, 12652 2652.. * Supra, 20-21. atine minori, 369. 6Boccaccio, Opere latine 369. 7 Ibid. 370. atine minori, nori, 258. 8Supra, 36. 9Boccaccio, Opere lati

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aries. ries. To find find that that he actual ctually too took a copy of it in in his Laure Laurenti ntia an ‘Zibaldo ibaldone ne’’, in in a hand hand tryi trying ng hard hard to reproduc reproduce e the Gre Gree ek lapida pidary ry lettering ettering,1does does not not there thereffore surprise surprise us. Also of som some e intere in terest st here here is his his superscr superscrip ipti tio on ‘L ‘Licte ictere infra nfrascript scripte e reperte perte sunt apud sanctum sanctum Felicem Felicem ad em emam in quadam quadam marmorea rmorea tabula tabula’. A fiftee ifteenth century century humani nist st would would not hav have bee been more care carefful in furnishi furnishing ng the where herea abouts bouts of of the the origin riginal! al! Perha Perhaps it would would be to too o much uch if if we said said that that this this copy by Bocca Boccacc ccio io inaugura naugurates tes a new era in epig epigraphical raphical studies. studies. All the same, iitt is the earlies rliestt kno known wn copy copy of of a Greek reek inscripti inscriptio on made by a western stern schola scholar. To find find the next exam example ple we we must go on to the fifte iftee enth century and and the ful ulll dev developme elopment nt of huma humanism. nism. The influe influence nce of the lettering lettering of of inscr inscript iptio ions ns may be detecte tected d in mo more than than one autog utograph raph of of Boccaccio Boccaccio.. His note on Petrarch’ Petrarch’s s corona coronati tio on in the Laurenti urentia an ‘Z ‘Zibaldone ibaldone’,2is actua actuallly set out out as an inscripti inscriptio on and and writ written ten in in la large rge capital uncials, uncials, whi hille the colophon olophon of his tra transcr nscript ipt of a Latin Latin vers versio ion n of of Aris Aristotl totle e3 displ displa ays a def defini nite te attempt ttempt to to write write in in tthe he lapida pidary ry chara characters cters of of ancient Rom Roman epi epita taphs, phs, in a script betra betrayi ying ng diff different wri writi tin ng habi habits. ts. On the other hand, hand, as as in Petrarch Petrarch so so in Bocca Boccaccio the the study of of ancient ancient epit epita aphs is is not appa appare rent nt in in tthe he inscripti inscriptio ons that that he hims himse elf dictated dictated,4 ,4 which certa certainl inly y show’ none none of of the formula rmulas s used used in classica classicall epi epig graphy. raphy. This is not surprisin surprising g, as as it wa was onl only y during during the next next century that these these formulas rmulas started started to be emplo mployed again. What is is instea nstead rather strange strange is Bocca Bo ccaccio’ ccio’s sel seldom dom more than lukew lukewa arm intere interest st in in Rome Rome and its its antiquit ntiquitiies. It is quit quite e clear that that Rom Rome held no grea reat attracti ttractio ons fo for him. He certa certaiinl nly y did not see it in in the romanti romantic c light in which Petrarch rch v view iewe ed it, it, and he he sta state ted d iin n one one of his short short storie stories ‘I ‘In Roma Roma, la qua quale come come e oggi ggi coda, coda, cosi gia fu fu capo del mondo’ mondo’.5 .5 Admitte dmittedly dly iin n 1372 he confe confesse ssed in his letter to th the e log logot othe hete te of of the K ing of Sicily icily his sorrow for the decay of of the cit city. y.6 6 But the the distance distance betwe between these these sighs, sighs, whi hich ch were were of  o-Funde, (Braunsch 1O. Hccker, Boccaccio-F  (Braunschweig, weig, 1902), 902), pi. X V . 2H. Hauvette, ‘N ‘N ote sur les rnanuscrits autographcs autographcs de Boccace Boccace a la Bibliotheque 'histoire ire, XI Laur aurcntic cnticnn nnc\ c\  Melangesd’archeologieei d'hi  X I V (18 (1894) pi. pi. IT, E. E. H. Wilkins, ‘Boccaccio’s ‘Boccaccio’s Early Tributes to Petrarch’, Speculum, XX X X X V I I I (1963) pi. pi. I. I. 3Hecker, op. cit. pi. VII. atine minori, 105, Branca, Tradi^ radi^ione delle opcre lati atine di Giovanni 4Boccaccio, Opere latine 231-39.  Bo  B occaccio,  1, 231-39. 5Boccaccio, 'Decameron, V. 3. atine minori, 197. 6Boccaccio, Opere latine 97. Similar Similar laments were were uttered by Boccaccio Boccaccio in the V ilocolo,  cf. Tutte le opere di Giovanni B Boc occaccio a cura di V ittore Branca, I, 70-71, and in  De casibus asibus virorum illustrium ustrium, VIII. 17.

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course ‘de ‘de rigueur rigueur’’ at the time, and the lame lamentatio ntations and and hope hopes s of Petrarch Petrarch or Col Cola a di Rienzo, Rienzo, is very conside considera rable. ble. The only only relic relic of of a real real inte interest rest in in the the monume onuments of Rome Rome on his part part is is a list ‘De ‘De hedif hedifit itii iis s memorandis morandis Urbis Rom Rome se secundu cundum m fratrem ratrem Marti Martinum’ num’,1 ,1w whi hich ch he drew drew from the chronicle chronicle of of the unrel unreliable Martinus Polonus Polonus and copi copie ed into one of his his ‘Zibaldo ibaldoni’ ni’,, and admittedl dmittedly y this this is no not much. One may suppose suppose that that during during hi his s  viisits to Rome he looked at the main monuments, bu  v but one may equal equally suppose that the impressio pression n they they made upon upon him him did not not go go very dee deep. Nee Needless dless to say, say, he was quite quite happy happy to follow the common common traditi traditio on and regard regard the pyra pyramid mid of of Cesti Cestius us as as the tomb tomb of Remu Remus.2 s.2 Y et he was not indif indiffferent to class classica icall art and and perha perhaps, ps, li like Petrarch, Petrarch, he also asse ssembled a sma small collecti collectio on of of ancie ncient Roma Roman coi coins. ns. Certainly Certainly th their eir value as hi histo stori rica call source sources was not not lo lost upon upon him, as is shown by his D his De e claris mulieribus, where where the go gold, sil silver and and copper copper coins coins of of Fausti Faustina na are appealed ppealed to as piece pieces s of of evi evide dence nce in his section ction on that that Empre press.3 ss.3 Refe Refer ences to ancie ncient statue statues s and buil buildings dings occur in in the Genologia  De  Deorum. Unfo Unfortunately rtunately th they ey were were draw drawn from rom literary sourc source es and ei either no lo longer nger existed in in his day, or had had nev never real really exi xiste sted d at all all.. Fo Forr insta instance nce,, his descripti descriptio on of of the tem temple of  Jun  Juno at Sa Samos4 is pure fiction, wh while it wa was on on Var Varro th that he he rel relied for his mentio mention n of of a bronze bronze statue of of Eur Europa opa,, set up at at Tarentum rentum by Pytha Pythag goras.5 ras.5 Boccaccio ccio certa certain inly ly ha had his his li limita tions tions.. Y et if Petra Petrarch, who who never taug taught ht,, proved proved the grea reatest of all huma humanist teachers chers,, in fa fact the huma humanist tea teacher cher of Euro urope, pe, Bocca Bo ccaccio was certainl certainly hi his s grea greatest test discipl disciple e. Besi Beside the antiqua ntiquarian pursuits pursuits of Bocc Bocca accio ccio,, those of of his contem contempo pora rary ry Fazi Fazio o degl degli Uberti pale pale into into utter utter insignif nsignificanc icance e.  Ye  Y et one should not omit to mention this second rate poet here. Forr in Fo in his drea dreary Di ry Ditttamondo, a poe poem now now known known to few and entertai ntertaini ning ng to none none,, he not not onl nly y intro introduc duce ed a pers personi oniffied Rome Rome, whom hom he he makes kes tell her her histo history from from the coming of of Noa Noah to Italy rig right down to the corona coronatio tion n of of the Emperor peror Cha Charles rles IV IV in 1355, but he also gave a descr descript iptio ion n of of the ancie ancient nt city city,,8real really 1Bibliotcca Nazi nale nale Centrale, Centrale, Florence, lorence, Ms. Ms. II, II, I!. 327, f. 88r. 88r. O ne should not, how how ever, forget his descriptions descriptions of of Rome in the the Y ilocolo, cf. Tutte utte le opere di Giovanni Boccaccio a cura di V ittore Branca, .1, 615 -1 -17, 652 63, 63, and his refe reference rence to the Coliseum oliseum in his his own own note note  X on his  Xc ' cseida, 1!. 20, 20, ct. ct. ibid. 11. 303, n. a.tdogia I k-nr:// :// ;;,  IX 2Boccaccio, Ga.tdo IX , 40 40. 3 Boccaccio,  De
THE AGE OF PETRARCH

47

hardl hardly y more than than a versif versifiied catalo catalog gue of of the princi principa pall monu ments, drawn drawn fro from m Solinus, linus, the the Mi  Mirabilia, and Martinus Polonus. Naturall turally iitt adds adds nothi nothing ng to what what was alr alrea eady know known. With the ge genera neratio tion whi which ch fo follo llowed Pe Petrarc trarch h and and Boccacc Boccaccio io new methods starte started d to cre creep into into the study study of of Anti Antiquity. quity. Com Compare pared d to the ge genera neratio tions which prece precede ded d and fo followed them them, it was an an ag age of keen keen and hard-wo hard-worki rking ng medio mediocriti critie es, of dwarv dwarves es standing standing on the shoulde shoulders rs of of the giant nts s who had co come bef before them them. Y et th they ey accepted the great reat inher inherit ita ance whi hich ch fell upon upon them and, what what is more importa important, were were able ble to transmi transmit it to their children.

CHAPTER FOUR 

THE HEIRS OF PETRARCH

The dea death of of Petrarch Petrarch in in 1374 did did not not bri brin ng humani nism sm to a hal halt. What instead too took place place during during the two decades des whi which ch followed wed wa was a slo slowing wing do down in in pace pace,, almost a reco recoil il bef before the swif swift le leap fo forward that that was to come come in the the ea early rly fif fifte tee enth century. century. It wa was abo abov ve al all at Padua Padua and at at Flore Florence nce that the tradi traditi tio ons of of Petrarch etrarch were were carri carrie ed on on by enth enthusias usiasti tic c discipl disciples, es, who ha had either know known or bee been in touc touch h wi with him. him. These hese tradit traditio ions ns also include ncluded d ant antiiquari quaria an acti activ vity, and here here during during the late fourtee urteenth century Padua Padua was wel well ahea head of of Fl Florence orence.. An inte interest rest in the the tangi tangible ble reli relics cs of of the classica classicall worl world d had had not not been shared red by all Petra Petrarch’s friends riends.. The insertio insertion n of the pse pseudoudo-e epitaph pitaph of Li Livy in his bio biographi raphica call reperto repertory1 ry1is is for insta instance the sol sole e archa rchae eo logical fea feature whi hich ch we can ass asso ociate ciate wi with th Gugl uglielmo da Pastrengo strengo, despite his havi havin ng bee been fo for sev several deca decades des tthe he leading ding expone xponent nt of of huma humanism in Ve Verona. rona. Simila milarly rly with BarBarbato bato da Sulmon Sulmona a, the friend friend to whom hom Petra Petrarch rch dedicate dedicated d his collected collected epistles pistles in La Latin tin ve verse, rse, antiqua ntiquarian intere interest st canno cannott hav have bee been particul particula arly strong. strong. Admittedly, the rise to power power of of Cola di Rienzo in 1347 broug brought ht him him to the poi point of envi envisag saging a return return of of the ancient ancient Republi Republic wi with th Cola Cola and and Pe Petrarch trarch at at tthe he hea head of of it. it.2 2 Y et the tract tract in which he ske sketched tched the outline outlines s of of his his schem scheme also pro proves that that archaeo archaeology had had no pla place amo among his his enthusiasm nthusiasms. But such such a lukewarm ukewarm appro approa ach to antiqua antiquari rian an studies was not not univ universal ersal amon among g Petrarch’ etrarch’s s frie riends. Bo Bocca ccaccio, ccio, as we we saw, was was fa far from from unintere uninterested sted in this this fi field, and archae archaeo ology was certainl certainly no strang stranger er to some some of of Petra Petrarch’ rch’s s most gi gifted admirers dmirers of the the younge youngerr genera nerati tio on. In the field field of of antiqua antiquari ria an studies studies Pe Petrarch’ trarch’s s beque quest show showed itself tself in mo more than than one way. With Niccolo Niccolo Becc Becca ari of of Ferra Ferrara ra it found expre express ssio ion n in an intere interest st in ancient ncient num numisma ismatics.3 With With Lombardo della della Seta, ta, the de devoted voted friend and and counsello counsellor of  of  1G. Pasrrcgicus, De oHgintbus rerum Ubellm, (Vcnetii (Vcnetiis, s, 1547) 547) f. 70v. 70v. 2 P. Weiss, ‘Barbato da da Sulmona Sulmona,, il Petrarca Petrarca e la rivoluz rivoluzio ione ne di Cola di Rienzo’, Rienzo’, Studi  Peira irarcheschi, HI (1 (1950) 950) 13-22. 3-22. 3H. Helbling, H elbling, ‘L ‘Le Lette Lettere re di Nicolau Nicolaus s de Becca Beccariis riis (Niccolo (N iccolo da Ferr Ferrara')’,  B  Bu ulleltino dello  Ist  Istitu ituto Storico Ita Italianoper il Me Medio Ev Evo o e A rchivio Muratorian iano, n. 76 (196 (1964) 4) 244-46, 244-46, 281-83, 281-83,

THE HEIRS OF PETRARCH

49

Petrarch’ Petrarch’s s old ag age, as wel well as literary literary execu executo torr and co continua ntinuato torr of of the D the De e viris illustribus, it manife nifested sted itsel itselff main mainly ly in a tas taste fo for ant ntiique art. It was such such a taste taste whi hich ch prompted hi him m to import import int nto o Padua Padua from rom Fl Flo orence rence an anci ancient ent statue, statue, unearthed unearthed duri during ng some some digg diggiing unde undernea rneath one of of the house houses of the Brune Brunellleschi family, mily, a transa transacti ctio on whi hich ch did not not pa pass unobserv unobserved. So muc much h so, that it was sti still rem remembered red by Ghib Ghibe erti after Lombardo bardo had had been been dead fo for a long time time and the the sta statue had bee been ceded ceded by by his son and hei heir to the ruler of Ferrara Ferrara.1 .1 In Padu Padua a the intere interests of of Lombardo mbardo del della Seta were were shared red by another another fri friend end of of Pe Petrarch’ trarch’s s old old ag age, tthe he phys physician ician Gio Giova vanni nni Dondi Dondi dell dell’’ Orolog rologio, io, though though in him him such interests went stil still furthe further. r. The disli dislike of of Petra Petrarc rch h for the medical dical profe professio ssion n is wel well know known and and was lo loudly udly vo voiced by him in the I the In nvective in Medicum. Y et his fondne ondness for Dondi ondi was as great reat as as hi his s distaste distaste for Do Dondi’ ndi’s profe professi ssion. He even went went as fa far as to procla proclaim im him ‘princeps ‘princeps medico medicorum rum’’,2 nor nor is this real really surprisi surprising, ng, for Dondi happe happene ned d to be a humani nist st as well well as a docto doctorr and astronom stronomer. In fact, to together wit with h h hiis con temporary temporary Do Domenico Ba Bandi ndini ni,, he may be sa said to hav have ina inaugur ated that that very lo long line line of of huma humanist physicia physicians, whi hich ch culmina culminate ted d in and and closed closed wi with Giov iovio and Fracastoro in the six sixte tee enth century. Dondi ndi’s humani humanist st act actiivity wTas some somew what remarkabl remarkable e for his tim time. His His Latin tin style may may have bee been undisti undisting ngui uished, shed,  ju  just as his Ita Italian poetry remained flat and uninspired, but on the other hand, hand, the clas classics sics were were repre represe sented nted in his li library,3 brary,3 and it is is to him that we owe the rescu rescue e of of a substanti substantia al amount of of Latin tin poetry poetry by the the ea early rly Pa Paduan huma humanists and of of Bo Boccaccio ccaccio’’s biog biography raphy of Petra Petrarch.4 rch.4 Some ome of Dondi’ Dondi’s s Latin tin lette letters rs have have rea reached ched us us and and naturall naturally thro throw w a light upon his his humani humanist st pre occupa occupatio tions ns.. Fo Forr instance instance his letter to the friar Gugl uglielmo da Cremona Cremona5 5 is parti particul cula arly rly interesti interesting ng,, for here here Dondi made a spiri spirited ted apol pologia for the ancients ag against the the moderns. moderns. Such uch a ‘querell querelle des des ancie nciens et et des des mode modernes’ was was no nov novelt elty in Pa Padua.  A ce century be before Don Dondi wr wrote, it ha had be been debated in on one of Lovato to’’s metri metrica call epistles epistles6 6and, needles needless s to say, say, it went went on on being being 1 Lo ed. J. J. von Schlosscr, (Berlin, 1912) I, I, 62, 62, II II, 188 188,,  L orenzo Ghib Ghibertis Denkwiirdigkeiten, ed. n. 2.

 Jacopo e Gio Giovanni deyDon yDondi delT Or Orologio, (Chi 2V. Bellemo, Jac (Chiogg oggia, ia, 1894) 894) 128. 28.  Bo ollettino 3V. 3V . Lazzar azzarini, ‘I libri, libri, gli arge argent nti, i, le vesti vesti di Giovanni Giovanni Dondi Dondi dell’ O rologio’, rologio’, B del MuseoCivic vicodi Padova, N.S. N .S. I (1925) 27-30. 4 Thank hanks s to his transcr transcript ipt of o f the them, m, now now part of of Ms. Ms. Lat. at. X IV . 223 (43 (4340) of the the BiblioBibliotcca Marciana, Venice.  L ovato L ovati, 16. 5 Ibid. ff. 56r 56r- 9r. 6Weiss, Lo

50

THE HEIRS OF PETRARCH

■discussed for centuries, centuries, lo long after Dondi was dead and and fo forgotten. rgotten. Dondi’s ndi’s contributio contribution n to the dispute dispute is of of intere interest to us, since, since, unli unlike Lovato to,, he extended xtended it to to the sphe sphere re of art. Thus we find him poi point ntiing out to hi his s corresponde correspondent nt that that conte contem mpora porary artists rtists lo looked ked with wonder at at antique buildin building gs and and sculpture, sculpture, even even going so fa far as to quote a scul sculptor ptor he knew, appare apparent ntlly one of the best best known known at the time, time, who had had declar declare ed that the statue statues s and other other scul sculptures whi which ch he had had see seen in Rom Rome were noth nothiing short short of a miracle, miracle, and that but fo for their not not be bein ing g animated nimated they would have been far better than living beings.1 Such uch an an enthusiasm nthusiasm fo for anti antique que sculp sculpture ture wa was typica typicall of the clima climate te of of the tim time. In Flore Florence nce,, fo for instance instance,, ancie ancient nt statua statuary ry was was by no me means rare. rare. Benvenuto Benvenuto da Imola mola, the commentator ntator on Da Dante who was activ ctive during during the se second half half of of the Trece recento nto,, note noted d in in a Fl Flo orenti rentine ne house one of of a type not dissimilar dissimilar from from the Me Medici Venus.2 nus.2 In S Sien iena a a sta statue rece recentl ntly y unea unearthed rthed arouse roused d so much much admirati admiratio on, th tha at it it was sol solemnl emnly y placed placed on the Fonte Ga Gaia in the ‘Cam ‘Campo’. po’. It w wa as an an adm admiirati ratio on from rom which supersti superstiti tio on had had not been been al alto tog gether we weeded out. That hat tthe he statue statue must must hav have been an an ancient ancient ido idoll, was fi firmly rmly beli belie eved. There hereffore, re, it is not not surprising surprising in an an ag age when Petrarch rch himsel hi mselff believed believed that all all the the ancie ncient go gods were were dem demons3, tthat hat a defea defeat suf suffered by the the Sienese was pro promptl mptly seen as a puni punish ment for their idolatry idolatry and and sw swiftl iftly y follo llowed by a decr decre ee of Novembe vemberr 7th, 1357, prov providing ding for for the imm immediate diate remov remova al of so dang dange erous a devi devil.4 Much more fortunate rtunate was the hea headles dless statue statue of of a female, proba probabl bly y a second second century . . copy of of an orig riginal of of the fourth century century B.C., .C., w whi hich, ch, after ter bein being g prov provided ded with wit h a new hea head, was pla placed ced in in 1368 by order of of the lord lord of the tow to wn, the obje objectiona ctionable ble Cansig Cansigno norio rio dell della a Scala, la, on the to top p of of the fo fountain then erecte rected d in Piazz Piazza a del delle Erbe Erbe at Veron Verona a,5where 5where it can can stil still be se seen to to--day. day. The prejudice prejudice against anci ancient statue statues s went on, on, howe howev ver, for some some tim time, th tho ough ugh huma humanists might occasio ccasiona nallly rise up in their de defence nce. Huma Humanist protests,6a protests,6 and a

d

1Biblio Biblioteca teca Marciana Marciana,, Vcnice, V cnice, Ms. Ms. La Lat. X IV . 223 223 (4340 (4340)) f. 58v, Prince d’E ssling & E. E. Miintz, Pit  Pitrarque, sis sis etudes d’a d’art rt,, son influe influencesur le les arti artistes stes, (Paris, 1902) 45, n. 3.  Be enevenuti deRam Rambaldisde Imola Comentumsuper Dan DantisA ldiojjerij Comoediam, III, (Floren2 B tiac, tiac, 1887) 1887) 280. 280. 3De Nolhac, op. cit. II, 178.  L orenzo Ghi Ghibertis Denkwurdigkeiteny I, I, 62, II, 189, n. 3. 4 Lo 5L. Simconi, V erona, (Verona, (Verona, 1909) 909) 3-4. 3-4.

fi Epis  Epistolario di Co Cohtccio Salutati, ed. F. Novati, III, (Roma, 1896) 285-95,  E  Ep pistolario di

 Pier Paolo V ergerio, ed. lio nel Ri Rinascied. L. L . Smith, Smith, (Roma, 193 1934) 4) 189-202, 89-202, V. V. Zabughin, V ergilio (Bologna, 1921 921) 112-1 2- 13, R. Weiss, IIpr (Roma,, 1949) 949) mentoitali taliano, I, (Bologna,  IIprimosecolodell*umanesimo, (Roma 69-70.

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loud ones ones at at that, that, were were thus heard heard in in 1397, when when Carlo Malatesta ordere rdered d the remov remova al o off an an ancie ancient nt statue statue of Vi V irgil rgil in Mantua Mantua,, which which he he conside considere red d the obje bject of of a super supersti stiti tio ous cult. cult. But then then statues statues nev never seem to ha have bee been real really safe. The destructi destructio ons by Refo Reforme rmers and and Purita uritans are are to too o fa famili miliar to be reca recall lled ed here here.. And even the the so-ca so-callled ag age of of enlig enlightenment htenment witnes itnesse sed d the the destructio destruction n of the ‘Regiso ‘Regisol’ l’ of Pavi Pavia a and of the the statu tue es of of Niccolo III and Borso Bo rso d’ Este at Ferrara Ferrara,, as sym symbols bols of tyranny. tyranny. The crav craving of of Dondi Dondi for for Anti Antiquity quity wa was to find its gre grea atest test sati satisf sfa actio ction during during his pil pilgrima rimag ge to Rom Rome in the spring of of 1375.  Alr  Already on the journey out he had not failed to no note the more stri striki kin ng Roma Roman rema remain ins s on his way. way. At Ri Rimini mini he was impre impresse ssed by the bridg bridge e buil built by Tib Tibe erius over the Marecchia recchia and to too ok good car care to jot dow down the first irst and and last last words of one of its inscriptions.1 inscriptions.1 The arch rch of of Aug Augustus ustus in the same to tow wn also also me met with his approv approva al.2 l.2 At Ca Cagli he did not fa fail to notice the remains of a Roman bridge bridge,,3 while while nea near Spe Spell llo o he observed observed the ‘Ruine Ruine duarum duarum are arena narum rumparv parva arum in in modum dum Coli Colixei’. xei’.4 The enthu enthusia siasm sm of Do Dondi was, how however, ever, bound to rea reach its hig highest pea peaks in Rom Rome. Here Herehe to too ok copi copious ous archa archaeol eolo ogical notes, notes, which which helater shaped shaped tog together and and copi copied int nto o th the e volume where he had had assembled ssembled pieces pieces by oth othe er humani humanists, sts, as wel well as wri writi tings ngs of of his own.5 wn.5 The result result wa was not, as one might might have have hoped, hoped, an anti anti quarian quarian iti itinera nerary ry of of the to tow wn, but rather rather an an acc acco ount of of those monuments whi hich ch had had caug caught ht his eye. ye. Y et if if we co compare pare his with wit h the account ccount in Pe Petrarc trarch’ h’s s letter letter to Giova iovanni nni Colo Colonna nna,6 ,6iit is is imposs possibl ible e not not to discern discern a step forw rwa ard. It is obvio obvious us that that in Dondi the pil pilgrim rim ma made way way entire entirelly fo for the antiqua ntiquarian, so that one ma may well wonder wonder how how much much time time he dedicated dedicated whil while in Rome Rome to the visiti siting ng of of churc churche hes s and and to pious pious practices, ctices, and how much uch to inv nvestiga estigati ting ng what what was le left of the pag pagan city. city. While While in Rome Dondi did not not limit limit himse himself to the taking taking of notes notes on the most prominent prominent ancient ncient rema remains. He also to took measure surem ments of of ancient buil buildings, dings, which which wa was not not so surprisin surprising g in a man who whose se library include included d one one of the very fe few copi copie es of of  Vit  Vitruvius then in private hands.7 It is true that these measure1Biblioteca Biblioteca Mar Marciana, ciana, Venice, Ms. Ms. Lat Lat.. X IV . 223 (4340) f. 45r.  Ibid.  loc. cit. 2 Ibi 3 Ibid.  loc. cit. 4 Ibid. loc. cit. rafico della citt citta a di Ro Roma, IV, 65-73. 5 D ondi’s ondi’s accoun accountt of of Rome may may be rea read d in Codicetopografi 6Supra, 32-33. 7Lazzarini, op. cit. 27, Ciapponi, V itruvio nel nelprimo primo um umanesimo, 88-93.

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ments, ta taken wit with h very very primit primitiive me methods, are not not conspicuous conspicuous for their their accu accura racy. cy. The very fa fact that that he bothere bothered d to take them them is, none none the less, less, rema remarkabl rkable e and really really marks the the begi beginni nnings of of a new new stag stage in archaeol rchaeolo ogical cal inv nves esti tig gatio tion, just as as Pe Petrarch trarch had had marke marked d the earlier rlier stag stage. As was onl only y befit befitti ting ng to a student student of of  Vit  Vitruvius, he he also ex examined th the structure of ancient bu buildings, nor nor did he overloo rlook inscripti inscriptio ons, but actua actuall lly y copie copied d se severa veral of of them them, tryi trying ng hard hard to imitate imitate their their la lapidary pidary letters in his his trans trans cript. cript.1 Here Here his keenness prove proved, how however, grea greater than than his compe competen tence ce,, wit with h the inevi inevitable result result that that his his copie copies prov proved far from rom accurate. He see seems to have have had qual qualms about bout his his mea measure ments, to to the poin pointt tha thatt we find find him compari comparing ng some some of them with wit h those those take taken n by others others.. Fo Forr instance instance for the the obeli belisk sk of of Sa Sain intt Peter’s eter’s he gave not not onl only y hi his ow own data, data, but al also those those secure secured d by some someone else with ith a very rudime rudiment nta ary inst instrume rument nt and and obt obta ained by Do Dondi from from a priest priest li living nea near the monume onument in questio question,2 n,2 as wel well as those those available ble in the chronicle chronicle of of Ma Martinus rtinus Po Polonus,3 of whi which ch he doubtless doubtless thoug thought ht more hi hig ghl hly y tha than n we we do do toto-day. day. Nee Needless dless to say, Do Dondi also also copie copied the inscripti inscriptio ons on on theobelisk, belisk, quote quoted Sueto uetonius nius a propos propos of it, and also gav gave in his account a Latin tin couple couplett certain certainlly no not ta taken ken from from it, but draw drawn from from a literary terary source.4 source.4 The Panthe Pantheon on wa was also also me measure sured d by him; furthermore urthermore he he counted its its pil pillars, and natural naturally copie copied the inscription inscription on on its fro front. nt.5 5 Measure urements of of Tra Trajjan’s n’s col colum umn n we were also note noted d down by Dondi Dondi,, but he here he slippe slipped d by att attri ributi buting ng this this mo monume nument to Hadria Hadrian n despite despite having having copi copie ed its inscri inscript ptiion.6 n.6 But the then, n, as wa was alre lready noted, noted, epigraph epigraphy y wa was not not one one of his his strong strong poi points. So tha thatt when it cam came to copyi copying ng what what was written written on the arch arch of of Co Constanti nstantine ne,, he lame lamented tha that there there were were on it it ‘multe ulte litere sculpte sculpte,, sed diff difficilit icilite er legunt eguntur’ ur’,,7and mentio ntioned ned in connexion with it the P the Po olicraticus of  of Jo John of Salisbury lisbury.8 .8 Sever veral other other epig epigra raphic phic texts texts we were also copied copied by Dondi.9 Dondi.9 And it is int ntere eresti sting ng to note note that that he saw a moral ral and pol politica ticall meaning ning in the inscriptio nscription on on the Arch of of Se Septimius Se Severus, verus, to the point point 1Biblioteca Marc Marcian iana, a, Venice, Ms. Lat Lat.. X IV . 223 223 (4340) ff, 45 45r-6 r- 6v. rafico della citta tta di Roma, IV, 62. 2Codice topografi 3 Ibid.  loc. cit. 4 Ibid. loc. cit. 5 Ibid. IV, 69 69. 6 Ibid. IV, 70. 7 Ibid. loc. cit. 8 Ibid.  loc. cit. 9 Ibid. IV  I V, 7171-73. T o the the late fourteenth century probably belongs the collection collection of of ten Roman inscriptions in British Museum, Ms. Add. 34, 758, f. 311r‘v.

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that in one that one of his lette letters he he excla xclaimed about bout it it: ‘Ecce cce res publica publica resti restitut tuta a consili consiliis is propa propag gatio tioni pref prefertur imperii imperii et insig insigne nes s viri domi domi vir viris is foris insig insigni nibus, bus, qua quanqua nquam procul procul dubio utrumque utrumque sit in insig signe’ ne’.1 .1 Inste nstea ad in in the Colise Coliseum um he noted noted the num number ber of of the orders and pil pillars, observi bserving at the the sa same time time th tha at it it was ‘a ‘ad modum arene rene veronensis ronensis cum gradibu radibus’ s’.2 .2 With his measure surem ments and note notes of of architectura rchitecturall detail detail,, Dondi already lready anticip anticipa ated the grea greatt antiqua ntiquarians of the fif fifte tee enth century. That hat he was not not alo alone ne in his time time in taking taking suc such h measurem surements is, is, howe howev ver, known known and we also know know that instruments, nstruments, probabl probably y astrolabes strolabes,, were used used then then fo for such such purpose. purpose. As we we saw saw, Do Dondi himse himsellf to tolld us us this3; this3; but where herea as his hi s notes hav have rea reached ched us, us, those those of others others,, which wo woul uld d hav have prove proved just as inte interesting resting,, iiff not more more so, fa faile iled to survi survive. ve. Bu Butt let us turn to to ano another ther aspe spect of of Petrarch’ Petrarch’s s lega egacy iin n Padu Padua a. In this this tow town hi his predil predile ectio ction for for Rom Roman imperial imperial co coins wa was not lost on on those peo people wi with whom he he was in to touch: uch: in fa fact it ulti ul tima mately tely le led to a rev revival of ancie ancient nt me medall dallio ions ns in in Pa Padua dua, just sixtee sixteen n yea years af after his dea death. That hat such such a revi revival to too ok pla place there th ere and not elsewhere elsewhere is quite quite sympto symptoma matic, tic, for this this wa was the  ve  v ery place where Petrarch’s antiquarian traditions had found a most rece recepti ptiv ve gro ground. und.  A pa particular event caused the production of the first Renais sance meda edals. In 13 1390 France Francesco sco Novello ello da Carra Carrara ra,, Lo Lord of of Padua Padua, had had succe succee eded ded in in expell expelliing the usurping usurping Visco Visconti nti and rere-ent nter eriing his capit capita al. Here was clea clearly rly an occasio occasion n not to to be forgo rgotten. Hence Hence in order to perpetua perpetuate te the memo emory of it, it, Francesc ncesco o ordered rdered the striki striking ng of of som some medals on the the pattern of of the imperial bronz bronze e seste sesterce rces, showin showing g hi his s bust bust in in the garb of of a Roma Roman Em Empero peror. Other pieces pieces repre represe sented nted hi his s father, France Francesco sco the th e El Elder, der, in simil similar ar atti attire; all these medals dals show show th the e Carra Carrara ra badg badge e on the reverse.4 reverse.4 By the begi beginning nning of of the fifte iftee enth century century at the the latest, specime specimens ns had even rea reached France France and and the the coll collec tions tions of of the Duke of Berry,5 Berry,5w whi hile le painte painters rs and and illum illuminators inators also also seem to have use used d them them as mo models. dels.6 6 In view view of of their circu circullatio tion, tte, II, 1J. Morelli, Operette  II, (Venezi (Venezia, a, 1820) 820) 302. rafico della citt citta a di Rom Roma, IV, 72. 2Codice topografic 3Supra, 52. 4G. F. Hill,  A Corpus of Ita (L ondon, 1930 930) nos. 2-4. 2- 4. Italian Renaissance Medals beforeCellini, (London,  Inventaire ires dejean D m deBerry (1401-1416), (1401-1416), I, (“Paris, 153. 5J. Guiffrey, Inv aris, 1894) 153. 6Biblioth&que N ationale, Paris, Paris, Ms. Lat. 1436 14360, 0, f. 207r, 207r, L. Rizzo izzoli, li, ‘Ritratti di di Fran Francesco cesco  Bo ollettino del Mu Museo Chic Chico di Padova, N.S. VIII il vecchio vecchio e Francesco Francesco N ovello ovello da Carrar arrara’, a’, B (1932) figs. 30-32.

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it is hardly hardly surprising surprising that that imitatio imitations ns of of the them followe llowed. d. These hese were were made in Ve Veni nice ce,, where Lorenz renzo o and Marco Sesto, sto, two engra engrav vers al already ready worki working ng fo for the Venetian mint in 1394, produc produce ed two medals of the the Em Emperor peror Ga G alba wi with a pers personi oniffied  Ven  Venice on the reverse,1 while later, in 1417, their kinsman  Ale  Alessandro Sesto, ma made an another with an obverse ta taken from some regal regal port portrait rait on a Greek reek coi coin and and on on the the reverse reverse a sce scene which could could be either the rape rape of Prose Proserpine rpine or Perse Perseus us rescuing rescuing  And  Andromeda.2 It is unlikely that the Carrara medals or those by the Sesto stimulated stimulated the maki making ng of of the meda medall llio ions ns of Con Con stanti stantine ne and Heracl Heracliius, probably probably execute executed d in Paris Paris in in the the early rly fifte iftee enth century century.3 .3 Class Classica icall inf influe luenc nce e is in in fa fact distinctl distinctly y abs abse ent from rom them, them, Gothic thic mo models dels appearin ppearing g instead instead to be the actua actuall source urce of th their eir in inspira spirati tio on. All these these efforts orts to resur resurre rect ct the antique ntique meda medall llio ions ns rema remained ned witho without ut fo follo llowers ers fo for some some deca decades, des, indeed indeed unti until Pisa Pisane nell llo o, whose hose earlie rliest piece piece,, the me medall dallio ion n of of the Gree reek Em Emperor peror John VI VIII Pala Palae eolo ologus, us, was ma made in 1438.4 On the other other hand, hand, the dev development of of ant antiiquarian quarian pursuit pursuits s con con tinued tinued unbroken. unbroken. The study of of ancien ancientt inscriptions inscriptions as an aid to class classica icall activ ctiviti ities found, und, for instance instance,, a keen adhe adhere rent nt in in Coluccio Coluccio Salutati, utati, that is to say say the humani nist st who, ho, more than any any other other,, may may be conside considere red d the contin continue uerr of of the traditio traditions of of Pe Petrarch. trarch. The spirit spiritua uall heir of the the grea greatt maste masterr who nev never ta taught ught,, Col Colucci uccio Salutati, utati, ne never taught taught eith either; er; yet mo more than anyone nyone else else he was the the tea teacher cher of of fif fiftee teenth century Flo Florent rentin ine e hum humanism. Next to to Petrarch, Petrarch, he was undo undoubtedly ubtedly the gre grea atest scholar scholar of of his century as well as its its mo most infl influenti uentia al huma humani nist st figure. igure. Behind Poggio and Leonardo nardo Bruni, Bruni, Pall Palla a Strozzi trozzi and and Verg Vergerio erio,, behind behind the th e coming coming of Em Emanuel nuel Chrys Chryso olora loras s to Fl Flo orence rence to teach Gre Gree ek to Italy, there stands nds Coluccio Coluccio Salutati, utati, who wa was also also the the very link between between Petrarch Petrarch and the new huma humani nism sm.. Far superio superiorr to Bocca Bo ccaccio as a schola scholar, he was just just as much much inferio inferiorr to hi him in natura naturall abi abillity: Coluc Coluccio cio’’s De  De laboribus Herculis  has everythi everything ng tha th at may may be found in the the Genologia De Deorum  except except Bocca Boccacci ccio o’s genius. enius. Ant ntiique art does not not seem to have have ranked ranked among mong Colucci Coluccio o’s in intere terests, sts, alth tho ough ugh cla classical ssical statuary statuary was certainl certainly y 1Hill, A Corpus of Ita nos. 10-1 0- 11. Italian Renaissance Medals before Cellini, nos. 2 Ibid.  no. 12. 3R. Weiss, Weiss, ‘The ‘T he Medieval Medieval Medallions of o f Constant Constantine ine and and Heracliu eraclius’, s’,  Num  Numismatic Chronicle, ser. 7, 111 (1963) 129-44 129-44..  Pisanello’s Medallion of th the E mperor John V III Palaeologus, 4 O n which which sec sec R. Weiss, Weiss,  Pis (London, 1966).

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available ble in Fl Flo orence rence in hi his s time. time. Instead hi his s taste tastes sw were ere def defin init ite ely literary and phil philological cal, rangin ranging g from a warm interest interest in Gree reek, which he never quite quite ma mastere stered d himself himself (tho (thoug ugh h he saw saw to it that that others others did), did),1 1to an o ov verw rwhe helming lming passio ssion n for for La Latin tin o orthogr rthogra aphy, at a time time when very very fe few, if any, gave a thoug thought ht to correct correct spelli spelling. ng. It wa was this this passio ssion n whi hich ch drove drove hi him m to study ancient ncient inscripti inscriptions, in order rder to make certa certain in how how to write write accu accura rate tely ly some ome Latin tin words. words. A letter to Dome Domenico Bandini Bandini writ written ten proba probabl bly y on 21 Ju July 1403, show shows Sa Salutati at wo work rk in in this field. field. Bandini had had aske asked d him him abo about ut the the ancient ancient nam name of of Ci Citt tta a di Caste Castell llo o, the ancient Ti Tifernum, rnum, where hereupon upon Sal Salutati starte started d at at once to do rese resea arch on the correct correct spellin spelling g of of the town’s town’s La Latin tin name. The consulta consultati tio on of twenty ma manuscripts nuscripts of of St. St. Gre G reg gory’s  Mo  Moralia, where the town town happened ppened to be mentio entioned, prov provided no, positi positiv ve answe nswer.2 In the end, nd, how however, Salutati lutati to told ld his corres corres pondent tha thatt he had had succe succee eded ded in in obt obta aini ning ng the copy copy of of an ancient inscri inscript ptiion, then then prese preserv rve ed in the house house of the cathedra thedral canons at Citta Citta di Caste Castell llo o, show showing that that ‘Tifernum’ rnum’ should be spelled with an i and not with a y?  Considering Considering th the e importa portance nce he attached ttached to epig epigraph raphy, y, it caus cause es no surprise surprise to find upon Poggi ggio’s departure departure for Rome in 1403, Salut uta ati besee beseeching ching hi him m to send copies of ancient inscripti nscriptions. Such uch a desire desire did did no not rema remain unsa unsatisf tisfiied, since soon soon Po Poggio forw rwa arded rded to hi him a sma small collectio collection n of of epigra epigraphi phic c texts, texts, whi hich ch he hi himse msellf had copied from from the originals.4  Amo  Among the humanists of Salutati’s circle, the physician Domenico Ba Bandini ndini of Are Arezz zzo o may have have fo found some some attractio ttraction n in ancie ancient nt rem remains. Y et if if thi this was so, it wa was not not shown in his his massive ssive encyclo encyclopa pae edia dia except fo for a v  ve ery few hints. It is true that he sa says in it it when when menti mentio oni ning ng Luni Luni, the ancient Luna, una, then then already a sad ruin, ruin, th tha at ‘hui ‘huius us situm situm vidi cum ad Urbanum Urbanum sext sextum um rati ratio one curie christi christiane que que fidei dei summu summum m ponti pontifficem cem Ianuam nuam profe professus, ssus, ubi erat, adii adii’,5 ’,5that he he also hints hints at archa archaeo logical cal visits isits elsew sewhere6 here6a and that that he said of of Ta Tarquini rquinia a ‘hacte ‘hactenu nus s  Miscellanea in onore di Roberto Cessi, I, 1R. Weiss, ‘Gli studi greci di Coluccio Salutati’,  Mi (Roma, 1958) 349-56, B. L. Ullman, TheHumani anism of Coluccio Salutati Salutati, (Padova, 1963) 11823.

 Hpistolario di ColuccioSalutati, III, 625, Ullman, TheHumani anismofCo ColuccioSal Salutati, 102-03. 2 Hpis Coluccio Salutati Salutati, III, 627, Ullman, The Humanism of Col Coluccio Salutati Salutatiy  y 103. 3 V ,pistolario di Co  Ep pistolario di Coluccio Salutati, III, 655. 4 E 5Lambeth ambeth Palace L ibrary, ibrary, Ms. Ms. 35, 35, f. 301r. 301r.

6 Ibid. ff. ff. 215v 215v,, 287 287v v, T. T. Han Hanke key, y, ‘Domenico ‘Domenico di Bandino Bandino of of Arezzo’ Arezz o’,, Ita  Italian Studies, XII (1957) 121, n. 50.'

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fuera ueratt ma magna civ civitas et pote potens et et gl glorio riosa, sa, nunc vero ni nil pref prefer simple simplex x nome nomen ac ruina ruinas s oste ostenditur’ nditur’.1 .1 Whether Whether he actuall ctually y  viisited Ta  v Tarquinia is by no me means ce certain, and the fact th that hi his sectio section n on on Rom Rome makes kes no mentio ntion of of its its monume monuments2s nts2 shows hows tha th at his his rea real iinter nteres ests ts lay lay el elsew sewhere here. Very diff different here here was the att ttit itude ude of of another another member ber of of Salutati’s utati’s circle, Pier Pier Paol Paolo o  Ver  Vergerio, wh who fro from the Padua of th the Carraresi ha had moved to Flore Florence nce to study Gre Gree ek at the feet of of Em Emanuel Chrysol Chrysolo oras. It was perha perhaps under under the stimu stimulus lus of the wri writi tings ngs of Petra Petrarch, rch, whose A whose A frica  he edit edite ed and and who whose se bio biograph raphy y he wrote, wrote, that  Ver  Vergerio turned his attention to the ruins of classical Rome with enthusia nthusiasm sm.. The desc descript riptio ion n of of Rome, Rome, w whi hich ch he incorpora incorporated ted in a letter to a friend written written proba probabl bly y ea early in 1398,3is ,3is real really a diary diary of of the impr impre essio ssions ns of of his his firs firstt visi visitt to the city. city. But w wha hatt perha perhaps ps struck struck him him mo most here was the the sacred side, th the e Christi Christia an capi capita tall in short, wit with h its its relics relics and and chur churche ches s and and the Papa Papall Curia Curia, so that the the ea earli rlier part part of the epistle epistle is hardly hardly more than a descrip descrip tio tion of of the ‘S ‘Stati tationes ones Urbis’ Urbis’.. His acco ccount of of the monume onuments seems, from rom what what he says, says, to hav have been been made in fulf fulfiilment of of a promise. promise. All the same, his inte interest rest in them them is unde undeniable. niable. It was beca because of this this inter intere est tha that he soug sought ht whil while in Rome Rome to esta establi blish sh contacts contacts wi with pe people who who could could enl nliighten him abo about ut the ruins. ruins. Such uch peo people, he regretf regretful ullly fo found, turne turned d out out to be ext xtre rem mely few and, if this this wa was not not enough, enough, his diff difficultie iculties wer were e increa increased sed by th the e current current dia dialectal ectal nom nomenclature nclature of of so many many monume numents, as well as the obv obviously unrelia unreliable ble legends conne connected cted wit with h them them. Eventually, entually, howe howev ver, he wa was able able to conta contact those those men and and thanks thanks to this he wa was able able fo for instance instance to dispro disprov ve the traditio traditional nal identif identifica icatio tion no off the pyramid pyramid of Cestiu Cestius s with the tomb of of Remus Remus and saycsed sed qui litt ttera eras s marmo rmoribus ribus inscriptas inscriptas leg legerun eruntt,id neg negant nt,, qua quas nunc di difficil icillimu limum m est legere propter propter arbusta rbusta que inter inter marmorum rmorum comm commissu issura ras s obo oborta rta sunt’ sunt’.4 .4 Unfo Unfortunately rtunately he does does not not ttell ell us who were were those those who had had rea read the inscriptio inscription, thoug though h one may may suspect suspect here Francesco Francesco da Fi Fia ano or som someone from rom hi his s circle. It is true that that to Vergerio rgerio the Panthe Pantheo on was stil still the tem temple of Cybe Cybele, le, which af after ter all all was the traditi traditio onal nal view view.. On the whol whole, howe howev ver, he is not not too too inaccura inaccurate te and and doubtle doubtless he was genuinel enuinely y impressed ssed by what what he saw. What al also struck him him in 1Lambeth Palace Palace L ibrar ibrary, y, Ms. 35, f. 312r. 312r. 2 Ibi  Ibid. ff. 307v-08v.  Ep pistolario di Pier Pao Paolo V ergerio, 211-20. 3 E ‘ Ibid. 218.

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ancie ncient Ro Rome was the sea sea of ruins ruins extendi extending ng ev everywhere erywhere which, which, more than anyt anythi hing ng else else,, broug brought ht home to hi him m the ancient grea reatness tness of the city. city. The destructi destructio on of of ancient ancient ma marbles rbles and and other re remains was then in ful ulll swing swing, a sig sight which made hi him m regret regret dee deepl ply y such vandal vandalism, as wel well as wo wonder at so much much being being still left in spite of it. In ex expressing suc such h regret regret Verg Vergeri erio o’s voice was by by no me means the prov proverbia rbial vo voice in the wilde ilderne rness ss.. That hat of of Fra France ncesco sco da Fia Fi ano sounded ev even more loudly, udly, as onl only y wa was to be expected xpected from the grea greatest test expone xponent nt of Roma Roman huma humani nism sm in the ag age of of the the Grea reat Sch Schiism. Chance Chancell llor or of of the City City of of Rom Rome (now (nowadays days we we would would call call hi him m to town wn clerk), Francesc ncesco o had a dee deep lo love fo for the ancient ncient ruins, onl nly y ma matched by his his dev devotio tion to class classica icall Latin tin poetry. poetry. At a time time when this this poetry poetry wa was being being att tta acked as paga pagan, he had had risen risen fierc fierce ely in in its its defence in an an outspoken outspoken inv invective.1 ective.1 France Francesco’ sco’s s poeti poetic c rema remain ins s need need not not detain us here, here, except fo for noting that his ‘tituW   in in La Latin hexam hexameters, ters, pla placed ced under under the frescoe scoes s of fa famous me men at at Fol Foligno in the Trinci rinci Palac Palace e, were long belie believed to be antique ntique..2 What ma matters to us here here is his his approa approach ch to the the Roma Roman ruins. ruins. Fo Forr these hi his s fee feelling went went fa far deep deeper er than than those of Dondi and and Verg ergerio. rio. His wa was a real really de deep love, which drov drove hi him m among other other thing things s to act as as an an enthusia nthusiastic stic gui guide de to  yo  y ounger scholars visiting th them,3 and be behind wh which stood hi his almost rel religious attitude ttitude to any rem remains of the old old Rom Roman world, world, whether hether in stone stone or in writi writing. Natural turally his his fe feeling lings s for for the daily daily destructio destructions ns could not not hav have bee been strong stronge er. His pupil Cencio Cencio Rusti Rustici knew there thereffore to whom hom to appe appea al, when he he wro wr ote to him him in 1416 from the Council Council of Constance Constance,, asking sking hi him m to com composean inv invecti ectiv ve aga against the destroyer destroyers s of of ancient rema remaiins.4 ns.4 Whether Whether France Francesco sco acce accede ded d to such such a reque request, st, is not not kn known; certai certainl nly y such such an inv nvecti ectiv ve is not amo among his ext xta ant writi writings. The letter of of Cencio Cencio is, is, how however, also illuminatin lluminating g as showing the feelin ing gs of of the ordi ordinary nary layma yman on on the subject, subject, as it inform informs s us that the destro destroye yers rs of of anci ancient ent statues tues justi justiffied themse themselv lve es by holdi holding ng that that they they we were puttin putting g out of of the way way the idols idols of fa false 11. Tau, T au, ‘II “C “ Contra oblocutores oblocutores et et detractore detractores s Poetarum” di F Fra rancesco ncesco da Fiano’ iano’,  A rchivio Ita Italianoper la storia della lla pieta, IV  I V (196 (1964) 4) 255255-350. 350.  Rivista d ’arte, X X IV  2A . Messin Messini, i, ‘Docume ‘Documenti nti per la storia storia del Pal Palazzo azzo Trin Trinci ci di Foligno F oligno’’, Riv (194 (1942) 2) 84-98, L. L . Bertalot, ‘Hum ‘Human anistisch istisches es in der Anthologi nthologia a Latina’, Latina’, R he heinisc nisches Muse Museum, L X V I (191 (1911) 64-77. 64-77. rists of the 'Early 'Re 'Renaissance, II, 3H. Baron, TheCrists II, (Princeton, (Princeton, 1955) 955) 403-04. 403-04. itallienisc nischen 4L. Bertalot, Bertalot, ‘Ci ‘Cincius ncius Romanus Romanus und seine seine Briefe’, Quellen undForschungen aus ita X X I (1 (1929-30 929-30)) 222-25. 222-25.  A rchiven undBihliotheken, XX

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gods. Their actio action n was that that of of bigoted bigoted pers persons ons who who saw in them a dang danger er to reli religion. The actual ctual truth truth was, how however, more materiali materialisti stic c than Cencio Cencio envisa envisag ged. Admittedly dmittedly there were were then, as there there have al always been in in every every time time,, fanati natics cs to whom hom art and beauty beauty mea meant noth nothiing. But, on the whol whole, one one can can say say that behi behind nd those those destruc destructi tio ons wa was the profit profit motiv motive. It was cle clearly a case where here pie piety pai paid div diviidends. dends. The inv nvec ecti tiv ve of Cencio Cencio does not not even spare spare th the e Pope Popes, s, who had had been been entrusted with wit h thes these ruins. His vo voice was the voice of of hum huma anism crying crying against bigo bigottry and gree reed. It grew grew louder and louder in defence of what what rema remained of of old old Rome Rome as th the e Renai Renaissance adv adva anced, but rema remained pow powerless to the end. end.

CHAPTER FIVE

THE RUINS OF ROME AND THE HUMANISTS

During uring the the fif fiftee teenth century century the ruins ruins of Rom Rome beg began to be noti notice ced d wit with h new eyes, yes, the eyes of of huma humanism. The swi swift dev develop ment of classica classicall studies studies,, so much uch li like that of of scie science nce to to--day, day, bro brought about new me methods thods and and aro arouse used d fre fresh sh enthusi enthusia asms. sms. A new criti critical cal approach, pproach, whi hich ch fo found in V Va alla its grea greatest expo expone nent, nt, led to the wa wani ning ng of of the Mi  Mirabilia and  and their their leg legends, ends, which which were were eventually eventually relegated to the lim limbo of popula popularr li literature, terature, as rea reading ding fit for for sem semi-li i-lite tera rate pilgr pilgrims, ims, but hardly hardly worthy worthy of of serious serious att ttenti entio on. The ancie ncient mo monume numents started to appear in adiff different light and wer were e now now studi studied ed in a nov novel way, way, while while new proble problems were formulated and new answer nswers s soug sought ht.. What was behi behind nd all thi his s wa was the new huma humani nism sm,, which which mani maniffested itself self mo more or less less simul simultane taneo ously in in phil philo ological cal and archa archae eolog logical ical scie scienc nce e, in the  Jiilegantiae of  J  of Va Valla lla and and the the Ka  Kama instaurata of Biondo. No wonder onder then, th en, th tha at in in fi fifteenth century Ital Italy y the greatest reatest nam names in in archa archae olog logy, Pog Poggio, io, Albe lberti, rti, Bio Biondo, Leto to,, were were also am among the greatest reatest of huma humani nism sm.. During uring the firs firstt half of the fif fiftee teenth century humanism beca became a leading ding fo force rce in Itali Italia an intell intelle ectual ctual life ife—a leading ding force but not not the the onl only one, one, as forme rmer influe influence nces s were were far from from ext xtiinct. In Italy, schola scholasticism sticism was by no means liquida quidated, ted, and and at the univ universiti ersities the new ideas did did not condi conditi tio on ev every acade cadem mic activ ctivity. Admittedly dmittedly at at Florence Florence and Ferra Ferrara the local cal univ universi ersi tie ties had had shown no resistanc resistance e to the impa impact ct of of huma humanism. But elsewhere elsewhere,, at Pa Padua, dua, Bologna, Pavia avia, as wel welll as at at other other pla places, ces, it was a diff different rent story, story, lea leadi ding ng ofte often n to some some ki kind nd of of pea peacef ceful co-e co-exi xiste stenc nce e. In fact, fact, until until the end end of of the sixteenth sixteenth century century the genera nerall outlook utlook of Ita Itali lia an, indee indeed of of Eur Europea opean unive universitie rsities, rem remained ned quite quite medi medie eval. Thoug hough h sepa separa rated in rel religion by the Refo Reformatio tion, th the e acade cademic mic wo world rld fro from m Naples Naples to Cambri Cambridg dge e and from Salamanca to Erfurt rfurt sto tood od firmly firmly united by Aristo Aristotl tle e. But the study study of of Ant Antiiquity quity in in the Qua Quattroce ttrocento nto had had chang change ed quite unreco unrecogni niz zably bly from rom the precedi preceding ng century. century. With huma humanism’s nism’s coming of of age age the num numbe berr of of those those who felt the lure of of anti quari quaria an activ activity beca became conside considera rabl bly y larger larger tha than hitherto hitherto,,

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though tho ugh not perha perhaps ps as as large arge as one mig might be led at first first to th thiink. Hence Hence the copying copying of an an ancient inscrip inscripti tio on, the rel relyi ying ng upo upon n an old coin fo for historical historical evi vide denc nce e, the desc descriptio ription n of of some some old rema remain ins, s, all all these these and other simila similar acti activ vities ties have no no lo longer nger in in thems themse elves the exceptio exceptiona nall signif significa icance nce whi which ch they they wo woul uld d have had had in earl earliier tim times. Fo Forr instance instance desc descript riptiions of of Rome such such as those those by Gio Giov vanni Rucella Rucellai o orr Nikolau ikolaus s Mu Muffel, are practi practica callly  va  v alueless when regarded as expressions of Renaissance antiquariani quarianism sm.. They may may hav have some some signifi significance as instance nstances s of of lay inter interes estt in the antique ntique,, but that that is abo about ut all all.. Keenness nness and enthusias nthusiasm m al alone were were no lo longer enough to to leave a mark in an age age when even genius enius was not not extreme extremelly scarce scarce.. Needless to say, not not ev every fifte iftee enth and ea early rly sixte sixteen enth th century century ant antiiquari quaria an of of any note note was a genius; genius; fo for this was certain certainlly not so. Bi Bio ondo and and  Alb  Alberti un undoubtedly were geniuses; Alb Albertini an and Fulvio we were certainl certainly y no not: and yet any account account of of archae rchaeolog logical cal studies during during the Rena Renaissa issance nce would would be in incomplete complete wi with tho out any mentio ntion of the them.  A survey of su such st studies during th this period could not be possibl possibly y draw drawn on the line lines s fo follo llowed in the prece precedi ding ng cha chapte pters rs of this book. To lump to tog gether ther every every kind of of anti antiqu qua arian rian pursuit pursuit would would be no lo longe nger convenient convenient in in view view of of the swif swiftt expansio xpansion n of so so many aspe spects of archa archae eolog logy. The best best line line to adopt dopt see seems instea instead d to consi conside derr these these vario rious aspe aspects cts sepa separa rately. tely. As a result the same indi ndividual ma may occasi occasional nally appea ppear in mo more than than one sectio section. n. Poggio, for instance instance, fi figures prominentl prominently y in in this this chapt chapter; er; but he re reappea ppears in that on epig epigraphy raphy and is is also also mentio ntioned among the early rly coll colle ectors ctors of of ancient ancient statua statuary. ry. Fl Fla avio Bio Biondo come comes also in this chapter; he also appea ppears la later as as the auth autho or of of the the I  Ittalia illustrata. The return return of the Papacy to Rom Rome did not not put an end end to its its desol desola atio tion. Throug hrougho hout ut the long yea years of of the Grea reat Schism urban conditi conditio ons did not not rise from the level to which they ha had sunk during during the abse bsence nce of the Curia at Av Avignon, non, and onl only under under Eugeni ugenius us IV IV (1431(1431-14 144 47) the the first sig signs of of the Rena Renaiissance bega began to be real really notice noticea able ble in the to tow wn. Y et alr alre eady in the latter latter days days of the Schism Schism the study of of the Roma Roman ruins had had started started to underg undergo o some some chang change e, th tho ough ugh it it is is much too too early to to spea speak at this stag stage of de definite innova innovati tions ons in in this field. ield. Medieva dievall traditi traditio on was too too ingrai ngrained to vanish overni ernig ght ht.. Some prog progress ress is never theless al already ready noti notice cea able ble in the Tractatus atus de rebus antiqu antiquis et sit situ

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Urbis Ro/ me’,1 this this being being the text usually usually ref referred to as as th the e ‘Anonymus nonymus Mali Malia abechia bechianus’ nus’ from the prese present nt lo locati catio on of one of its ma manuscript nuscript copies. copies. The Tractatus sti Tractatus still ll reli relie es ve very muc much h on the old M old Miirabilia. Its sche cheme rem remains that that of the old handb handbo ook; it iis s in fa fact litt littlle more more than a to topo pog graphi raphica call cata catalo log gue, ue, in which the rem remains of of anci ancient ent Rome Rome are grouped rouped tog together acco accordi rding ng to their th eir nature. ture. Y et the author uthor betrays betrays also a preo preoccupatio tion to show show the rea reader der how how to find the va vario rious rema remains, whi hich ch he does does by indi indica cati ting ng their their current current nam names or the the church church ne near to which they stoo stood. d. Fo Forr those those monume numents whi which ch wer were e no longe longerr extant he also relied, relied, whenev whenever possible possible, on kno knowledge edge not not necessa necessaril rily y drawn drawn from literary source sources. Thus about bout the arch once standing under under the bellbell-to towe werr of the the church church of Saints Cel Celsus and Jul Juliianus, he info nforms rms us th tha at it it can no lo longer be see seen ‘quia quia cecidi ceciditt tem tempore Urba Urbani Quinti uinti’’2, while while in connexi connexio on wit with h the arch of of The Theo odosius and Valentini ntinia an, he notes notes that that ‘de quo quo epit epitaphi phium dirup diruptum tum est: est: tamen tamen archus est est sanus sed sed non non marmoreu rmoreus’ s’.3 .3 The inscriptio inscriptions on on the arche rches s and and the columns columns appear to hav have intere interested sted him him in in pa particul rticula ar, th tho ough ugh he had had a flair lair fo for onl only y half understa understandi nding ng them, and he parti particul cula arly rel relied on inscriptio inscriptions for purpose purposes s of of identifica identificati tio on. He was doubtl doubtle ess an enthusiast, nthusiast, quite quite awa aware re that some some of of the Roma Roman clerg clergy y disa disapprov pprove ed of his his pursuits: pursuits: ‘Ad ‘Ad Sa Sanctam nctam Cru Cruce cem m in Iherusa herusalem fui uitt templ templum um Veneris neris et Cupidini Cupidinis, s, de qui quibus templ templis is non non licet licet me me aliter dice dicere re nec nec largius rgius extendere, extendere, quia quia non non esse essett dornini dorninis s presbyteris presbyteris grata ostensio ostensio’’ he wrote, wrote, addi adding, ng, howe howev ver, ‘sed legentes Ov Ovidium dium de de Fasti Fastis s posse possent nt me me habere habere excusatum, xcusatum, in suo suo volumine tra tracta ctantem ntem ad plenum plenum’’,4a ,4a usef useful tip tip no doubt for the huma humanisti nistic rea reader. der. Needless dless to say, mistake mistakes s of of fa fact are are not not uncomm uncommon on in in the Tractatus, Tractatus, whil while criti critical cal sens sense e is unf unfo ortunately rtunately onl only y conspicuous conspicuous by its its abs abse ence nce. Not onl only y are many of of the errors of of the Mi  Mirabilia repea repeated in it it but, but, furtherm furthermo ore, re, whenever the the anonym nonymous ous author uthor rea reaches ches an independe independent nt int nterpret erpreta ation, th the e odds are th tha at he is wrong rong.. To him—a him—and this this is not rea really surpri surprising—the sing—the Panthe Pantheon on is stil still the the templ temple e of Cybele5; as fo for the Septi Septiz zoni nium, um, he has a brie brief disc discu ussion ion on it it in view of conflicting onflicting opinio opinions ns on the the rafico della citta tta di Roma,  IV, 110-50. 1Codice topografic 2 Ibid.  IV, 117. 3 Ibid. loc. cit.  Ibid. IV , 14 146. 4 Ib 5 Ibid. IV , 139 139.

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subj subject: ‘Ad ‘Ad septe septem m sol solia fui uitt sedes omnium omnium septem ptem scientia scientiarum, rum, posito posito quo quod al aliqui ve velin intt dicere dicere templum templum Solis olis fuiss fuisse e, vel domum domum Severi A fri: ri: se sed deriva derivatio tio sua est septem ptem viarum, ide idest st septe septem m omnium scienti scientia arum domus: domus: et sic sic creditur creditur et af affirma irmatur per per diaconum diaconum Aquilegiense quilegiensem’ m’.1 .1 He and this dea deacon, whoe hoever he he was, was,2 2could could scarcely rcely hav have bee been wider wider off off the mark. mark. What do we we kn kno ow about bout this anon anonym ymo ous auth autho or? He was certa certainly writing writing in the days of of the the Antipope John XX III and  ve  v ery pr probably in in 1411.3 Qui Quite clearly he he was a man of of so some learning, rning, in in fa fact eno enoug ugh h of of a huma humanist not not to bothe botherr with with church churches es and and reli relics cs and and onl only y too too ready to jettison ttison the the less less pla plaus ible, ble, if more picture picturesq sque ue,, lege legends of of the M the Miirabilia,  yet not so fastidio stidious us a scho schollar as to scorn the popul popula ar nome nomencl ncla ature of of many many of the monume onuments. nts. This wa was fo fortunate; rtunate; for for ma many of these these popul popula ar na names woul would d not not have rea reached ched us us but fo for his record of of them. them. To a few yea years after the Tractatus, whi hich ch wa was inci incidenta dentall lly y onl nly y part part of a larg large er histori historica call compilatio compilation n starting starting with with the the crea creatio tion of of the wo world rld and and extending extending as fa far as Pope Ma Martin rtin V (1417 (1417--1431 1431), ), bel belongs ngs the account of of Rom Rome prefix ixe ed by Nico Nicolla Signoril norili, i, a Roman Roman municipa municipall of officia icial, l, to his colle collection ction of of inscrip tio tions.4 This ac account count is, how however, ver, still still entirely ntirely de depend pende ent on medi medieval eval sources, sources, namely namely the the M  Miirabilia  and the chronicle of Martinus rtinus Polo Polonus nus,, and is real really dev devoid of of any any rea real signif significa icance nce.. Wha What is important important is Signori Signorilli’s role role as an epigraphist, phist, but this this will be considered later.5 Neithe itherr the author uthor of of the Tractatus nor Tractatus nor Signori Signorilli rea reached ched the new approach pproach to Ant A ntiiquity quity whi hich ch starte started d in their life lifetim times. W'ho actua ctually initi initia ated it, it, who real really bega began to scruti scrutiniz nize e and exa exam mine the th e old old remains in a new way, way, in orde orderr to discov discove er their their nature nature,, their their buil building ding technique techniques, s, the the rules rules fo follo llowed by their ma makers kers,, their me meani ning ng,, is diff difficul cult to say say now. If we we were ere to be belie lieve what hat we are to told ld by Anto Antonio nio Manetti netti in his lif life e of Brune Brunell lle eschi, schi, one might link this new new approach pproach not with with a lite iteraryrary-minded minded hum human ist, ist, but wit with h the activiti ctivitie es of of Brunell Brunelle eschi schi and and Dona Donate tell llo o in Rom Rome 1 Ibid.  IV, 146. 2Was this this ‘deacon’ ‘deacon’ the the Milanese Milanese Giovanni iovanni Crivelli Crivelli,, Archdeacon Archdeacon of o f Aquileia, Aquileia, who died in 1433 and was was buried in the the Aracoeli, Aracoeli, where where his his marble marble slab slab by D onatello onatello is still visi visible? ble? 3Codice topog IV , 101. It is interesting to note that during during topografi rafico della citta tta di Roma, IV, his stay in Rome Rome in 141 1411 1 Emanu Emanuel el Chryso Chrysoloras loras was particularly particularly impresse impressed d by the reliefs on the arch arches es and and pillars, pillars, since he thought thought that these these enabled enabled one to visualiz visualize e life and historical historical  Patrolo°ia °ia Gra Graeca,  CLVI, (Lutetiac Parisiorum, events in ancient ancient times, times, cf. j. j. P. Migne,  Pa 1866) 24-29. rafico della citta tta di Roma.  IV 4Codice topografi IV, 166--6 --69,  Infra, 146. 5 Inf

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during during the earlie rliest yea years of the century. century. Accordi ccording ng to Manetti Manetti,,1 here here these these two artists rtists spent spent thei theirr time time among the anci ancie ent rui ruins, busy in investi estigat gating the archi rchitectural and and stru structural probl problem ems pre sented nted by them them. Unfo Unfortunately rtunately this joint Roman Roman sojo sojourn does not not seemto have taken taken p place lace. Y et Brunell Brunelleschi’ eschi’s comma command of of anci ancie ent Rom Roman archit archite ecture and Do Donatell natello o’s mastery stery of of the the ant ntiique presu presuppose ppose apainsta painstaki king ng study of of what what was le left of ancient ncient Rome; so tho though Manet Manettti’s detai details may may be inaccurate, what what he says ma may  ye  y et be substantially true, thus leaving open the question whether they were were real really respo responsibl nsible e fo for lla aunching unching the new new approa approach. ch. What one one can, on the othe other hand, hand, say wi with certa certaint nty, y, is that such such an appro approa ach was already to be found in in the the Roma Roman n Curi Curia a under Pope Martin V. It was in in such such circles circles that the anti antiqua quarian rian taste tastes s of of Poggio Bracciol Bracciolin inii dev developed eloped.. He was a huma humani nist st by dispo disposit sitiion and a papa papall secre secretar tary y by nece necessity, ssity, who havi having first first jo joined the papa papall chancery chancery as earl early y as 1403, h ha ad shared shared to the ful ulll the squa squallors of of the Curia Curia in the later years of of the Gre Grea at Schism chism and had had ful fullly taste tasted d the ‘miseria curia curialium’. um’. And wi with the Curia he had had moved to the Council Council of Consta Constance (1414(1414-14 1417 17), ), where here his duties were were easy enough enough to permit permit hi him m to discov discover er many cla classica ssicall Latin tin texts texts that had had bee been out of circula circulati tio on since Caro Carolingian ngian tim times. To Rome Poggio returne returned d onl only y in 1423, after ter fo four unhappy unhappy  ye  y ears in an England which had no us use for his humanism,2 and once there there he swi swiftly tly ma made up for for the the tim time wa wasted on our our side of of the Channe Channell. Poggi ggio’s first ant ntiiquari quaria an ste steps ps were were apparent pparentlly in the field ield of of epigra epigraphy.3 But he had had also also very muc much h of a taste taste for ancient ruins and wa was clea clearl rly y a dev devotee of what what stil still rem remained of of ancient ncient Rome. Some ome of his exta extant nt letter letters s to Niccolo Niccolo Niccoli iccoli record in fa fact visits isits to old old ruins ruins at at Fere Ferentino ntino,, Alatri, tri, and Grottarottaferrata rrata.4 .4 What, how however, ver, attracte ttracted d him most were were the visibl isible e remains of of Rome Rome itself itself.. It is not surprising surprising then, then, tha thatt in Rom Rome he  viisited the ruins thoroughly and methodically together with his  v friend and co colleag league, ue, the huma humani nist st Antonio ntonio Loschi schi; the the outcome of such such excur excurs sions was a descripti descriptio on of of what what stil still rem remained from from the ancient days days in the first first boo book of of his his De  De varietateforiunae,5a F ilippo di di ser Hru Hrunelle llesco, ed. lA. Manetti, V ita di Fi  ed. E. E. Toesca, Toesca, (Firenze, (Firenze, 192 1927) 20; G. Vasa Vasari* ri* ed. G. G . Milanesi, II, II, (Firen (Firenze, ze, 1878) 878) 337-3 337-39 9*  Le  L evite itede’ piu eccellentipittori, scultori ultori ed archite hitett ttori ori, ed. ing gtheFi Fiffteenth Century  2R. Weiss, HumanisminF.nglanddurin , 3rd 3rd ed. ed. (Ox (O xford, 1967) 967) 13-21. 3- 21. 3 Inf 47.  Infra,  147. T. de Tonell Tonellis, is, I, (Florentiae, (Florentiae, 183 1832 2) 219, 219, 221, 324-25. 324-25. 1Poggii E pistolae tolae, ed. T. 5 Pog Poggius Br Bracciolinus, Devarietatefortunae, ed. D. Georgius, (Lutetiae Parisiorum, 1723) rafico della citta di Roma, IV, 230-45. 5-25; Codice topografi

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Latin tin trea treatise tise suppl supplying ying ahuma humanist ve version rsion of atypica typicallly medieva medievall theme. Begun shortl shortly y af after the dea death of of Pope Pope Marti Martin n in in 1431, the D the De e varie arietate tatejortunae rtunae was release released d by Poggio onl nly y in in 1448, when he •dedica icated it to Pope Nic Nicholas holas V.1 V.1 Now Now the ruins ruins of Rome Rome were ere a leading ding exa exam mple of of the instabi instabillity of fo fortune, rtune, and as such th they ey were ere assigned ssigned pride pride of place in the trea treatise tise.. Just ust as Gibbon bbon some some three centuri centurie es la later started started hi his s main main work work under the th e inspira inspirati tio on of of Rome Rome’’s ruins, so Pog Poggio la launche unched d his ow own boo book with a long long desc descripti ription on of of them them. As an account ccount of what wa was stil stilll le left it it is is importa important nt beca because it is is by Poggio and beca because use it def defini nitely tely brea breaks upon new ground. round. With Po Poggio archa rchaeol eology assum ssumed a new compl complexi exio on; fo for he was not sati satisf sfiied with wi th mere merely ly givi giving a desc descripti riptio on of of wha whatt he saw. Instea nstead he he chose chose to questi questio on and and seek seek answ answe ers fro from m the old rema remains, scrut scrutiini nise se thei theirr structures structures and secure secure as much much gui guidance dance as possi possibl ble e from wri writt tten en sourc source es. Among mong them them he found parti particul cula arly rly rewardi rewarding ng some some of of tho those se text texts s which had had re-a re-appea ppeared red onl nly y lately ately thanks thanks to his ow own ef efforts. orts. We se see hi him m turning urning more than than once to the hi histo story ry of of Am Ammianus ianus Ma Marcell rcellin inus, us, that that is to say say one of his ‘trouv ‘trouva ailles’ illes’ at at Fulda during his Constance nce days days,2 ,2whil while e for the Roma Roman aque aqueducts ducts he natur natura ally fo found inv invaluabl uable e the hand hand boo book by by Frontinus Frontinus,, resc rescue ued d by him at at Monteca Montecassino ssino.3 .3 Moreov reove er he extende extended d the range range of of his autho authorit ritiies by by incl includi uding ng among among them also also some Gree reek writers, such such as Dionysius ionysius of of Halicarn Halicarn assus and Aeli Aelius us Ari Aristi stides, des, whom hom he se seems to have have con conffuse used with Libanius.4 The ancient ncient gates gates of of Rome Rome seem to have have had had an especia especiall intere in terest st fo for Pog Poggio, so that that his acc account ount of of them them is parti particularly cularly ill illuminati uminating ng to us. us. Fo Forr here here we find him distingu distinguiishing shing betw betwe een buil building ding ma material terials of diff different rent ages and and relyi relying ng also also on the •epigra pigraphic ev evide idence, in order rder to rea reach conclusio conclusions ns about bout da dating ting the th e gates. tes. Thi his s inte interest rest also also extende extended d to the so-ca so-called Se Servi rvian wall walls; yet yet despit despite e his kee keenness nness he faile iled to trace trace th their eir ori orig ginal circuit. circuit. The walls lls of of Aureli urelia an we were parti particular cularly ly studie studied d by hi him,5 m,5 and he noti notice ced d in them vario rious buil building ding techniques techniques,, and con1 Ibid. IV, 224. 2N. Rubinstein, Rubinstein, ‘An ‘A n unknown unknown letter letter by Iacopo di Poggio Bracciolini Bracciolini on discoveries discoveries of  of   Italia Medioevale e Umanistica, I (1958) 389, n. classical texts’, Ita n. 1. 3Sabbadini, L.  L.esc escoperte dei codici latin inii egreci, I, 85, 88. 4Codice topografi rafico della citt citta a di Rom Roma, IV, 231. 5 Ibid. IV, 245.

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eluded that mo more than one architect rchitect had had wo worked on them them. When facing cing the pyrami pyramid of of Cestius Cestius he wondered ndered how how Petrarch Petrarch could could have have beli belie eved it it to to be the tomb of of Rem Remus, us, when the inscriptio nscription on it cle clearly rly indica indicated ted otherwise, therwise, charit charita ably, bly, adding, dding, howe however,, ver,, tha th at perha perhaps ps it was hidde hidden n by vegetati etatio on when Petrarch Petrarch saw saw it. it.1 Coins Coins were were not not used used by Pog Poggio as an aid to archaeol archaeolo ogy. Fo Forr this we must ust turn to his his conte contempora porary Bi Bio ondo. Despite hi his s huma humani nist st prej prejudice against ‘me ‘media dia et infima infima latini tinitas’ tas’,, Po Poggio did did not not hesit hesita ate to rely rely on the Li  L iber Pontificalis in order rder to lo locate the Baths Ba ths of of Do Domitia itian,2j n,2 just ust as he sought sought the guida guidance nce of the the A  A cta  Ma  Martyrum to Dio Diocletia cletian’ n’s s.3 He was also also well well aware that that hiero hiero glyphs lyphs were the form form of writi writing ng employe ployed d by the ancient ancient Egyptia yptians and said so4whe so4when n he spoke of Ro Rome’ me’s obel obelisks.  As an antiquarian Poggio could not be infallible nor was he. But his fre freque quent nt ina inaccu ccura racies cies are are no lo longer nger the absurdit bsurditiies of of forme ormer writ write ers. Thus on the one hand hand we find him identif dentifying ying the Basil Basilica ica of Cons Consta tantine ntine wit with h the Templum Pads, Pads,6 6 an erro errorr in which he was fo followed wed by many many other other Renaissa Renaissance nce ant antii quarians; on the ot othe her, r, it it is ref refreshin reshing g to see hi him m no lo longer beli believing eving that that tthe he equestrian questrian statu statue e of Ma Marcus rcus Aureli Aurelius, us, then stil still at the Latera Lateran, n, repre represe sented nted Constanti Constantine ne,, th tho ough ugh he was sti still wide of the mark in sugges suggesti ting ng Septimius Se Severus.6 erus.6 Simila milarly we ca can quit quite e forgi rgive him him fo for cal calling the the litt ttlle ro round tem temple by the Tiber not not fa far fro from m Santa Mari Maria a in Cosm Cosme edin, the temple temple of of  Ves  Vesta,7wh 7when picture postcards still te tell us so nowadays! Qui Quite natural naturally he also depl deplo ored red the relentle ntless destructi destructio on of of anci ancie ent ruins which which was proce proceeding eding,, and a propos propos of of this this he reco recorde rded d sadly sadly how how ‘Capit ‘Capito olio lio conti contig gua, ua, forum rum versus, rsus, supere uperest st porticus porticus aedis Conco Concordiae rdiae,, quam, quam, cum primum ad urbem urbem access ccessii, vidi ferme rme int nteg egra ram, m, opere pere marmo rmoreo reo admo dmodum specio specioso; so; Roma Romani postmodum, postmodum, ad ad ea ealeem, aedem dem totam totam et et porti porticus cus partem partem,, disi disiecti ectis s colum olumnis, nis, sunt sunt de demoliti oliti’’.8 He cannot nnot have have hoped hoped tha thatt his lame laments woul would d ma make any diff difference nce. Stil till he felt that a protest protest should should be made. de. To rema remain silent silent wo woul uld d hav have been been a betraya betrayall 1 Ibid. IV, 233. 2 Ibid. IV  I V , 23 236. Poggio Poggio himself was was the the author o f some some lives lives of of Popes, Popes, cf. C. Da D a Capodimonte, ‘Poggi ‘Poggio o Bracciolini Bracciolini autore autore delle anonime ‘ Vitae Vitae Q uorumdam Pontificum’, R ivista di stori storia a della Chiesa in Ital Italiia, XI XIV (196 (1960) 27-47. 3Codice topografi rafico della citt citta a di di Rom Roma,  IV, 237. 1 Ibid. IV, 240. 3 Ibid. IV, 234. 6 Ibid.  IV, 241. 7 Ibid. IV, 234. 8 Ibid. IV, 235.

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of his beli belie efs, and of of this he would not be guilty. uilty. The enthusia enthusiasm sm behi behind nd Po Poggio’s account of of ancient ancient Rome Rome is typi ty pical cal of of the new new huma humani nism sm.. It wa was a new att ttiitude and appre appre ciatio ciation and, and, abov above e all, a new understa understandin nding g of Ant Antiiquity, quity, whi hich ch led both to the liqu liquida idati tio on of of the M the Miirabilia and to th the e rea readine diness to make use use of al all the the sources av available. ble. At the sa same time time we canno cannott say say th tha at Po Poggi ggio’s inv nves esti tig gatio tions were were metho methodica dicall and systema systemati tic, c, fo for it is abundantl abundantly y clear clear th tha at they were were not so, so, tho th ough ugh it it is is onl only y fa fair to reme remember ber that that his aim wa was not not a scientif scientific ic desc descripti riptio on of of the old tow town, but ra rather ther a bird’ bird’s s-eye view of of its rema remains, draw drawn to il illustrate ustrate amoral. moral.1 1 To find find a more methodica thodicall account ccount we must must turn to the R the Ro oma instaurata of Fla Flavio vio Biond Biondo. Bio Bi ondo too too wa was a curia curial off official icial as wel well as ahuma humani nist. st. It is no no exagg exaggerati eratio on to to say that that as as a schola scholar he rev revolutio utioni nise sed d every every field he to touche uched. d. As a hi histo stori ria an he was the first to devise devise a genera enerall histo hi story ry of of Ita Italy, ly, showing a continui continuity ty since since the fifth ifth century century,, and to to conceive conceive a ‘me ‘media ae aetas’ standing betwe betwee en Ant Antiiquity quity and his ow own times.2 times.2 Already lready in papa papall emplo employm yme ent by 1433, he became an aposto apostollic secret secretary in in 1434, and at the the Curia Curia he spent spent most of of his lif life. The exceptio xceptiona nall pow powers of of Biondo Biondo are are already evi vide dent nt in his D his Dev everbis Romanaelocutionis* writt written en in in 1435, where he put forward his his ide idea as on the the ev everyday eryday spe speech of of anci ancient Rom Rome. What actual actually fa fascinated scinated hi him m mo most in the Rom Roman past were th the e old old ruins of the to town, wn, and on these these he quick quicklly made himself hi mself a leadi eading ng authori uthority. ty. So muc much h so, so, that even bef before compl comple eting ting his archa archae eolog logical cal handboo handbook k he wa was ofte often n consulted consulted on problems problems about about the Roman Roman rema remains.4 ins.4 They we were irresisti rresistibl bly y att ttra racti ctiv ve to hi him, m, not not onl nly y beca because use he found their appea ppearance plea pleasin sing g, but also as he saw in them them a tangi tangible ble proof proof, the stil still living part part of of the city’ city’s s ancien ncientt gl glory. With With this there there was, moreover moreover,, a convi convicti ctio on that that to abandon bandon these these reli relics cs now now wo would hav have bee been tantam tantamo ount to fo forsaki rsaking, ng, inde indee ed losi losing ng for ever, what what had had bee been Roma Roman civil civiliz iza atio tion. Devotio tion to ancien ancientt Rom Rome and its rema remains was second second onl only y to reli religion, and to this this he also felt 1When Poggio finally released his De varietatefortunaein 1448 1448,, Biond Biondo’s o’s Roma instaurata had been available available for for more than than one year. It is therefore therefore not surprising surprising that Poggi Poggio o drew   Biiondoflav lavio, io, (Roma, from it before before submitting submitting his his work work to Pope Nich N ichola olas sV, cf. M. Fubini, B Jtaliani) 14-15. 1966, offprint from his forthcoming article in Di^ionario Biografico degli Jta 2 On Biondo as as a medieval medieval historian see see now D. flay flay,, ‘Flavi ‘Flavio o Biondo and and the the Middle  Proceedings of the British A cademy   Ages’  Ages’,, Pr , XL X L V (1958) 97-108. 97-108. For his his antiquar antiquarian ian studies studies see see R. Weiss, ‘Biondo Flavio archeologo’, Studi X IV (196 (1963) 3) 335-41. 335-41. Studi Romagnoli, XI ritti inediti erari e rari di Biondo Flavio. (Roma, 3B. Nogara, Scritti (Roma, 1927) 115-30. 5-30. lihri I-III, I-II I, III 4 F. Blondus, Blondus,  Romae instauratae lih  III,, 72, 72, 74, 76. 76.

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gratef rateful ul since he believed believed th tha at Christi Christia ani nity ty had had prevented the old glory from from fading ding alto ltogether. To see see, but above bove all to show to others, thers, what what classica classicall Rome had had been, been, was in in his view imperativ tive.  And  And what co could achieve this be better than an account of of it its si site and orig origins to tog gether wit with h an explan explana ation tion of of the functions unctions of of many of of its monume onuments and and buildi buildings ngs ? A reconstructio reconstruction n of of the ancient ncient city city w wa as in short short what what Biondo Biondo had had in mind. mind. Now in order rder to fulfi ulfil such such a prog programme ramme th the e most esse essenti ntia al thi thing ng wa was to gath ther er as much much info informa rmatio tion as as possibl possible from from the ruins them them selv lve es. This Biondo did, bu butt it was clearly clearly not enoug enough. h. Acco ccord ingly he so sought ught evide evidence nce from rom every every quarter quarter and and source available ble to him. him. He consult consulte ed the Latin tin class classics, ics, he studied Pluta Plutarch rch and exam xamin ine ed caref careful ullly the catalo catalog gues ues of of the reg regions of Rome Rome com com piled piled in the age of Constantine Constantine.. He was too sha sharp to ov overl erlook the fa fact that Chri Christian stian and and medi medieval eval writer writers s ha had also also somethi something ng to contribute contribute.. So Bede Bede to too o and and the dialog dialogues ues of of Sa Saint Gre G reg gory, St. Damasus’ sus’s life of of Sa Saint Pe Peter, the A the A cta Ma Martyrum  and the U ber Pon Pontifi tific calis alis  wer were e studied studied by Bio Biondo, who did not not even even disdain the Graphi hia a aurea or  or the chronicle chronicle of of Martinus Polo Polonu nus s. He did not not fa fail to to gauge uge the signif significa icance nce of ancie ancient nt buil building ding material terials. Fo Forr instance instance th the e exami xaminati natio on of of some some large bricks bricks from the ruins ruins aro around und the monastery monastery of of Sa San Silvestro in Capit Capite e beari bearing ng Domitia mitian’s n’s nam name, led him to conj conjecture th tha at those those rema remain ins s must have belonge belonged d ei eith ther er to th the e baths baths or to the ‘naum ‘nauma achia chia’’ of this Em Emperor.1 peror.1 His us use of inscriptions inscriptions prove proved equal equally rewa rewarding. rding. Fo Forr in insta stance nce one on the actual site site and another nother in the Lateran teran hospi hospita tall led led him to discover discover the names of the Emper perors resp responsible onsible for the buildin building g of of an an aqu aque educt.2 duct.2 Nor did did he ignore nore the ev evidence idence off offered by an an ol old coin coin or or by by the carve rved marble figure on a monume nument. He percei perceived the hi histo stori rica call pote potentiali ntialities ties of of the popula popularr nomencla nomenclatur ture e of building buildings s still still in use, use, and he did did not not even negl neglect the archive rchives of of churche churches s in in his his que quest for info informa rmation. tion. Thus we find hi him m establi stablishing shing on the informa nformati tio on supplie supplied by a medieval medieval docu docum ment fo found by him in in the chur church ch of of the Santi Apo Apostol stoli, i, that that a ‘hortus ‘hortus Ve Veneris’ neris’ stood nea near the Capit Capito ol and quite close close to the parish parish bounda boundaries of of this this church.3 To say that that Biond Biondo o grieved at at the dail daily y annihi annihila lati tio on of of ancient monume numents is to state state th the e obv obvious. But one feels that with wit h hi him the sense sense of loss loss thus bro brought ught about bout went went dee deeper than 1 Ibid. II, II, 12.

2 Ibid. I, 7878-79. 79.

3 Ibid. II,  II, 79. 79.

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with oth with others; ers; it is is no no exag exaggerati ratio on to say say that that one one can still still fe feel his wrath wrath when when he rel relates how how he saw saw some old marble rbles on the the  Ave  Aventine being pulled down and swiftl ftly turned into quicklime.1 Such uch destructio structions ns certain certainlly embittere bittered d Bi Bio ondo’ ndo’s sojo sojourn in Rome Rome, just as as he could could not avoid being shocked shocked by the almost univ universa ersal iig gnora norance nce around around him him concerning wha whatt rema remain ine ed of of the republic republica an and impe imperi ria al ages. With the na names of of so ma many of the the monume numents camouf camoufllaged by popul popula ar usag usage, it was the the more surprising surprising that that a few of them them coul could d stil still be recogniz recognize ed fo for what what they they were. re. Wha What shoul should d be done in v viiew of such such a danger danger was the there reffore quite quite clea clear, just as as it it was was quit quite clear clear that som some actio ction should should be take taken n bef before even the me memory of of the mo monu ments va vani nished shed al alto tog gether. Biondo’ ndo’s descripti descriptio on of of ancient ancient Rome Rome conform conforme ed to to a set pla plan. Here hi his s ma main guide guide wa was the catalog talogue of the urban reg regions then then att ttrib ributed uted to Sext xtus us Rufus, Rufus, which which enjoye enjoyed d such such a succ succe ess wit with h fifte iftee enth century archa archae eologists, ists, and whi which ch to to hi him m proved quite quite inva invaluable. luable. Love for the past past did did no not, how however, bli blind him to the new new Rom Rome whi hich ch wa was rising rising around around him. His feel eeling, or p pe erhaps we had had better sa say h his is love for for the city, city, was wide wide eno enoug ugh h to in include clude also also the Christi Christia an side and even even so some of of the modern monume numents, such such as Fi Fillarete’s rete’s bronze bronze doo door of of Sa Saint Peter’s,2 Peter’s,2a and found its its culminati culminatio on later later in the final inal pag pages of of his  Ro  Romae triumphantis libri, where he establi established shed a paral parallel between between the ancient and and modern modern constit constitutio utions ns of the city, city, and rev revealed his warm warm admi admira rati tio on for for the Renaissance town town under his his eye eyes. To off offer a visio ision of ancie ancient nt Rom Rome was the aim aim of of the R the Ro oma instaurata. Started tarted shortl shortly y after Biondo’ ndo’s return to Rome Rome tog to gether wit with tthe he Curia Curia after nearl nearly y ten yea years of abse absence, nce, it was actually ctually compose composed d during during the peri period 1444 1444--46. 46. Poggio may may hav have begun begun humanist archa archaeol eolo ogy, but with with Bi Bio ondo archaeol rchaeolo ogy too to ok a great step fo forw rwa ard, and it it was onl only y with with the the second second editi dition o off Marl Marliiani ni’’s handbo handboo ok on on Roman topo topog graphy raphy in in 1544, that Biondo’ ndo’s wo work rk wa was fi finall nally y supe superse rseded. ded. What one may wel well ask, made made Bi Bio ondo’ ndo’s wo work rk so supre suprem me in iits ts field field not onl nly y during during hi his s time time but also for those next hundred hundred yea years, whi hich ch witne itnesse ssed d the full dev developm lopme ent of of humani humanism? sm? There here was of of course Biondo’ ndo’s deep lea learning rning and his burnin burning g enthusia nthusiasm for his subj subje ect. These hese were were thing things s whi which ch natural naturally counte counted; but what what made made hi his s survey unique unique in fif fifte tee enth century archa archaeol eolo ogical cal 1 Ibid. I,  I, 20.

2 Ibid.  I, 58.

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literature terature was the the qual quality of the mind behind behind it, it, whi hich ch unite united to a quickness quickness in in grasping rasping what what wa was essenti ssentia al, an uncanny abil ability to percei perceive new avenues nues and and unf unfo orese resee en potent potential ialiities ties in whatev whatever er subject he happe happene ned d to tackl tackle e. Admittedl dmittedly y ev even Bio Bi ondo was not inf infa allibl lible e and mista mistake kes s of of fa fact occur in his wo work. Forr instance Fo instance he sti still ll acce ccepted pted the tradit traditiional nal attributi ttributio on to Pheidias and and Praxi Praxiteles teles of of the Qui Quiri rina nall Dioscuri1, a th thiing pe perhaps not not surprisi surprising ng in some someone who who had had proba probabl bly y never see seen an an origina riginal piece of Gre Gree ek sta statua tuary. ry. But the numbe numberr of his in in accuracies is certainl certainly small when when com compare pared d to those those of his his contem contempo pora rarie ries and suc succe cessors ssors in th the e field, and the reall really y surpri surprisi sing ng thi hin ng is th tha at he did did not make make more. re. In a way way he was in archaeolog logy wha whatt Va Valla lla was in in philo philolo log gy, but with the dif difffer ence th tha at whil while by 1480 Valla’s a’s phi philology wa was al already ready outda outdated, ted, it to too ok a century century to make Bio Biondo’s ndo’s archae rchaeolog logy obsole obsolete. te. The firs irst book book of of the R the Ro oma instaurata sta  starts rts by deali dealing ng with with the vari vario ous ga gates of of the to town, wn, whence hence Bi Bio ondo proce proceeds to exam examine the Va Vatica tican n regi region and its its paga pagan and Christi Christia an monu ments. Needles Needless s to say he did did not not fa fail tto o menti mentio on here here the  Vat  Vatican obelisk, then still standing on on th the so south side of the basil basilica, ica, from whi which ch it it was onl nly y remov remove ed to the ce centre of the squa square by Si Sixt xtus us V. This obeli obelisk sk led to a discourse discourse about the oth ther er obelisks belisks lyi lying about bout Rome Rome, and boo book one ends nds with an account of the Esquil squiline ine and Diocletian’ cletian’s s baths baths.. Bo Boo ok two starts with a disse dissertatio rtation n on ancient ancient baths. baths. Next he dea deals wi witth mo monu ments on the Esquil Esquiliine and the Viminal minal;; there there follo llows an an excursus xcursus on fo four loca locallitie ties general enerally gro groupe uped d to together by the ancients, ncients, namel namely the Cari Carina nae e, Subura, Tabernol bernola and Via Sacra, cra, to conclud conclude e with an account account of of rel religious and and admini administra strati tiv ve monume numents and th the e th the eatres. Amphith mphithea eatres and circuses circuses open book book three three, the rest rest of of whi which ch is occ occupie upied d by de descripti scriptions ons of miscella miscellaneous neous rema remains.  As  As was said before, the Ro  Roma instaurata  la launched unched a new archaeo rchaeology. No one one bef before Bi Bio ondo had had att tte empted so compre compre hensiv hensive e and thoro thoroug ugh h a survey survey of of ancie ancient nt Rom Rome nor nor tried tried to expla plain so so muc much h nor did it so acute acutely. ly. Digressio ressions ns are by no means rare rare in Biondo’ ndo’s treatise tise and and some of them them are real really short disserta dissertati tio ons on som some e antiqua ntiquari ria an poi point. His sectio section n on the the ‘Velabrum’ labrum’,2 ,2 for instance instance,, striv strive es to explain explain this ra rather 1 Ibid. I,  I, 99. 99. 2 Ibid. II, 52-55.

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obscure name. Thi his s he starts starts to do by rejecti rejecting ng the medi medieval eval corrupt corruptiion Velum Velum aureum aureum’’, whence whence he passe passes s on to examin xamine e and discus discuss s the evi vide dence nce off offered by Va Varro, Ovi vid, d, Li Livy, Tacitus, and the inscripti inscriptions ons still still le left in the the loca locali lity. ty. The where here abouts of the ‘A ‘Aerarium’ rarium’ gave him an excuse excuse for a hi histo storical rical disse disserta rtati tio on on Rom Roman coi coinag nage, mainl mainly drawn drawn from the Elder Pliny. Pliny.1 1 Natura turally lly enoug enough h Biondo reli relie ed consta constantly ntly upon upon the ancient ncient writers, writers, but this this di did not not mea mean that he accepted ccepted them them inv nva aria riably bly as infa nfallible ble witne itnesse sses. s. Thus when faced wit with h a statem stateme ent of of Cassio Cassiodo dorus rus that Pompe Pompey had bee been the first buil builder of theatres tres in in Rom Rome, he se set against it it one of Pliny, sayin saying g that that the first had bee been Ma Marcus Sca Scaurus,2 urus,2whi whille against another nother rema remark of of Cass Cassio iodoru dorus s, attributi ttributing ng to the Empe Emperor Titus itus the build buildin ing g of the th e first amphit amphithea heatre tre in Ro Rome, me, he se set a passa passag ge of of Ta Tacitus, citus, showing showing that this wa was not not so.3 so.3  Alt  Altogether, wi with the Ro  Roma instaurata i  itt was now now poss possibl ible e to have a rea reasonabl sonable e idea of ancient ancient Rome Rome, not not onl only y from from a to topo po graphical raphical standpoint, standpoint, but al also as as far as its its gro growth wth and the functio unctions ns of of its buildin building gs we were conce concerne rned. Here Here, in this wo work, the hi histo stori ria an rev reveals himself himself side by si side wit with h the archaeol rchaeolo ogist, ist, the stude student of anc anciient insti instituti tutio ons with with the hum humanist who has the cla class ssics ics at his fi finge ngertips, rtips, thoug though h wit witho hout ut the the help help of of the the Teubner series and PaulyPauly-Wi Wissowa ssowa’’s encyclopa ncyclopae edia. No wonder then, th tha at af after the R the Ro oma instaurata, the de descriptio scription n of of Rom Rome by Giov iovanni Tortell rtelli d doe oes s not show show any rea real progre progress. ss. But, even apart part fro from m the fa fact that that To Tortell rtelli did did not not me mean to prese present a system systema atic tic descript descriptiion of of what what rem remained ned as as Bio Biondo had had done done,, what what real really disti disting nguishes uishes them them is Bi Bio ondo’ ndo’s geni nius. us. Giovan iovanni ni To Tortelli rtelli w wa as also also a curial curial off official, who eventuall eventually y beca became the chief chief adv adviiser ser of of Pope Pope Nichola cholas V (1447 1447--1455 1455)) in the buil building ding up of the Vatica tican n Libra Library. ry. A couple couple of ye years in the Greek reek East (1435(1435-37) 37) ha had conso consollidated dated hi his s Gre Greek, ek, an an asset whi hich ch prov proved inv nva aluabl uable e to hi him m when hen composing composing his huge D huge De e orthographia. But al already ready in 1438, whil while at Ferrara Ferrara for th the e Council Council,, it had had ena enabled hi him m to tra translate nslate into into Latin tin the V ita Romuli of Pluta Plutarch,4 rch,4 a text text which turned turned out to be very use usefful to him when hen deal dealin ing g with Roman Roman antiquiti ntiquitie es. Tortell rtelli’s account ccount of  1 Ibid.  II, 83-87. 2 Ibid.  II, 103. 3 Ibid. Ill, 2. 4 G. Mancini, Mancini, ‘G ‘Giovanni iovanni T ortelli co-oper co-operator atore e di Niccolo N iccolo V ncl fondare fondare la la Biblioteca Biblioteca  Vat  Vaticana’, A rcbivio storico italiano, scr. scr. 6, X V I (192 (1920) 0) 180 180..

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ancie ncient Rome Rome was not, not, nor nor was it int ntended ended to be a sepa separa rate te hand book book on the subj subje ect. It wa was mere merely ly a sma small sectio section n of of his his book book on La Latin tin ortho orthog graphy raphy completed completed in 1449,1 where here he soug sought ht to codifv codifv the spelli spelling and discus discuss s the mea meani ning ng of a large arge numbe numberr of of Latin tin words. The work did did not, how however, stop stop at this. Fo Forr it also conta contain ins s much much mi miscell scella aneo neous info informati rmatio on as w'el 'ell as count count less disg disgre ressio ssions ns about bout people people and place places s ment mentiioned, the these se being being also meant as as a reli relief from the very dry dry ortho orthog graphi raphic c discussio discussions. ns.  Alt  Altogether it ma may be be described as a compilation on on philology, ancient ncient histo history, ry, mytho mytholo log gy, and geogra geography, phy, a kind kind of Pol Politi itian’s n’s  Mi  Miscellanea wit ith hout the unique unique sparkle sparkle of Pol Politia tian’s n’s geni nius, us, just just the kind kind of of work work Colucc Coluccio io Saluta lutati might might have written, written, had had he he lived two two generatio tions later. later.  Amo  Among the wo words which came un under scrutiny in the De orthographia  orthographia  wa was ‘Ro ‘Roma’ ma’ ; the contro controv versial ersial poi point here here was whethe hetherr or not it should b be e spe spelt ‘Rhoma ‘Rhoma’’. Tortelli rtelli o off cour course se favoured ured the spel spelling ling ‘Ro ‘Roma’ ; ‘Ro ‘Rom mam scribe scribenda ndam puto puto.. Idemq demque ue ab antiquis antiquis nostris nostris in numi numisma smatibus tibus et ma marmorum inscriptio inscriptionibus nibus observa observatum tum conspexi conspexim mus’ us’2 and this wa was go good enough nough for him, him, just as it is for us us. But Tortelli rtelli did not stop stop here here.. Instea nstead he went on on to consider consider other aspects spects of of Rome Rome, such such as the area rea of the city city in in anci ancie ent time times, s, etc. The nomen nomen clature of the old old ga gates clea clearl rly y ga gave hi him m some some troub roublle; yet he did not shrink from from go going int nto o the meanings nings of of th their eir na names with with the help help of ancient ncient texts, rangin ranging g from from Va Varro to Cass Cassiiodoru odorus, s, as as wel well as Biondo Biondo’’s Ro  Roma instaurata?  Rather Rather than an ant ntiiquari quaria an’s n’s methodica thodicall account, account, Tortell rtellii’s descr descript iptio ion n is in the nature nature of a ‘cata catallogue rai raisonne sonne’. Not Not that that he by-pa by-pass sse ed archa archae eological evide evidence nce,, for he he certai certainl nly y did not, not, relyi relyin ng in fact on anci ancient rem remains and sque squeezi ezing ng out all the informa nformati tio on he could from from inscriptio inscriptions and and co coins, and not hesitati hesitating, ng, whenev whenever the evidence was cont contra radi dicto ctory, ry, to to attempt attempt a criti critica call asses ssessm sme ent of of its rela relative value. ue. At the sa same time timehe had had certai certainl nly y at at his elbow bow the Ro  Roma instaurata of  of Flavi Flavio o Biondo, Biondo, from whi hich ch at at lle east once he copied almo almost st li literally, terally,4 4and to whi hich ch he vita a e dslle opere di Niccolo R. Sa Sabb bba adini, ini, Rev Review iew of o f G. Mer Mercati,  Per la cronologia della vit  Perotti, Gionial ialc storico della kt ktic icratura italiana,  L X X X V II (1926) 374-76  Deortho 374-76.. For the the Deor graphia cf. Mancini, op. cit. 22  Deorthographia, ia,  228 -39. The section section on Rome is in J. T onelli onellius, us, Deo (Yenetii (Y enetiis, s, 148 1484) 4) if. p2v q4r. q4r.  21hid.  f. p2v\ 1

: In  iInfra, n. 4.

*

For the ancient ancient gate gates s of o f Rome 'i'oi 'i'oi telU, elU, cf. T orteiiius, op. cit. cit.  ff. p3r-p4r, followed Biondo, whose views views on the subject subject have been been disproved by modem archaeology, archaeology, cf. C.  Mittheihmgen de des Kaiserlick Huelse uelsen, n, ‘Dcr ‘D cr Uni Unifang der Stadt Stadt Rom zur Zeit des Plinius’, Plinius’ ,  Mi deutschcn archaeolog ologischen Inst Instiitnts tnts Rom Romische A bteilung,, XII (189 (1897) 7) 148-60. 48-60.

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was also very very muc much h inde indebted bted fo for his own own ant antiiquari quaria an metho methods ds,, so much uch so that that one one is led led to conclude conclude that wi with tho out Bio Biondo’ ndo’s s Tortell rtelli’s acco ccount wo would have be been quite quite dif diffferent. Item tems considere considered d by To Tortell rtelli incl include uded d the Seven Hills, the gates, the forums, rums, tri triumpha umphall arche arches, s, obelisks, belisks, ther therma mae, aque aqueducts, ducts, bridg bridges es,, etc., in short the princip principa al rem remains of of ancient ncient Rome Rome. On the who wholle, inscripti nscriptions and classica classicall writers forme rmed hi his main main sources. sources. But he also kept his his own own eyes yes ope open n and relied relied upon upon a lively ely critical critical sense nse. Thus on obse observ rvin ing g the the huge bronze hea head then at at the Latera Lateran, he identi dentiffied it as that that of of Com Commodus, odus, ‘quod Com Comodi fui fuisse sse ex numismatum numismatum imag magine deprehendimus’ deprehendimus’.1 .1 Occa ccasiona ionally, lly, he also lso slipped slipped an inscriptio inscription n into his text.2 text.2 Y et, alto tog gether he show shows s no advance dvance on the me methods thods of of Bio Biondo, ndo, who praised the De the De orthographia  in his It his Ita alia illustrata.3 Rather Rather one might might call call him him Biondo’ Biondo’s s first follo llower. His acc account ount of Rom Rome certa certain inlly did did not not p pa ass unnotice unnoticed d in huma humanist circles. circles. In fa fact  Ago  Agostino Maflfei, that is to say one of the leading antiquarians of the th e Roma Roman Aca Acade demy my,, had had the sectio section n on on Rome Rome actually ctually tra trans ns cribed cribed fo for him sepa separa rate tely ly by the co copyist Le Leonardo nardo Job.4 b.4 With With Tortelli ends nds, one might might say, the firs firstt wa wave of of topo topo graphi raphica call study of of ancient ancient Rom Rome conducted conducted on on huma humanist line lines. s. Wha What fo follo llowed during during the se second half half of the the centur century y and and the first quarter quarter of the Cinque Cinquecento cento was mo more a consoli consolida dati tio on of of these these methods thods than than any startli startling innov nnovatio tion. The Roma Roman topo to pog graphi raphica call traditio tradition unti until the sack of of Rom Rome rem remained the traditi traditio on of Bion iondo.® o.® 1T ortel cit., f. q4r. ortellius, lius, op. cit 2See for instance ibid. f. q3r‘v.  Italia illu illus strata, 309. 3F. Blondus, Opera, (Basileae, 1559) 559),  Ita 4Vatican Library, Library, Ms. Ottob. O ttob. lat. 120 1208, 8, ff. ff. 49r 49r- 100v, 00v , cf. J. Ruysschacrt, Ruysschacrt, ‘Recher ‘Recherche che de  L a Bibliofili ilia, L X (195 deux bibliotheque bibliotheques s romaines romaines Maffei Maffei des des XV X V e et X V Ie siecles’, La (1958) 8) 337.  Anot  Another her copy o f the description of Rom Rome is in Vat Vatican Libr Library, Ms. Va Vat. Barber. Iat. 139, ff ff. 59r-87v. BParallel to the rise of of a humanist humanist study of o f the the ruins ruins of Rome was the beginning of of a humanist humanist interest interest in early Chr C hristian istian antiquity iinaugu naugura rated ted by Maffeo Maffeo Vegi V egio’ o’s s  De rebus antiquis antiquis memorabil rabilibus busBa Basil siliicaeSancti Petri Romae, completed completed after 1455 and printed printed in A cta Sanctorum, Jun  Junii, ii, VII. 2, rafico della citta tta di Roma, IV, 377-98. 2, 61 61-8 -85 5 an and par partly in in Codicetopografi T here here are are two two recensions recensions of of it, represented represented by Vatican L Lib ibrar rary, y, Ms. Ottob. O ttob. lat. lat. 1863 863 and and  Derebus Ms. Vat. lat. lat. 37 3750. 50. O n this this work w ork see see B. B. Vignati, ‘Alcune ‘Alcune note ed osservazioni osservazioni sul Dere memorabili rabilibus bus Basil asilicaeSanc Sancti Petri Ro Romae\ Studi su Maffeo V egio a cura di S. Corvi rvi, (Lodi, 1959)

58-69.

CHAPTER SIX

THE INHERITANCE OF FLAVTO BIONDO

The accounts ccounts of of ancie ancient nt Rom Rome by Biondo Biondo and To Tortelli rtelli were not not mere merely ly fo follow lowed by other ther works on similar similar line lines. s. Descrip scrip tions tions of of the city on on the lines lines of of the old M old Miirabilia also continue continued d to be compo composed; sed; such such events events as as the Jubi ubilee of of 1450 and the Rom Roman corona coronati tion on of the Emperor Emperor Frederick Frederick II III in 1452 off offered a suit suita able occasion fo for the writi writing ng of of som some e of the them. These hese treati treatise ses s were were natura naturally not not due to huma humani nists, sts, and their their autho authors rs hailed hailed from rom place places wide apa apart, rt, from rom Fl Flo orence rence and even even from from K ing’s Lynn and Nure uremberg berg. After ter Pog Poggio and and Biondo Biondo works such such as these these do certainl certainly stri strike ke an an ana anachro chroni nisti stic c note, note, appeari ppearing ng as out out of of place as a Victo ictorian pai paint ntiing place placed amo among a group roup of of abstract picture pictures. s. It wa was from from Flore Florence nce that Gio Giov vanni Rucel Rucellai, the wea weallth thy y Flo Florenti rentine ne merchant rchant who whose se nam name is sti still vis visiible ble on the th e fa fa$ade of of Santa Mari Maria a Novella ella, came to Rome Rome in 1450 in order rder to secu secure re the spiritua spirituall advanta advantag ges of of the Jubil ubilee. ee. How How much much his soul profit profite ed from from su such a visit must ust be left left to con  je  jecture. A series of notes on Rome1 was, ho however, am among the tangibl tangible e results results of of his sojo sojourn in the town, notes notes not intende intended for publica publicati tio on, but mere merely ly to be inserte nserted d into into his  Z  Ziibaldone Quaresimale, where he he assemb ssemblled all ki kinds nds of mi miscel scellaneous infformati in rmatio on ‘per ‘per dare dare noti notiti tia a et am amaestra estram mento a Pandol Pandolffo et a Berna Bernardo rdo miei miei figli figliuo uolli di piu piu chose chose’’.2 As a dee deeply reli relig gious ious ma man Rucel Rucelllai’s ai’s main int intere erest st w wa as focusse focussed d upon the the chur churche ches s and their th eir mo most specta spectacula cularr rel relics. His His eye eye for what what wa was beauti beautifful—■ not for nothi nothing ng was he one of Alb Alber erti ti’s ’s pa patrons—is, trons—is, however however,, obvio obvious us he here and there there,, when hen he notices notices a pai paint ntiing by Gio Giotto tto,3 ,3 or se sees the bronze tomb tomb of of Pope Ma Martin rtin V in the La Lateran. teran.4 4 Many of the anci ancient ent re remain ins s were were also also noted noted by him, hi his s guide guide here here being, being, as was onl only y fitti itting ng to a pil pilgrim, the old Mi  Mirabilia. He also  jo  jotted down some rough measurements of the obelisk of Saint Peter’s and of of the Pantheon, Pantheon,5 5and he even tried tried to compile compile a list of the triumphal arches.8 rches.8 Kucellai e il sm Zi ZibaldoneI. ‘II ‘II Zi Z ibaldoneQuaresimale’, cd. 1Giovanni Kuc cd. A. A . Perosa Perosa,, (London, (London, 1960) 67-78. 2 Ibid. 2. 3 Ibid. 69. 69. 4 Ibid. 70. 6 Ibid. 72. 6 Ibid. 75.

74

THE INHERITANCE OF FLAVIO BIONDO

During uring hi his s two weeks in in Rom Rome Rucell Rucella ai made it: a rule rule to  viisit the principal churches in the morning and the antiquit  v ntiquitiies in the afternoo ternoon, n, whil while in the evening evening he took notes on what what he had see seen duri during the day,1 Thus his description of Rome does not not attempt attempt to be and is not not a gui uide de to the to tow wn. It is rather a series ries of of note notes s, or more precisely precisely a list of of those thing things s which attracte ttracted d his atte attentio ntion n during during his visit visit.. As su such it is not not without without interest, nterest, also beca because use it disc disclo lose ses s a mind in in which which the ol old traditio traditions were were temper tempere ed by some some appreciati ppreciatio on of the the new humani humanist st values. Thus side by side wi witth rema remarks such such as th tha at on on the ‘T ‘Templum plum Pads’, ads’, ‘che ‘che si dice era uno tempio tempio d’i d’idol doli, et che che i Romani dicevano ch’egli aveva a durare durare insino insino che una vergi ergine parto partori risse sse,, et che apunto casco sco et rov rovino la notte notte che naque naque N. S. Gies iesu Cristo’, Cristo’,2which is just ust nonse nonsense nse, we find hi him m givi giving  ve  v ent to a ty typically humanist enthusiasm for for the la late antique mosaics of of Sa Santa Costanza: Costanza: ‘A ‘Appresso ppresso alia lia so sopra scripta scripta chiesa chiesa di Sancta ncta Agnesa e una capp cappell ella a di Sancta ncta Chosta Chostanz nza a, tto onda, con colonne colonne doppie doppie a coppie, con begl begli archi, rchi, e nella nella volta bel bellissimi issimi musa musaichi ichi con fi figurepiccol piccole e in perf perfe ectione ctione et con fo fogliami et alberi alberi et molti molti spiri spiriteg teglli che che nav navicano cano in div diverse maniere niere, il quale eil piu piu  va  v acho, gratioso et gentile mu musaicho non che di Roma, ma di tutto il mondo; et da torno uno andito in volta, con musaicho nel nella vol volta mo molto lto pia piacev cevole con anima animali li,, ucceg uccegli et et fo fogliami iami et altre gentile ntileze’.3 A prof profe essional ional huma humanist could could not not have have achieved chieved a more sensit sensitiv ive e appreciati ppreciatio on of of one one of of the ma master ster piece pieces s of la late antique art art!! Rucell Rucella ai had had writ written ten his his notes notes fo for priva private consu consum mption. John Capgra Capgrav ve, an Aug Augusti ustini nia an and and one one of the least least entertai entertaini ning ng write riters in in the who whole le of of Eng Engli lish sh liter litera ature, ture, had, had, how however, wider wider aims. ims. Fo Forr his Solaceof Pilgrim rims* me  meant to be noth nothiing less less than a guide for for Eng Engllish visi visito tors rs to Rom Rome, where here he himself himself was was in in 1450. A gui uide, de, but chief chiefly ly one to Christi Christia an Rom Rome, suppl supplyi ying ng descripti descriptio ons of the ma main churche churches s and and their their lenten statio tions, the so-ca so-callled ‘sta ‘stati tio ones nes qua quadrag dragesima simalles’ es’,5not not to mentio ntion rel relics and indulg ndulgences. ences. But beside besides s this, this, his text incl include uded d also what what wa was 1 Ibid. 68  68. 2 Ibid. 76.

3  Ib  Ibid. 74.

Pilgrim rims, ed. C. A . Mills. (Oxfo rafico della J. Capgrave, Capgrave, TheSolaceof Pi (O xford rd 1911). Codicetopografi citta di Roma, TV, 330-49. 6  Mirabilia as an introduction to the It was usual during the fifteenth century to have the Mi accounts of of Roman churches churches and their lenten stations, see see for for instance instance Hain, nn nn.1118911219. *

THE INHERITANCE OF FLAVIO BIONDO

75

real really an E Eng ngllish para paraphra phrase se of of the M the Miirabilia, supplem suppleme ent nted ed by info nformatio tion secured secured elsew sewhere, here, from rom some some cla classical and medieval medieval writi writings and and even fro from m the massiv massive e encyclo encyclopa pae edia by Dome Domenico nico Bandini. Ba ndini.1 1 The pre presence nce of of Bandini Bandini’’s work among Capg Capgra rave’ ve’s s sources sources is certain certainlly surprisi surprising, ng, but this this surprise vani nishe shes s when welearn that that a copy of of it it was owned owned by his patro patron n Wil William Gra G ray,2 y,2 who beca became Bi Bishop shop of Ely in 1454. Needless dless to to say say Capgrav Capgrave’s standa standards rds are are those those of of the the ag age of of the M the Miirabilia ra  rather than than thos those of Biondo’ Biondo’s s times. times. Y et this wa was onl nly y natural natural; fo for desp despite ite the the efforts orts of Humf Humfrey, rey, Duke Duke of Glouce louceste ster, r, and his many excha exchang nge es with with humani nist st Italy, Italy, humani nism sm had made very li little headwa headway y indee indeed d in in England England by the th e time time of th the e Duke’s uke’s dea death in 1447. Wha What can be be said said of of Capgrav Capgrave’s e’s descript descriptio ion n of of Rome Rome, applie pplies also also to that that by the Nurembe uremberg rg senato natorr Nikolau ikolaus s Mu Muffel,3 l,3 whose hose visit sit to Rome in 1452 was prompted prompted by the the corona coronati tio on of of the Empe Emperor ror Frederi Frederick ck III by Pope Nichola Nicholas s V. V. Muffel’s l’s spe special cial inte interest rest was also in in church churches es and other relig religious place places. He did did not, not, how however, overloo rlook antique rem remains, and alth altho ough ugh B Bio iondo’ ndo’s s Ro  Roma instaurata rema remain ine ed beyo beyond his rea reach, Poggi ggio’s De  Devarietatefortunae did not, and from from it it he must must have derived derived the name ‘S ‘Septimose ptimosepher phero o’, whi hich ch he gave to the bron bronze ze statue statue of of Marcus Aurel Aureliius at the the Lateran.4 It is not surprising surprising that that Mu Muffel’s l’s approach pproach to Anti Antiquit quity y rem remained uncritica uncriticall or that he sw swallow lowed witho without ut bli blinking nking wha whatt he was to told by the M the Miirabilia. Fo Forr betw betwe een hi him m and the the wo worl rld d of of Biondo th there ere was no noth thiing less ess tha than an an abyss, abyss, th the e huge huge chasm chasm which then sepa separa rated ted Itali Italia an huma humanism fro from m the learni learning ng of of a country still still vir virtuall tually y untouc untouche hed d by it. it. Henc Hence e notwithsta notwithstanding nding his hi s typi typicall cally y Ge Germa rman thoro thoroug ughness hness in in reco recordi rding ng measure surements and other other data, data, his his account account of Rome Rome marked marked no pro progress what what ever ever in ant antiiquarian quarian studies studies.. Here in a way way he was a German counterpa counterpart of of Ruce Rucell lla ai, with Gothic Nur Nure embe mberg instea instead of of  Alb  Alberti’s Florence as a background. Oth Other accounts of of Ro Rome were were also writ written during during the fif fiftee teenth century in in several several lla anguag nguages for the bene beneffit of of pilgrims. pilgrims. As su such they dea dealt sole solely wi with those aspects spects of of int intere erest st to to th their eir readers, ders, whi hich ch means tha that th they ey had no no 1Capgrave, op. cit. 13, 43, 45, 49. 2Weiss, Humanism in En Eng gland, 90, n. 15. 3Codicetopografi rafico della citta tta di di Roma, IV, 354-73. 4 Ibid. IV  IV , 354. For other derivations derivations from Poggio Poggio see see ibid. IV , 363, 363, n. 2, 2, 365, 365, nn. nn. 1-4 1-4 and passim.

76

THE INHERITANCE OF FLAVIO BIONDO

room for the class classica icall side of the the to tow wn.1 n.1 Henc Hence e they they could hardly hardly prov prove a substi substitute tute fo for and certain certainlly did did not displace displace the new archae rchaeolog logy, whi hich ch Po Poggio and Biondo Biondo had had so powerf powerfull ully y launched. unched. Roma Roman huma humanism was much uch too vigoro igorous us fo for this to to be possibl possible e, and during during the se second half of the fif fifte tee enth century century the Roman Aca Acade dem my o off Pla Platina tina and Pom Pomponio ponio Leto proved proved a sourc source e of rea real streng strength th to antiqu ntiqua arian rian studie studies.2 s.2 Pomponio Pomponio Leto was not, it is true true,, the author uthor of of a ful ulll desc descript riptio ion n of of ancient ncient Rome like Biondo’ Biondo’s s. Y et if if Biondo Biondo and and Poggio were pionee pioneers in the anti antiqua quari ria an study of of the city, city, Leto was certainly certainly its mai main fo force rce during during the next next ge genera neratio tion. Leto’ eto’s studies studies of of ancient ncient Roma Roman topo to pog graphy are are scattered ttered here here and and ther there e among among his his writ writings. These hese ‘disj ‘disjecta ecta mem membra’ bra’ are none none the less less quite quite suf sufficie icient to gi give us a good idea of the rang range e of hi his know knowledge edge. He also relied relied on epigraph epigraphy y as wel well as as hi histo stori rica call and and literary sourc source es. Y et the distance distance betwe between hi him m and Bi Bio ondo rema remained considera considerable ble. Leto certai certainl nly y did not not lack Biondo’ ndo’s enthus nthusiiasm and industry. What What he lacked was a mind of of Bi Bio ondo’ ndo’s calibre libre.. Llis Llis scho scholar larship, ship, tho th ough ugh dili diligent and pain painsta staki king, ng, was ne neither ither imag imagin ina ativ tive nor immune immune from rom errors, errors, nor nor wa was he much uch of of a phi philologist and and he had practicall practically y no Gre Gree ek. Stil till, despit despite e hi his s weaknesses knesses,, Leto Leto was undoubtedly the most influential figure in the antiquarian world of his his tim time, and his hol hold upon upon archa archae eology wa was stil still po powerf werfull ully y felt duri during ng the Cinq Cinque uece cento nto.. Pomponio Leto’ eto’s wo work rk on on the the to topo pog graphy raphy of of ancie ancient nt Rome includ include ed a re revision ision of of the soso-ca calle lled Notitia regiomm Urbis,3 that is to to say one of the earl early y catal talogues ues of of the urban urban reg regions. It wa was arevisio revision, n, how however, whi which chwentwell wentwell beyond beyond amereemendati ndation on of faul ulty ty rea readings. dings. For Leto did did not not hesita hesitate te to inte interpola rpolate the text text with wi th data noti noticed ced by him in the Lati Latin n class classics ics or in inscr inscript iptio ions, ns, and to carry carry on wit with h this rev revision ision for for ma many years.4 years.4 But his his most most signifi significant cant work work in in this this field field whi which ch has rea reached ched us is his Excerpta, these these being being notes taken taken down from from his mouth mouth by one one of his 1 See for example example The Stati Statio ons of Ro Rome (In ve versefrom rom the V ernon Ms., ah. 1370 a.d., and in  Pro  Prosefrom th the Parkin kington Ms. J\ :o. 10, ab. 1460-70 a.d.) a.d.) and the Pilgrim rims Sea X 'oyagc, ed. J. Furnivall, (London, 1867);  A. X V century Gui Guide-book to the Prin Princ cipal Churches of Ro Rome compil ompiled c. 1470 by il- illiam Bre Brenyn, Translate ranslated from from the L atin atin with Intro Introduc ductio tion and and N otes by  C. F l - Wo  Woodruff , (Lon (L ondon don,, 1933 1933). ). Needless eedless to say say these these texts were were meant meant for for English English pilgrim pilgrims. s. 2T he fullest account of the Roma Roman n A cademy cademy is in V. V . Z abughin, abughin, Giulio Pomponio L eto, I, (Roma, 1909) 38-189. rafico della citta tta di di Roma, I, 89-188. 3Codice topografi 4G. B. De Rossi, ‘Note di topograiia romana raccolte dalla bocca di Pomponio Leto e testo testo pomponiano pomponiano della N otitia Regio Regionum num Urbis Romae Ro mae’, ’, Studi edo e documenti di storia ria e diri diritt ttoy  oy  rafico della cit citta di Roma, I, 207-58. III (1892) 74-86, Codice topografic

THE INHERITANCE OF FLAVIO BIONDO

77

pupils, pupils, while while Leto was gui uidi ding ng a forei reign ge gentle ntleman throug through h the ancient ncient ruins ruins of thecity.1T city.1The he text text of the Excerpta is,  is, and and unavo unavoid id ably bly so, so, somew somewhat hat bare. re. It fo follows a set itinera tinerary, ry, starting starting at the Fla Fl avian Amphit Amphithea heatre tre and endi ending ng at at the Capit Capito ol and naturall naturally y includi ncluding ng all the main sit site es. Y et de despite its its co conciseness ness it is quite quite suf sufficient icient to give an an ade adequ qua ate idea of Leto Leto’’s grasp rasp of of ancient ancient Roma Roman to topo pog graphy. raphy. As to when when the excur excurs sion ion whi which ch prompte prompted d the Exc the Excerpta too  took place place,, all we know know now now is that it must ust have occurred after 14 1484. Had it not not bee been so so he coul could d hardly hardly have have sai said when when me ment ntiioni ning ng the ‘a ‘ara maxi xima ma’ of Hercules Hercules,, that that it it had had bee been destroye destroyed d ‘tem ‘tempore X ysti II IIIF. F.2 2 Despi espite te its its extreme ske sketchi tchine ness ss the Excerpta is not devoid of interest. nterest. Fo Forr instance what what is sai said th there ere about bout the rem remains of of an ancient ncient sundial sundial unea unearthed rthed in the Ca Campo Marzio rzio,3 is of some some signif significa icance nce.. And it is inte interesti resting ng to note note that that it include includes s the first accur ccura ate indica indicatio tion n of of the site of Rome’ Rome’s Seven Hill Hills. s. Anti nti quari quaria an and and to topo pog graphi raphica call inf info orma rmatio tion wa was also also in included cluded in Leto’ eto’s metri metrica call acco account unt of of the lenten statio tions in the Roma Roman churche churches,4 s,4the the pious pious aim aim of of which which did not not prevent prevent him from referrin referring g here and there to ancient ncient rem remains of some some intere interest. Nor is anc anciient to topog pography raphy abse absent from from Le Leto to’’s univer universit sity y course courses on the La Latin tin cla classics ssics and and parti particularly cularly from from those on Va Varro and and Flo Fl orus,5 rus,5where where a bare bare hi hint nt in the text text is of often ten a suf sufficient excus excuse e for a substanti substantia al archae rchaeolog logical cal digre digression. ssion. Leto was, was, one onemay may say, say, aprof professio essiona nall. Y et as an archaeol rchaeolo ogist he wa was outdistance outdistanced d by Be Bernardo rnardo Ruce Rucelllai, that is is to say, say, by an an amateur. But after Leto and be before Bernardo Bernardo Rucel Rucelllai one may mention ntion the activ activit ities ies of of Rucella Rucellai’s prote protege Bartolo Bartolom meo Fonzio, Fonzio, who in Apri Aprill 1472, shortly shortly af after ter his his return to Flore Florence nce from Rome Rome, delig delight hted ed in enumer enumera ating ting in a lette letter to Ba Batt ttiista Guari uarino no6 6 those those Roma Roman mo monume numents which which had particul particularly arly im impresse pressed d him him. Wha What Barto Bartolo lome meo gave in this this letter letter wa was very very muc much h li like a cata catalo log gue. ue. Stil till in in spite spite of this it it is suf sufficient icient to disc disclo lose se to us us tha th at he looked at at the Roman Roman mo monuments quite quite intel intellligently ently and, and, furthermo urthermore, re, th tha at his archaeol archaeolo ogical cal lea learning rning wa was both both accura accurate te and upup-to to--date. date. It is also clear clear th tha at the Cla Claudian aqueduct queduct was  Notedi topografia ro?nana, 58-64, Codicetopografi rafico della citta tta di Roma, IV, 423— 1De Rossi, Not 36.

2Dc Rossi, Not  Note di topografia romana, 63. 3 Ibid. 60.  Hlementsd'ar 'archeologiechretienne>III, 4O. Marucchi, Hle III, (Paris-R (Paris-Rome ome,, 1909) 909) 63-66 63-66.. ulio Pomponio L eto, II, 112-36. 5Zabughin, Giulio  B..pi$tolarum L ibr ibri 7/ 1, ed. L. 6B. Fontius F ontius,, B L. Juhasz Juhasz,, (Budapest, (Budapest, 1931) 10-1 0- 12.

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the subje subject ct of of his specia speciall scrutiny: scrutiny: ‘Conspexi Conspexi omnium magnificentissimum centissimum aquaeductum, quaeductum, que quern div divus Clau Claudi dius us ad ad Cael Caelium usque usque montem perduxit perduxit et L. Septim ptimius Severus verus et et T. T. Aurel urelius  Ant  Antoninus Pius pluribus in locis corruptum restituerunt’. ’.1 1 Such an intere interest st in in aque aqueduc ducts ts pro prov ved ev even stro strong nger er in Bernardo Rucella Rucellai,2 who also shared red Fonzio Fonzio’’s enthusias nthusiasm m for epigra epigraphy, an enthusia enthusiasm sm that eventua eventuallly led Fonzi Fonzio o to asse ssemble a syll sylloge of of ancient inscriptions.3 Bernardo Bernardo Rucell Rucella ai (144 (1448-1514) was one of of the the sons of that that Giova iovanni nni Ruce Rucell lla ai w whom hom we we met ea earlie rlier in this chapter chapter.4 .4 The gap separa separati ting ng Bernardo Bernardo fro from m hi his s fa father was, ho howev wever, wider wider tha th an the the usual one between between two generati eneratio ons, for Berna Bernardo rdo wras an an accomplishe ccomplished d and upup-to to--date date huma humanist, whi hich ch Gi Giovanni was was obvi bviously usly not. not. As an antiqua ntiquari ria an, B Be ernardo rnardo was clea clearl rly y an innov innovato tor, r, who who combined combined Bi Biondo ondo’s ’s philo philolog logical me method wit with h the practica practicall approa pproach ch of of Al Alberti berti; all his work work wa was colour coloure ed by an indepe independe ndent nt judge judgement ment of of his ow own. To him him Alberti berti was the grea reatest of of all all stude students nts of of Ant Antiiquity quity and to him he was inde indebte bted d not only only fo for w wha hatt he lea learnt from from his De his Dere aedificatoria, but also also for his first first introduc introductio tion n to the ruins ruins of of Rome.5 Rome.5 For when hen Bernardo Bernardo visited sited Rome in 1471 tog together wit with h Lo Lorenzo renzo de’ Medici Medici and Dona Donato to Accia Acciaiuo iuolli, their guide guide throug through h the old ruins ruins had been none none other tha than Alber Alberti ti himse himself lf.6 .6 The chief chief purs pursuit uit of of Rucell Rucellai happe happene ned d to be pol politics. tics. But this this was an act ctiivity tempere tempered d by by a friends riendshi hip p wit with Pontano Pontano and rede redeem eme ed by by a warm adm admira irati tio on fo for Pom Pomponio Leto and Erm Ermo olao Barba Barbaro, ro, both both of whom whom we were quot quote ed with with approva pproval in the D the Deu eurrbe Roma.7  As far as ac acumen and le learning we were co concerned, Rucellai had certainl certainly y no serious rious riva rivals among those those contempora contemporarie ries s of his who wrote wrote on the to topo pog graph raphy y of of ancient ancient Rome. Here Here was a subj subje ect where where he he was absolutely absolutely up-to up-to--date date abo about ut archa archae eological disco discov veries and where where he show showed a unique unique competence competence in the the examina xaminati tio on of of ancie ancient nt buil building dings. s. When studying studying an antique ntique ruin ruin he wa was care carefful to compare its its fe feature tures with with those those of other other monume numents of the sam same period, period, even goi going as fa far as to check  check   Ihid. 11. 1 Ihid. 2 Inf  Infra, 79. 3 Ibid. 146, n.2. n.2. 4Supra, 73-74 73-74..  DeI'rbe Roma is printed talicarum Scriptores riptores 5Bernardo Rucellai’s  DeI'rb printed in J. Tartinius, artinius, R ernm Itali •. . ex I lore (F lorentiae iae,, 1748) 785 -1132. lorentinarum ntinarum ?>ib ?>ibliothecammCodicibns, II (Florent 6 Ibid.  H, H, 839. 839. 7 Ibid.  IT, 802, 816.

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wheth whether er th thei eirr respecti respectiv ve buil building ding techni technique ques s agree agreed d with with ea each othe ot her. r. Moreover Moreover Berna Bernardo rdo rel relied upon instruments instruments in in order rder to measure sure the ruins ruins and, like Bio Biondo, ndo, he did not not a appe ppea al sol solely to literary texts. He also conside considere red d coins, coins, inscripti nscriptio ons, and and works works of art art in in orde orderr to secure cure the answe nswers he soug sought ht.. He had had recourse recourse to drawing drawing in orde order to set dow down the outlines utlines of of this or that ancient ncient buil building,1 ding,1in in fa fact he omitted omitted no evi evide dence nce or line which which struck hi him m as potent potentiially valuabl valuable. e. In Rome Rucell Rucellai transcribed transcribed a consider considera able ble numbe numberr of of ol old inscriptio nscriptions and and was particul particula arly rly impresse impressed d by the rem remains of the ancient ncient aque aqueducts. ducts. On these these he actuall actually y went went as as far as to pla plan a treati treatise2 se2, but thi this s prov proved fa far mo more complex complex than he had had anticipa nticipate ted, d, so that that he he was fo force rced to give it up. up. Accordi ccordingly ngly the ant ntiiquarian quarian science science of Rucell Rucella ai is is to be soug sought ht instead in his his De Urbe Roma. Thi his s trea treatise tise which wa was wa warmly prai praised sed by Pie Pietro Crinit Crinito o,3 was add addre ress sse ed by the author uthor to his his son Pall Palla a and composed composed a few yea years af after 1495 1495..4 Origin riginall ally y it was me meant as an intro in troductio duction n to avast histo historica ricall compila compilatio tion5w n5whi hich chwas, howev however, never wri writt tten. en. Wha What we we hav have is a care carefful comm comme ent nta ary on th the e  Notitia regionum Urbis, asc ascribe ribed d to Publius Publius Vi Victor, ctor, whi hich ch wa was follo llowed by Ruce Rucelllai in in the interpo nterpolate lated d text prepa prepare red d by Pomponio Pomponio Le Leto to,6 ,6 thoug though h he he did not ov overloo rlook som some e ancie ncient nt copie copies s of the No the Notitia fo  forme rmerly belong belongiing to Cardina Cardinall Bessa Bessario rion, n, whi hich ch he saw saw in Venice Venice amo among ng th the e volumes be bequea queathed by tha that prelate prelate to the Venetian netian Republic. Republic.7 7  Aft  After an introduction in which he discussed the foundation of Rome Rome, its its earl early y site site and shape shape,, as well well as its its wal walls and ga gates, Rucell Rucellai p pro roce cee eded ded with with his his comme commentary ntary in the the way way usual usually adopted by huma humanists in the the expla xplanati natio on of of class classica icall texts. texts. Every ery entry in the No the Notitia w  wa as thus comme commented upon upon with with the the help of a very impress impressiv ive e array rray of of authori authoriti tie es. Inscripti nscriptio ons unea unearthed rthed onl nly y re recentl cently y we were ofte often n quo quoted ted in ful fulll,8 and so so were were som some e 1 Ibid. II, 828, 844. 2 Ibid. IT, 882.  IJimiam iamsta Bernardo Ruc Rucellai, (Liv 3G. Pellegrini, IJim (L ivorno orno,, 1920 1920)) 15. 4F. Gilbert, ‘Ber ‘Bernar nardo do Rucel Rucella laii and and the the Orti O rti Oriccllar O riccllari’, i’,  Jou  Journal of th the War Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, X II (1 (1949) 949) 108, 110, n. 1. 5Tartiriius, op. cit. II, 783-4. On which sec supra, 76. As the text follo follow wed by Rucellai Rucellai placed placed the ‘Therma hermae e Philippi Philippi Caesa Caesar ris Augu Augusti sti’’ in the third region, region, cf. T artinius, artinius, op. ci II, 847, the ‘Gra ‘G raecostasis’ ecostasis’ in the cit. II, eighth, ibid. II,  II, 914, etc. it is clear that the text text used by Rucellai Rucellai was that interpolated by  Leto. 7 Ibid. II, 823, 1016. 8See for instance ibid. II, 896.

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haili hailing from from as far as Rimin Riminii and and Brescia Brescia.1 .1 As fa far as inscriptio inscriptions were were conce concerne rned, he obvi bviously did did not rely entire entirelly on copie copies taken by by himself himself,, indeed indeed it it seems fa fairly rly certain certain that he had had under his ey eyes the syllo sylloge put together together by Fra Giocondo iocondo,2 ,2 the first irst rece recensio nsion n of of which had bee been actuall actually y dedica dedicated ted to Rucella ucellai’s own brotherbrother-inin-la law w Lor Lorenzo de de’ Me Medici.3 Occas casiona ionally lly Ruce Rucellai llai omitted mitted to comm comment upon an entry entry in in the No the Notitia and mo more than once we we find find him referring referring to some some particul particula ar ma manuscript, such such as the fa famous Flore Florenti ntine ne Pandects,4 ndects,4or some of the ma manuscripts nuscripts bequ beque eathed thed to Ve Venice by Card Cardina inall B Be essa ssarion.5 rion.5 Nor Nor is it it un commo common to find hi him m examini examining ng and discussing discussing a particular particular point point and weighi weighing ng up up the authorit uthority y of of one class classica icall writer writer against that of another. nother. Nee Needless dless to say, say, Rucella Rucellai did did not not inv inva aria riably bly ag agree ree wi with the  viiews put for  v forward by other antiquaries. Thu Thus he firmly rejected the curre current nt ide identi ntifficati icatio on of of the ‘Amphithea ‘Amphitheatrum trum Castre Castrense’ nse’ with with tha th at of of Sta Stati tillius Ta Taurus: ‘Neque Neque me latet fore ple plerosq rosque ue,, qui theatrum theatrum hoc Stati Statillii Tauri opus opus fuisse putent, quod absonum absonum est ab ab eo genere struct structurae urae,, eaque operum mag magni nifficentia centia, quae quae per per Aug Augusti usti tem tempora clarue claruere re.’ .’6 6 The identity identity of of the eque questria strian n bronze bronze figure of Ma Marcus rcus Aureli Aurelius us challeng challenged ed hi him m. Here Here the rig right identif identifica icatio tion n had had be been actua actuall lly y rea reached ched by Pla Platina tina.7 .7 All the same Rucell Rucellai was not not so fa far off off the mark mark when he put put fo forward rward the th e nam name of Anto Antoni ninus nus Pi Pius: ‘Exstat xstat eti etia amnum ad Latera Laterana ex aere statua permag permagna insidens nsidens equo, cuius cuius eff effigies, es, quod quod ea eadem sit quae in numm nummis veteri eteris s nota notae e, adpare dparett iin n hono honore rem m M.  Ant  Antonini Pii percussis, eiusdem principis opus fuisse perhibetur.’8 Conce Concerning rning the ‘Ae ‘Aedes Io Iovis Victo Victoris’ ris’ he pointed pointed out out that that ‘extat ‘extat et in numm nummis a Domitiano omitiano perc percus uss sis titulus titulus inscriptus inscriptus IO IOVI  VICTOR  VICTORI’ I’,9 ,9a and he was only too ready to intervene in the debate on the interpretati interpretatio on of of na names and and surna surnames, pa parti rticula cularly rly of of imperi mperia al ones, ones, on certa certaiin ancient ancient inscri inscripti ptio ons.1 ns.10 1 Ibid.  II, II, 809, 1117. 2T o give an example example the the inscription inscription from Brcsc Brcscia, ia, C.I.L.  V .l, 4365, whi which Ruc Rucellai gives in full, cf. T Tar artinius, tinius, op. cit. II, II, 1117, occurs occurs also in the sylloges of Felice Feliciano, Feliciano, Michele Ferrarini and Fra Giocondo.  Infra, 150. 3 Inf 4Tartinius, op. cit. II, 797. 5Supra, 79. cit. II, 6 Tartinius, op. ci II, 87 874. Such belief belief had had been been held, fo for instan instance, ce, in Blondus,  Roma instaurata, I, 87. 7B. Platyna, Lib ed. G. Gayda, (Cit (Citt& t& di Castello,  L ibe er de vita ita Chr Christi ac omniumpontifi ificum, ed. 1913-32) 418. cit. II, 921. 8Tartinius, op. ci 9 Ibid. II, 1054.  Ibid. II, 796-98.

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Besi Besides des the the D  De e Urbe Roma  Rucella Rucellai was also the author uthor of of a  De  De Ma Magistratibus Romanorum veterum commentarius,x but his ‘mag magnum opus’ opus’ wa was undoubt undoubtedly edly the D the Deu eurrbeRoma. After ter it the study of of Rom Roman anti antiquiti quitie es could could no llo onger nger be conducte conducted d on on the same lines as befo before. re. Sources urces were were hencef henceforth to be more more  va  v aried; in fact an antiquarian was henceforth expected to adopt a technique technique real really no not so dissimil dissimila ar from from that that fo follow lowed by Poiitian in the  Mi  Miscellanea  and and by Ermo rmolao Ba Barbaro rbaro in in the Castig tigatio ationes Pli Plini niana anae. He was expected expected to have have an eye for ancie ncient works works of of art art and and displ displa ay an an acti activ ve interest nterest in in excav xcavatio tions with wit h archa archaeol eolo ogical cal aims aims or yi yiel eldi ding ng archa archaeol eolo ogical cal results. results. These hese were, were, howe howev ver, er, counsels of of perf perfe ectio ction, and the fact that that Rucella Rucellai’s i’s trea treatise tise had had onl only y the very limited limited circulatio circulation n of of a work in manus manuscript cript in in the ag age of of print printiing also contributed contributed to the failure at at once and univ universa ersally lly to conform conform to his exacti xacting ng sta stand nd ards. rds. Thus the short acc acco ounts of of Rome by Fabriz Fabrizio io Varano rano and Raffaele Volaterra laterrano no do not not conf conform orm wit with h such such exacting exacting standa standards, rds, but but then then also as as schol schola ars they did did not not belong belong to Rucellai’s class. The sle slende nderr tract tract by Fabrizi Fabrizio o Varano, rano, a son of of the Lord of of Cam Camerino Rodolf odolfo o IV IV Varano rano and and himsel himself bishop of this this to tow wn from 14 1482 unt until his dea death in 1508,2 is certa certain inly ly rather rather dis dis appoi ppointing. nting. Fo Forr one wo woul uld d have expected xpected somethi something ng more thoro thoroug ugh h from a huma humanist whose hose Latin po poetry fo found appre apprecia cia tio tion among among hi his s contem contempo pora raries3a ries3and who whom m Eg Egnazi nazio o cal called rath rather er exubera xuberantly ntly ‘v ‘vir delin ing gua latina be benemeriti meritiss ssimus imus’’.4 To Egnazi nazio o  Var  Varano presented a copy of the pseudo-Pu -Publius Vic Victor,5th 5that is to say a text one one woul would expe expect ct to be in the hands hands of of a student student of of Roma Roman to topo pog graphy. raphy. Such uch a study was not, howe howev ver, er, carried carried  ve  v ery far far by by Var Varano, for for his De  De Urbe Roma Co Collectanea6 th thoug ough  Be ernardi Oric Oricellarii de Mag Magistratibus Rom Romanorum V eterum Commentarius, cd. 1 B cd. I. E. E . I.  Wa  Walchius, (Li (Lip psiae, 17 1752). 2O n him him see see particularly particularly Tudovici F a^are ^arelli Septempedani . . . B  Bo ombjx,  ed. J. F. Lancillottius, (Aesii, 1765) 44-46, 44-46, A. A. Lu L u zio  and R. Renier, ‘La ‘La coltura coltura e le rclaztoni letterar  letterarie ie di  zio and rnale stori storic co della le letteratura itali taliana, X X X I X (1902) 249-51 Isabella Isabella d’Este d’E ste Gonzaga’, Giornale 249-51. 3Among whom Angelo A ngelo Colocci, who who included included his nam name in his his list of o f poets, poets, cf. Vatica Vatican n Library, Ms. Vat. V at. lat. 3450 3450,, f. 56r. 4 Mar  Marti A ntonii Sabellici annotationes  . . .  Joannis Baptiste FLgtiatii V eneti Rac Racemationesy  (Venetiis, (Venetiis, 1508) f. LX L X X V 1I IV. 5 Ibid.  loc. cit. Varano Varano was also also the the author of a commentary commentary on Ausonius Ausonius now now lost, lost,  wh  which was sup supposed to have have be been pl plagiarised by Marian iangelo Accu Accursio, io, cf. A. Cam Campana, ‘Accursio (Accorso), Mariangelo’, Di^ionario Biografico degli Ita (Roma, 1960) 960) 128. Italiani, I, (R Pomponius niusF Faetii tiis. FabriciusCamers. R. V olaterran rranus us. De D eUrbe 6First printed in P. V ictor. Pom  Ro  Roma. Scribentes, (Bononiae, 1520) isca et nova varii 520) ff. ff. A A lr-B r-BB4r, and and again again in De Roma prisc auctores, (Romae,  (Romae, 1523) 523) ff. gg3rgg3r-hh2v hh2v..

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div divided into headings headings according ccording to the tradit traditiional nal class classif ifica icati tio on sti still adopted in Rena Renaissa issance desc descripti riptio ons of of Rom Rome, is real really li litt ttlle more than than a conge congeries of of undig undigested ested jo jott ttiings, cle clearly rly not not me meant for publica publicatio tion. n. The Collectanea in Collectanea incl cludes udes some measureme surements of the th e circuit circuit of of the city city w wa alls tta aken from rom ancient autho authors, rs, such such as Pliny, Vopiscu piscus, s, and the jurists Paul Paul and Ma Marcell rcellus, us, as w well ell as the th e actua actuall length length of these these walls in his own time time.1 .1 Some ome ext extre reme mely ly sketchy sketchy note notes are are gi given about about some some of of the ma main mo monume numents and onl nly y once once is the autho authority rity of an inscripti inscriptio on appe appea aled to to,, this being being in in connection connection with with the Claudian Claudian aque aqueduct, duct, where he mentio ntioned th tha at ‘li ‘literae in ta tabula bula ma marmo rmorea rea apud hospi hospitalem talem Sancti Jo Joannis nnis La Latera terani ni ostendu ostendunt’ nt’.2 .2 Errors rrors are, and inevit inevita ably bly so, so, not not quite absent bsent fro from m hi his s pag pages. Thus the sma small round round tem temple by the Tibe iber is still still indica indicated ted as that that of Ve Vesta,3 sta,3whil while e the the Sistine stine bridge is ide identi ntiffied with nothi nothing ng less less than than the Subli ublicius.4 cius.4 But one one should not not bla blame Varano rano to too o much uch fo for what what he sa says in a tract tract obvi bviously unrevi unrevised sed and and not not real really mea meant to be published. The intere interest st of Va Varano’ rano’s s littl little e tract tract is fairly irly sligh slight. t. Y et it is perha perhaps worth worth noti noticin cing g, if fo for nothi nothing ng else just as an exa exam mple of of the th e att ttra racti ctio on exerted by the Roma Roman ruins ruins upon upon a medio diocre huma humanist, whose hose main intere interest lay in Latin versif versifica icati tion. on. It woul wo uld d be there thereffore invidi invidio ous to compa compare his effort ort in the the ant ntiiquari quaria an field field with with ttha hatt o off Raf Raffaele Maffei, bett bette er known known as  Vol  Volaterrano (1451-15 -1522) not only because Maffei was a humanist of a diff different calibre,5 calibre,5but but also also beca because his desc descripti ription on of Rom Rome, thoug though h also also printed printed sepa separa rately,8 tely,8 was rea really part part of of his his own ‘mag ‘magnum opus opus’’, the six sixth th boo book of of his mass massiv ive e Commentaria Urbam, first printed printed in 1506.7 As an an anti antiqu qua arian rian Ma Maffei did did not belo belong to the sa same class class as Bio Biondo and and Rucell Rucellai. None None the less he wa was endowe endowed d with with a crit critical mind and posse possesse ssed d a good ma mastery of the Gree reek and Latin tin class classics. ics. His His huma humanist int nte erests rests show show conside considera rabl ble e leani nings ngs to tow wards archaeol archaeolo ogy.  P, V ido idor. Pomponius L aetus . . . De UrbeRoma Scribentes, f. 1 P,  f. A A lr. Here ere Varano arano relied elied on Blondus, Roma instaurata, I, I, 3. iiis L aetus . . . De DeUrbeR om oma scribentes scribentes, f. BB2T 2P. V ictor. V omponiii BB2T. 3 Ibid. f. AA2v. 4 Ibid. f. AA2r. 6 On Maff Maffe ei se see now P. P. Pasc Paschin hini, i, ‘Una fami famigl glia ia di cur curial iali— i— I Ma Maffe ffei di Volter Vo lterra’ ra’,, Rivista di storia della Ckiesa in Italia, VII (1953) 344-69. 6P. V ictor. lr- I I lr.  De Roma tor. Pomponius L aeius . . . De D e Urbe Roma Scribe ribentes, fi. G G lrpri prisca et nova vari varii auctores, ff. hh4r-kk3v. tariora ioram m Urbanorum L ibri X X X V III,  (Romae, 7R. Volaterranus, Commentar (Romae, 1506) 506) ff. Kir-K4r.

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Here was a field where he certa certainl nly y had had a sharp sharp eye for the the releva relevant and where he loo looked with with grea reat in intere terest st at excav excavatio tions. Litt ttlle wonder then, then, that he he did did not not omit omit to rem remember ber those underta undertake ken n by his brother M Ma ario, rio, later later Bishop Bishop of Aquino Aquino,1 ,1 who share shared d his ant antiiquarian quarian taste tastes. s. The importa portance nce of epiepigraphic raphic sources did did not not esca escape hi him, m,2 2 and in in one case he also mentio ntioned ned the rev reverse of a Roma Roman coin coin in order rder to confirm confirm a poin point. t.3 3 News of of the discove discovery of of anc ancie ient nt statu tue es certa certainl inly y ga gave him a th thri rilll! Thus that that of the ~La Laocoon filled illed hi him m with such enthusia enthusiasm th tha at he hastene hastened d to add a short short parag paragraph raph about bout it it in the Commentaria, 4 when when the vo volume was already already in in the press.5 press.5 Maffei sta started his account account of anci ancient Ro Rome by exami examini ning ng the actual ori orig gin of of the city city’s ’s na name. Wha What hegave were ere not, how however, his hi s personal personal vi views ews on on the subject; subject; for h he e pref preferred rred instead to repea repeat the various various opini opinio ons abo about ut it, it, whi hich ch he had had rea read in some some cla classical writers, writers, from rom whom whom he also gathered al all the na names of of the earl early y tribes tribes of of Rome Rome that he he could could find find.. He chose chose to quote in full full an inscriptio inscription supplying supplying the num number ber of of the urba urban n reg regions,6 ns,6 and he did did not not hesit hesita ate to off offer an an em emendation tion to the text text of  Var  Varro7 a propos of of the spelling of Ago Agonius: ‘q ‘quamquam apud  Varronem Aeg Aegonius sc scribitur.’8 Maffei di divided hi his de description of ancient ncient Ro Rome according ccording to subjects: that is to say, the there were were sectio sections ns deal dealing wit with h tthe he ga gates, the the bridge bridges, s, the forums, rums, and so so on. The probl problem here here was obv obviously to kee keep the descripti descriptio on as as concise as possible, whi hich ch led inev ineviitably tably to an extreme treme sketchi sketchines ness, s, rede redee emed, med, howe howev ver, to some ext xte ent by the th e competence competence wi witth which which Maffei ha handled ndled hi his s materials, as well as by his his schola scholarly prese presenta ntati tio on of the subject subject matter. tter.  A deep in interest in Ro Roman an antiquity wa was obv obviously be behind it it, such an an intere interest st being being also rev revealed by his Vi Virgili rgilian hexa hexa meters ters,, where here he desc describe ribed d the origins rigins of Rome Rome.9 .9 The poem poem 2  Ibid.  f. K2 ^  etc. 1 Ibid.  f. f. K3v. f.  K2V. 3 Ibid. f. K3r. K3r. ^ Ibid. f. 5 Since ince the the discovery discovery of theL aosoott only took place in January January 1506, 506, cf. infra, 103, and the the vol volum ume e was issued on 19 February February 1506. 506. 6 Volater Volaterra ranus, nus, op. cit.  f. f. K lr. 7Varro, De lingua latin VI , 14. ina a, VI, 8Volaterranus, op. cit.  f. K2r. A short account account o f some monuments monuments in Rome written in 1505 505 by a member of the Venetian embassy embassy which which went went to Rome Rome to bring Venice’s Venice’s obedience to Pope Juliu Julius s II, II, is printed printed in E. E. Miintz, ‘Les ‘Les monument monuments s antiqu antiques es de Rome &  Rev/ a A rcbeologiqu ique, ser. Tepoque de ia Renaissance’, Re ser. 3, 3, III III (1 (1884) 884) 298298-305. 305. On its date and and on its not being by Bernardo Bernardo Bembo see see A . Campan Campana, a, ‘I ‘Intorno all’ all’ incisore Gian Battista Battista  Maso V imguerra, I (1 Palumba e al pittore Jacopo Rimpacta (Repanda)’,  Ma (1936) 936) 175-76. 75-76. isca et nova varii andores, ff. qq3r-rr3r. 9Printed in De Roma prisc

84

THE INHERITANCE OF FLAVIO BIONDO

in question, the D the De e origine Urbis, was typica typicall of of the Latin tin ve verse reci recited ted in the the Roma Roman Aca Acade demy my on fo forma rmal occasio occasions. ns. To write write on Rome Rome’’s antiquit ntiquities ies wa was not, not, how however, a comple complete huma humanist mo monopoly. nopoly. It had had not not bee been so so in the fifte iftee enth century, century, and it wa was stil still not not so in the days of of Va Varano rano and Maffei. There was sti still a cliente clientele le for popul popula ar and semi-po mi-popular pular accounts, where humani humanist st sophi sophisti stica cati tio on was repla replaced ced by a genuine enuine enthusiasm nthusiasm,, but by little tle else. lse. The A he An ntiquarieprospetiche, which an obscure obscure Mila Milanese painter painter addre addresse ssed d to to no less less than than Leon Leona ardo da Vinci and chose chose to publi publish in Rom Rome about bout 15001is a case in point. point. For the author, who who hid his identity identity by call calliing hi himse mself lf ‘Prospe Prospecti ctiv vo Melanese lanese depi depicto ctore re’’ was not not the the man one would would have expected xpected to see enga engaged in archa archaeol eolo ogical cal activ activity. His His work wo rk is in in Itali Italia an verse verse, atrocio trocious verse verse at that, and it is is real really in the nature nature of a cata catalo log gue. ue. Y et, thoug though h he rightl rightly y styled hi him m self ‘idi ‘idio oto to’’,2tha ,2 thatt is to say wit witho hout ut letters letters,, he def definite initely had an an eye eye for wo works rks of art, art, so th tha at whe where rea as what what he tells tells us about bout the monuments is is fa fairly rly irrelevant, irrelevant, his rema remarks about about Ro Roman coll collec tions tions of antique antiques3 s3a are not without thout some intere interest. By the beg beginnin inning g of of the six sixte tee enth century century the co colle llecting cting of of sta statuary, inscri inscript ptiions, and other other antique ntiques wa was being being rega regarded with wit h gre grea ater intere interest than than hithe hitherto rto.. This is evi vide dent nt from from the literary terary rem remains of France ncesco Albertini Albertini (fl. (fl. 1493-1510),4 ),4 which are also of some somein inter tere est in in show showing how how bythis this time timethe Mi  Mirabilia were were no lo longer satisf tisfyi ying ng even those those who were were not not profe professiona ssionall antiqua ntiquari ria ans. Albertini bertini himse himsellf cannot be conside considere red d a rea real scho scholar lar.. He was in fa fact a gifted amateur teur wit with h a flair for vul ulga gar r isati satio on and and an an eye eye for wo works of art5 art5;; not for noth nothiing had he bee been a pupil of Ghirla G hirlanda ndaio io in Fl Florenc orence e,6w ,6which make makes s one wonder nder wheth whether er he he may have bee been the autho authorr of of the the drawin drawing gs of Rome Rome and Roma Roman antiquitie antiquities no now at at the Esco Escorial, rial,7w 7whi hich ch clea clearly be betray tray 1Reprinte Reprinted d in G. G. G ovi, ovi, T ntorno a un opuscolo rar rarissimo della fine del del secolo X V  Prospettiche Romane composteper Pro Prospettivo ivo MilaneseDipin Dipintore\ A tti della intitolato A ntiquarie Pro  Reale A ccademia dei Fi Fin ncei, ser. 2, III, (1 (1876) 876) 39—66. 2 Ibid. 49. 3 See See especially ibid.  49-50.  Di^Jonario bio biografico 4 O n Albertini see see now J. Ruyssch Ruysschae aer rt, " Alber Albertini, tini, Francesco’, ancesco’,  Di^ degli Italiani, I, (Roma, (Roma, 196 1960) 0) 724-25 724-25 and and the bibliography bibliography ibid. 725. 5This is also shown by his Me  Memorial ialedi moltestatueepitt itturenella citt itta di Fi Firrenze, (Florentia, 1510). piisculum de mirabil rabilibus novae ct veteris ris Urb Urbis Romae,  (Romae, 6F. Albertinus, Opiis (Romae, 1510) f. rafic co 101r. 01r. The section section of of this this wo work dealing with with ancicnt ancicnt Rome Rome may may be read in Codice topografi dellacitta diRo diRoma, IV  I V ,462-546 462-546.. An edition ofthe ofthe section section on the new Rome by A. Schmarsow  chmarsow   wa  was pu publish ished at at Heil Heilbronn in in 1886. urialensis— Sin Ski Sk i^enbuch aus We Werkstatt rkstatt Do Domenico 7Reproduced Reproduced in H. E gger, gger, Codex E scuriale Ghirlandaio, (Wien, (Wien, 1906). 906).

R o m e , M u s e o L a t e ra ra n e n s e . R o m a n u rn r n w i t h t h i rt r t e e n th t h c e n t u r y in i n s c r i p ti t i o n in h o n o u r o f S t . A g n e s a n d S t . A l e x a n d e r. r.

PLATE 1

C h u r c h o f S an a n D o m e n i c o , O r v i e to t o , A r n o lf l f o d i C a m b i o , T o m b o f C a r d in i n a l G u i ll l l a u m e di Braye, upper part.

PLATE

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Left eft hand hand section section of o f the the view view of Rome in in Har H artma tmann nn Schedel’s Schedel’s Liber Cronicarum (N urember uremberg, g, 1493) 493). PLATE 6

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Fifteenth ifteenth century century statue statue of O vid. vid.

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PLATE 13

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Bronze cast of an engrav ed am ethy st formerly in the c ollection ollecti on o f Pope Pa ul II, sh ow ing it in a frame frame w ith the coat of arms he held w hen still a Cardinal.

Museo degli Argenti, Florence. Cup formerly in the collection collection of Lorenzo Lorenzo de ’M edici the Magnificent.

PLATE 16

THE INHERITANCE OF FLAVIO BIONDO

85

a han hand d trained by that tha t painter. H ad Albertini lived to-day he would perhaps have been the author of discursive guide books,  paa c k e d w ith  p it h in inff o r m a tio ti o n an and d n o t p a rtic rt icul ular arly ly or orig igin inal al.. It was in the household of Cardinal Fazio Santoro in Rome that Albertini composed his Opusculum novae et veteris Urbis  Romae.  Romae. But Bu t the suggestion sugge stion to write it had actuall actually y come from Cardinal Cardinal G aleotto della della R overe,1 who had ha d express expressed ed the wish wish to see a reli reliabl ablee and up-to-date up- to-date guide o f the city. city. W hile the Opus  culu  culum m  is invaluable for the information it supplies on contem  poo r a r y R om  p omee , it i t cert ce rtai ainl nly y co c o nsti ns titu tute tess n o lan la n d m a rk in th thee de devv elo el o p m en entt of antiquarian scie scienc nce. e. Ev Even en its its avowed aim to replace replace the the  Mira  M irabili bilia a  had really been anticipated a couple of generations earlier ear lier by Biondo. Biond o. W ha hatt Albertini Albe rtini really really achieved was a new  Mira  M irabil bilia, ia,   a handbook meant for the cultured visitor to Rome, where medieval legend was replaced by the new knowledge resulting from ab about out a century o f humanist investigati investigation. on. Its structure is stil stilll that tha t o f the old o ld  Mirab  Mi rabilia ilia  with the subject matter still subdivided in the traditional way, its chapters dealing with thee walls, th walls, the ‘viae’ ‘viae’,, the theatres, theatres , etc. etc. I t is is in fact a kind o f swollen catalogue, nor is such an arrangement abandoned in the second part, where Albertini dealt with the Rome of his own time. But her heree similari similariti ties es w ith the  Mirab  Mi rabilia ilia ceas cease. e. F o r A lbertini lbertin i did n o t hesit hesitate ate to summ on to his aid al all the source sourcess on o n which w hich he could lay his hands, thus revealing the considerable range of his reading. Clas Classi sica call texts used by him included not no t only the better known authors and the catalogues of the regions, naturally in the text revised by Pomponio Leto, but also Festus, Vitruvius, and Frontinus, on whom he of course relied for his section on aqueducts. He was obviously at hom e w ith inscriptions, and  besid  be sides es re rely lyin ingg o n th thee ev evid iden ence ce th thee y supp su pplie lied, d, he o fte ft e n q u o ted te d them the m in full full,, no t hesitating to include some discovered only very recently. recently.2 2 Like other antiquari antiquarians, ans, he did not ignore the eviden evidence ce offered offe red by ancient an cient coins.3 coins.3 B ut perhaps w ha hatt shows most m ost clearl clearlyy the range of his interests is his references to humanist writings. For here besides Petrarch, Biondo, Leto, and Poggio, we also find appeals to the authority of Alberti, Landino, Pietro Marsi, Beroaldo, and a nd Raffa Raffael elee Maf affe fei. i. Like so many o f hi hiss cont c ontem em po por r aries, he too was taken in by Annio da Viterbo’s outrageous forgeries of ancient texts and antiquities, just as he did not ’Albertinus, op. cit. f.A 3v 3v.. 3 Ibid.   ff. ff. G2V G 2V,, Mlv M lv .

2 Ibid.  f. C^.

86

THE INHERITANCE OF FLAVIO BIONDO

escape the usual mistakes, such as the identification of the small temple by the T iber ibe r with w ith that o f Vesta,1 Vesta,1 or the attribution attribu tion o f the w ell-know ell-kn own n Dioscur Dios curi2 i2 to Pheidias and a nd Praxitel Praxiteles. es. A lbertini’ lbe rtini’ss account acc ount of o f ancient ancie nt Rom e is certainly valuable. It is so particularly because of what he tells us about excavations and recent archaeological discoveries, and also because of the information he gives about the Roman collections of antiques in hi hiss time. time. I t certainl certainly y pro prove ved d som ething o f a best-sel best-seller ler du during ring the first quarter of the sixteenth century, as is brought home to us by its n o less less th thaa n five five ed editions itions betw be twee een n 1510 1510 and 15 1523 23.3 .3 N o r did it lack at least least one im im itator. F o r his his example example foun found d a follower in Fra M ariano da Firenze, who w ho based his itinerary o f Rom e4 upon up on A lbertini’s lbertini’s Opusculum. This Fra Mariano Mariano was was very probably in R om omee in 15 1516— 16—17s an and d had ha d alm a lmost ost certainly visited visite d the th e city  bef  b efor ore. e. I t w as, as , h o w e v er er,, n o t in R om ome, e, b u t in th thee m o n a ste st e ry o f San Girolamo at Volterra, that he finished his  Itinerarium  Itinerarium Urbis  Romae  on Septem Se ptember ber 1s 1st, 151 1518. 8.6 6 Fra M ariano too was credulous enough eno ugh to belie believe ve in the forgeries forgeries of Annio An nio da Viterbo. It was in fact on them and on the Latin version of Plutarch’s Vita  Romuli   by Tortelli, that he based his account of the origins of Rome. But despite despite the many source sourcess he quoted, which w hich ranged from Plutarch to Beroaldo’s commentary on Suetonius, from Bede to Leto and Raffaele Maffei, his main guide remained Albertini, from whom he differed only in the arrangement, which is according to ‘itinera’ and not subject matter and by his m entioning churches churches alongs alongside ide w ith the ancient remains. remains. He also talked about recent discoveries and supplied the texts of inscriptions, though here his sources were not direct ones, but the Opusculum of Albertini. To say that nothing new on ancient Rome was supplied by the  Itinerarium  Itinerarium  of Fra Mariano M ariano is certainl certainly y true. Something Som ething new was, however, supplied instead by the works of Andrea Fulvio (c. 1470-1 1470-152 527), 7),77 whose Latin epigram in praise praise o f Albertini figured on the frontispiece of the first edition of the Opusculum. 1 Ibid.  f. Mlv. 2 Ibid.  ff. P 4 V—Q l r . 3 Editions of it appeared in Rome in 1510, 1515, and 1523, in Basle in 1519 and in Lyons in 1520.  Itinerariu m Urbis Romae,   ed. E. Bulletti, (Roma, 1931). 4 Fra Mariano da Firenze,  Itinerarium *Ibid.   111.  Ib id..  237. ® Ibid  A n n a li 7 O n wh om see R. W eiss, eiss, ‘An ‘An drea Fu lvio antiqu ario R om ano (c. 1470-15 1470-1527)’ 27)’,,  An della Scuola JSformale Superiors di Pisa — Uettere, Uettere, storia e filosofia , scr. 2, XXVIII (1959) 1-44.

THE INHERITANCE OF FLAVIO BIONDO

87

The difference between the antiquarian activity of Albertini and that tha t of o f Fulvio Fu lvio is, is, however, howeve r, very considerabl considerable. e. It is real really ly the difference between a gifted amateur and a professional trained in the school school of Pom ponio Leto. Le to. Fulvio’ Fu lvio’ss firs firstt antiquari antiquarian an work w ork was pub publishe lishedd in 151 1513. 3. But Bu t his archaeological studies studies ha had d started long before in in the day days o f Pom ponio Leto, for whom w hom he secure securedd at least one ancient inscription insc ription,1 ,1 and he was probab prob ably ly the ‘Andreas Andre as Praenestinus’ who contributed a Latin epigram to the  Prisc  Priscoru orum m  Herou  Heroum m Stemmata  o f Thomas O chsenbrunner,2 chsenb runner,2 a work wo rk published in Rome Ro me in 14 1494. Yet Ye t despite this and other oth er early activity, activity, he did not hasten to put the results of his antiquarian studies into w riting. A lbertini also also secured some help from Fulvio.3 O n the other hand, as we saw, Fulvio waited until 1513 before  prr o d u c in  p ingg his firs fi rstt w o r k o n ar arch chae aeol olog ogy, y, th thee  Anti  A ntiqu quar aria ia Urbis.* Urbis.* A poem p oem in Latin L atin hexamet hexameters ers dedicated dedicated to Pope Leo L eo X , the  A n t i quaria, sets out to describe the topography of ancient Rome, or, more exactly, what was still left of the old monuments and  buil  bu ildi ding ngss w ith it h o u t, ho how w e v er er,, o v e r lo looo k in ing g a lto lt o g e th thee r th thee m o re striking achievements of the new Rome of the Renaissance.  Nee  N eedle dless ss t o say Fu F u lv lvio io was he here re in indd e b ted te d to som so m e e x ten te n t to b o t h Biondo and Albertini. A lbertini. But he als also o shows in it hi hiss use of o f ancient inscriptions and an appreciation of some of the alterations undergone unde rgone by the old m onum onuments ents in in the the course course of time. time. In spite of this it was certainly not, nor was it meant to be, a very full and detailed detailed account. accoun t. This was perceived by by Pope Pop e Leo X, who accordingly encouraged Fulvio to prepare a much fuller  pro  p rose se ve vers rsio ionn o f it i t .5 T h e ad advi vice ce o f P o p e L eo was wa s du duly ly fo foll llow owee d  by A n dr dree a F ul ulvi vioo . Sever Se veral al years yea rs w er ere, e, ho how w e v e r, to elapse elap se  befo  be fore re it m ater at eria ializ lized ed,, f o r his m assiv as sivee  Antiq  An tiquit uitate atess Urbis appeared only in the th e spring o f 15 1527,® just a few weeks before the tro troop opss o f Charles V brought death and desolation upon Rome. It is is no exaggeration to say that tha t the the  Anti  A ntiqu quita itates tes  (incidentally this w o rd already already has has here the th e mod m odern ern meaning me aning of o f ‘antiquities’ antiqu ities’77) shows the results of a lifetime dedicated to the study of ancient Rome. Fulvio did not look at the the ruins ruins with w ith the the eye eyes of o f an architect, but rather with those of a historian and antiquarian, 1 Ibid. 3. 2 Ibid.  15-16. 3 Ibid. 6.  An tiquar uaria ia Urbis, (Romae, 1513). 4A. Fulvius,  Antiq  An drea ea Fulvio antiquaria antiquaria Romano, 30. 5 Weiss,  Andr  A ntiq iqui uita tate tess Urbis,  (S.L.N.A.). 6A. F ulv ius,  Ant 7Momigliano, Contributo alia storia degli studi classiciy 73-74.

88

THE INHERITANCE OF FLAVIO BIONDO

 ju st as B io  just ionn d o h a d d o n e b e fo fore re hi him m . A n d , like lik e his g re reaa t p r e d e  cessor cessor,, Fulvio did d id n o t limit limit his his sources to the th e literary literary fiel field. d. He in fact made a wide use of inscriptions, of which he frequently gave the text in full full.. N o r were we re these these clas classi sica call only, only, but bu t medieval medieval and even contemporary inscriptions were also considered by him, just as he did not overlook the evidence offered by ancient coins.1 coins.1 T he scheme followed by him is reminiscent rem iniscent of that tha t followed in Biondo’s  Roma instaurata, and really amounts to a grouping gro uping o f the various antiquit antiquities ies according to their nature na ture but, if anything, more consistently than in the treatise of Biondo.  Na  N a tu tura rall llyy e n o u g h F u lv lvio io t o o be bew w aile ai led d th thee un unce ceaa sing si ng liq li q u id idaa tio ti o n of ancient remains, and to this he also added some laments for the continuous exportation of antiques to Florence and Venice despite papal bans.2 M ore tha n once he rectified rectified some o f the mistake mistakess o f Biondo and Leto.3 O n the other o ther hand, Fulvio F ulvio als alsoo w ent w ron rongg occas occasio ional nally ly.. He misunder misun derstood stood for instance instance a  pass  pa ssag agee o f V a r r o a b o u t th thee ‘L uc ucus us F a g u tali ta lis’,4 s’,4 m isto is tooo k th thee ‘P or orta ta Fontin F ontinalis’ alis’ fo forr the th e ‘P or orta ta Capena’5 an and d talked talke d o f a ‘Lucus Lucu s Larum ’ which never in fact fact exis existed ted.6 .6 N or is it poss possib ible le to say that he had the depth and acumen of a Flavio Biondo or a Bernardo Ber nardo Rucel Rucellai lai.. Biondo Biond o was his main ma in mod model, el, th thou ough gh one which he did not choose to follow blindly; indeed he was not afraid of criticizing him and assuming quite an independent  posi  po siti tio on. The most important feature of Fulvio’s  Antiq  An tiqui uita tate tess is naturally naturally the information inform ation it furnishes furnishes about a bout ancient remains remains and inscriptions still existing when he was writing, but which have vanished since then, and about contemporary discoveries of antiques. antiques. Q uite clearl clearly y he did no t have m uch o f an eye eye for style style.. It is true that he could distinguish what sections of an ancient  bu  b u ild il d in ingg b e lo lonn g e d t o dif diffe fere rent nt e p o c h s .7 O n th thee o th thee r h a n d , h e remained unaware that the reliefs on the Arch of Constantine  bee lo  b lon n g e d t o m o re th thaa n o n e p e r io iodd ,8 a fe feaa tu ture re w h ich ic h was, wa s, h o w  ever, note n oted d by Raph R aphae ael9 l9 and later late r by Marliani.1 Ma rliani.10 0 Altoge Alto gethe ther, r, in dr ea Fulvio antiquario antiquario Romano,  32, n.3. 1 Weiss,  An drea 2 Ibid. 33. 3 Ibid. 36. * Ibid. Ibid. 38. 6 Ibid.  loc. cit. 6 Ibid.  loc. cit. 7 Ibid. 39. 8 Ibid.  loc. cit. 9 Ibid.   loc. cit. 10 Ibid.  loc. cit.

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the age stretching from the early Quattrocento to the Sack of Rome in 1527, Fulvio stood at the end; indeed he ended a tradition which was still continuing in the high Renaissance the aims and methods of the fifteenth century and of Leto and his school school.. Between the treati treatise se o f Fulvio and that tha t o f Bartolomeo Bartolomeo Marliani, first published in 1534, there was not only the Sack of Rome. Rom e. T he here re was was also also a new consciousness, which wh ich led led eventually to a new archaeology.

CHAPTER SEVEN

THE TOPOGRAPHY AND THE DESTRUCTION OF ANCIENT ROME The universal appeal of ancient Rome was also reflected by the inter interest est taken taken in in its its topography.1 The immense immense prestige prestige of the city created an appetite for its image, so that pictorial views o f it ha had d already been executed in clas classi sical cal times. Views o f Rom e, varying vary ing in detail and shape yet invariably invariably inaccurate, were also made during the Middle Ages, when the town was even represented in the shape of a lion, for no other reason than  bec  b ecau ause se th thee lio li o n was wa s th thee k in ing g o f an anim imal als.2 s.2 E v e n in th thee fif fifte teen enth th century the earlier views and plans, showing a circular city occupied by the various monuments, often represented in a somewha some whatt fan fancif ciful ul way, ha had d n o t become obsolete. obsolete. Th They ey are in fact behind the circular panorama of Rome frescoed in 1414 by Taddeo di Bartolo in the Palazzo Pubblico of Siena3, and a view of a similar type is among the illuminations in the Tres Riches  Heur  Heures es o f the D uke o f Berry Berry execut executed ed by the the Limburg Limb urg Brothers Brothers about abo ut that tha t period.4 W hat we have in these these representations representations is is but a highly standardized image of Rome with groups of classical and later buildings, such as the Coliseum, the Capitol, Castel Sant’Angelo, St. Peter’s, the Lateran, etc., grouped and disposed in accord accordance ance with a m ore or o r les lesss set set pattern. T ha hatt by by the fourth fou rth decade of the Quattrocento such a type of plan was no longer found satisfactory in some quarters, is certainly not surprising. In fact considering the enormous strides made by antiquarian studies since Petrarch, what is surprising is that they were still  bee in  b ing g m ad adee a t so late la te a da date. te. W hat was was probably probab ly the first first sign sign that the current curren t standardized standardized views were no longer satisfactory to everyone, may be detected during the period pe riod 14 1432 32-3 -34, 4, when the presence presence in in Rome Rom e o f Leon Battista Alberti, then employed at the Curia as an apostolic abbre ab breviator viator,5 ,5 stimulated a desire desire among am ong his hum anist colleagues colleagues,, 1 The early views of Rome are collected in Frutaz, op. cit. a Ibid.  1, No. Ill, II, pi. 3. loc. cit. 3 Supra , 6. 4 Ibid. loc.  Di^ionar io Biog Biogra rafic fico o degli Italiani, Italia ni,   I (Roma, 1960) 5 C. Gra yso n, ‘Alb erti, Le on Ba ttista’, ttista’,  Di^ionario 703-04.

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w ho had h ad been deeply deeply impressed impressed by his his experiments on optics optics and his study of Roman antiquities, to see the city represented in a m ore sci scien enttifi ific manner. ma nner. Th Thee Rom an Curia Curia had then some of the greatest grea test names names in contemporary contem porary hum anism amo a mong ng its its employee employees. s. In 1432-34 the papal secretaries and abbreviators, the latter  bee in  b ing g th thee officials w h o w e re e n tru tr u s ted te d w ith it h th thee d r a f tin ti n g o f bull b ullss and other official documents, included Poggio, Antonio Loschi a nd Flavio Biondo. M oreover in 1432-3 1432-33 3 Ciri Ciriaco aco d ’Ancona An cona was was in Rome and we know him to have have then conducted the Em peror Sigismund on o n a to touu r o f the ancient remains.1 remains.1 It seems accord ingly highly probable that the ‘amid literati’, at whose request Alberti un de dertook rtook to gather ga ther data for a plan of o f Rome,2 Rom e,2 were actually his humanist colleagues at the Curia, several of whom were deeply interested in Roman topography, and perhaps included Ciriaco d’ Ancona. Alberti accepted the invitation: what he prepared was not, however, a prop proper er plan plan of the town. town. His  Descriptio Urbis Romae,3 Romae,3 was instead a set of measurements of distances between the  pri  p rin n c ip ipaa l lan la n d m a rk rks, s, tak ta k e n w ith it h th thee aid ai d o f a m athe at hem m atic at ical al instrument and including all the main features, such as monu ments, buildings, etc., ‘quo pacto quivis vel mediocri ingenio  pra  p raee d itu it u s, be bellis llissim simee et c om omm m od odis issim simee p in ingg e re re,, q u a n tac ta c u m q u e volue vo luerit rit in super superfici ficie, e, po possit’. ssit’.4 4 The T he instructions instruction s formulate form ulatedd  by  b y A lb lbee rti rt i w er eree ex extre trem m ely el y simple. simp le. A s was wa s ex expl plai aine ned d by G n o l i,5 i, 5 Alberti’s instructions were to draw a circle, which was to be called the horizon and would be divided into forty-eight degrees, degrees, each each degree being in turn subdivided into four. Th Then en from the centre, which was to be the Capitol, a mobile radius divided into fifty degrees, each degree being in turn sub divided into four, fou r, was made so as as to reach the horizon. A fter this it would be easy from the measurements given to fix the corresponding points on the radius and the horizon, thus reconstructing the view of Rome according to Alberti’s intentions.6 intention s.6 Th Thee plan resulting re sulting from these instructions had ha d a vertical vertical projection. But Bu t w hether hethe r Alberti translated hi hiss Cyriacus us of o f Ancona Ancona in Athens Ath ens , (Bruxelles -Berchem, 1960) 22. 1E. W. Bodnar, Cyriac 2 Codice topografico della citta di Ro?na, IV, 212. 3 Th e last e dition o f it is ibid. IV, 212-22. 4 Ibid 212.  Ib id.. IV , 212. della 5 D. Gno li, ‘Di ‘Di alcunc piante topograftche topograftche di Rom a ign ote o poco n ote5 Bidlettino della Commissione archeologica comunale, X III (18 (1885) 85) 66. 66. 6 Fo r a m odern reconstruc tion o f a map according to Albe rti’s rti’s data cfcf- ibid.  pi. IX-X, Frutaz, op. cit.  I, No. LXXIX, II, pi. 151.

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data into practice and made a plan of o f Rome, showing the th e various monuments at a true distance from each other, is not known, thou th ou gh it is not unlikely unlikely.. All one one can say say now is that if he made such a plan, it has not reached us; nor do we know today any view o f Rome Rom e which appears appears to have h ave been derived from fro m A lberti’ lber ti’ss instructions.1 Apparently a view of Rome closely linked with Biondo’s R  oma  oma instaurata instaurata  was also executed not long after the release of this work. wo rk. In the view, which was was orientated to the the south, the shape of Rome was circular with the Capitol as a centre, and it showed both modern and ancient buildings, while its nomen clature appears to have conformed with that of  Ko  Korn a instaurata. instaurata. Unfortun Un fortunately ately this this view has no nott reached reached us. us. I t was was,, however, howev er, almost certainly the ultimate prototype, from which was derived the view drawn in Venice in 1472 by Alessandro Strozzi, as well as the panoramas of the city illuminated by the Florentine Pietro del Massaio in three manuscripts of Ptolemy, two of which are dated 1469 and 1471.2 Further progress in what might be called the portrayal of Rome was achieved in the panorama of the city which was  pro  p rob b a b ly ex exec ecut uted ed by th thee F lo lorr e n tin ti n e c a r to togg r a p h e r F ra ranc ncee sco sc o Rossell Rosselli, i,33 the bro brothe therr o f the painter p ainter Cosimo Rossell Rosselli, i, whose art  pee rh  p rhaa p s ap appe pear arss at its be best st on th thee walls o f th thee Sistine Sis tine C hap hapel. el. Several views of Rome may be traced directly or indirectly to Francesco Rosselli Rosselli’’s proto prototype. type. It is true true that th at his his view of o f Rome, Rom e, made some time between 1478 and 1490 has not reached us, and that we are aware of its existence only because an inventory of his ‘bottega’ included among other things a ‘Roma in tre pezzi in 12 fogli fogli reali’ reali’.4 However Ho wever the remains remains o f hi hiss cartographic cartographic activity activity allow us to suggest that Rosselli’s Rome consisted of a view of  1Gnoli, op. cit.   67, states that some topographical studies by Alberti were discovered in the British British Museum by Professor Uziell Uzielli, i, who intend ed to publish them. Me never  pu  p u b lis li s h e d them th em , a n d sear se arch ch in th e B riti ri tish sh M u se u m has p ro v e d fru fruitl itles ess. s. 2 F or the view based o n Biond o and its its derivates cf. G. Scaglia, Scaglia, ‘The ‘The Orig ins o f an Cou rtauld  Archaeological Plan of Rome by Alessandro Strozzi’,  Journal o f the Warburg and Courtauld   Institutes  Institute s, xxvii(1964) 136--63. For Strozzi’s plan sec also Frutaz, op. cit.  I, No. LXXXIX, II, pi. 159. 159. F or those by Pietro del Massaio, cf. cf. ibid . I, Nn. LXXXVII-VIII, XC, II, pi. 157-58, 157-5 8, 160 160. According to Scagl Scaglia ia the lost view view o f Rom e was by B iondo rather than derived from him, but this view, on which see also Fubini, op. cit.  14, is hardly acceptable.  Imago o 3 On Rosselli see R. Almagia, ‘On the Cartographic Work of Francesco Rosselli’,  Imag  Mundi  Mu ndi , VIII (1951) 27-34. 4 C. Huelsen, ‘Die ‘Die alte alte An sicht vo n F lorenz im Kgl. Kup ferstichkabinett und ihr  Jahrbu ch der Koniglich Preussischen Preussischen Kunstsa Kun stsammh mmhmge mgen, n, X X X V (191 V o rb ilt5 il t5,,  Jahrbuch (1914) 4) 10 101. 1. Th e inventory also mentions ‘Roma in tela innistampa del pupillo L. 3’, cf. ibid.  101, n. 57, on w hich noth ing is know n. Th at Rosse RosselH lH was the au thor is n ot absolutely certain, certain, as as printe rs and dealers of maps and engravings often acquired plates engraved by others.

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the town, as it appeared during the last quarter of the fifteenth century, when seen from some high ground above the zone know kn ow n as as ‘Alta ‘Alta Semita’. Needless to say, say, it showed showe d both bo th ancient and modern monuments, while houses were represented in a conventional conventional manner. Th Thee monuments monum ents were no t scatt scattered ered about indiscriminately, while the centre of the city was included within a triangle formed by the Pantheon, St. Peter’s, and Castel Sant’Angelo. All the above details concerning Rosselli’s work may be gathered from the many derivations derivations of o f it. These range range from the woodcut views in the 1490 edition of Bergomensis’ Supple ment  mentum um Chron hronic icaru arum m1 and the 1493 edition o f the  Lib  L iber er Croni Cronica caru rum m  by  b y H a rtm rt m a n n Sche Sc hede del,2 l,2 d o w n t o th thee h u g e p a n o ra ram m a o f R om e now no w at Mantua Man tua and executed executed not n ot before b efore 15 1538 38,3 ,3 yet giving the th e city as it appeared du during ring the last last quar q uarter ter of o f the fifteent fifteenth h century. century. And on Rosselli’s panorama may also have been based the view of Rome promised in 1490 by Cardinal de la Balue to King Charles Charles V II III, I,44 as well as as those pain p ainted ted by Pinturic P inturicchio chio in the Vatican Belvedere5and by Giovanni Bellini in the ‘Sala del gran consiglio’ con siglio’ in the D o ge ’s Palac Palacee at Venice,6 Ve nice,6 no none ne o f which wh ich has reached us. us. O n the the other othe r hand, it was was not behind the vi view ew taken from Monte Mario and showing a row of buildings, mostly modern, included in a sketchbook by a pupil of Domenico Ghirlandaio.7 Although all these plans of Rome included ancient buildings and monuments, what they really meant to show was what the city looked like at the time rather than what it had looked like in the past. past. It is impossible to say say w he hen n views views o f the ancient city had first been attempted; in fact a satisfactory plan of ancient Rome did not appear until 1544, when the second edition of the treatise on the topography of ancient Rome by Bartolomeo Marliani included one devised by him and executed by the famous calligrapher calligrapher Giovanni Giova nni Battista Battista Palatino.8 Pala tino.8 Marliani’s Marliani’s plan was not, however, the earliest effort to show the ancient city. F or sever several al decad decades es before him the Dominica Do minican n Annio Ann io da Viterbo, 1Frutaz, op. cit.  1, No. XCV, II, pi. 165. 2 PI. VI, Frutaz, op. cit.   I, No. XCVI, II, pi. 166. 3 Void.  I, No. XCV1I, 11, pi. 167 69. 4 K. Aluntz, Ves arts d la cour des Papes, IV, (Paris, 1898) 34. 6 G. 13 13. D e R ossi, ‘Pa ‘Panora nora ma circolare circola re di R om a deline ato nel 153 1534 4 da Ma rtino H eem skcrck pittorc olandese’,  Bulle  Bu lletti ttino no della Commissione Comm issione arcLeot arcL eotoma oma comunale,   XIX (1891) 337. 6 Ibid. cit. 7F rutaz, op. tit.   I, No. XCIV, II, pi. 164.  Ibi d. loc. cit. 8 Ibid.  Ibi d.   I, No. XII, II, pJ. 23.

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now only remembered as a shameless fabricator of ancient texts, had produced a pl plan an of the Rome of o f Romulus. Romulus. Among Am ong the notorious forgeries by Annio, which, incidentally, were still deceiving dece iving people pe ople as late late as the eighteen eigh teenth th century ce ntury,1 ,1 there was a  De aureo reo saeculo et de or orig igin inee Urbis  by ‘Quintus Fabius Pictor’.2  No  N o w , in th this is tra tr a c t, A n n io h a d in incc lu lude ded d a d e s c rip ri p tio ti o n o f th thee archaic city city an andd its its earl early y developm deve lopment. ent. Accord Ac cordingly ingly he deemed it advisable also to include a plan, illustrating the topographical inform info rmatio ation n supplied by ‘Fabius ‘Fabius Picto Pi ctor’. r’. ‘N u nc ’ he said, said, hav having ing reached the second part of the first book of the  De aureo sa saeeculo, ‘depingit atque describit, qualis erat regio septicollis antequam inh ab itaretu itar etu r: sed sed pasqua bobus erat erat. Ad cuius cuius intellectum intellectum descripsi in piano totum quod scribit Fabius, ut melius novi’. Modestly Modestly adding: ‘N on enim profiteor artem pictori pictoriam. am. Q uo uodd magis assuetus est Romae, atque melius intelligit Fabium: ipse emendat sicubi in pingendo erravi.’3 In accordance with the information available in the tract forged by him, Annius drew early Rome in the shape of a bow with the Tiber as its chord, the plan being orientated to the east. Very few buildings appear in it; the square city is divided into four sections, i.e. Roma, Vellia, Germallia, and the Forum, and is surrounded by typically medieval walls with battlements and towers. towe rs. Th Thee Tiber Tibe r shows only one bridge, the ‘Pons CarmentCarm entalis’, while localities indicated include the Via Sacra, the Vicus Tuscus, the Lacus Curtius, and the Capena, the last one being represented as a small castle at the foot of the Aventine.4 It is hardly necessary to say that the plan made by Annius is entirely fan fancif ciful ul.. Th Thee next attempt attem pt to provide a representation represen tation of ancient Rome was an ambitious scheme which unfortunately never materialized, owing to the death in 1520 of its designer, the great gre at painter painte r R aphael.5 apha el.5 After A fter settling in Rome Ro me in 150 1509,  Itali a Medioe Medioeva vale le e Umawsticay 1 R. Weiss, ‘Traccia ‘Traccia pe r una biog rafia di An nio da V iterb o’, o’,  Italia V (1962) 438-39.  A ntiq iqui uita tate tess, (Romae, 1498) ft'. L4r--l\3r. 2 T. Annius,  Ant 3 Ibid.   f. Mir. 4 Ibid.  f. f. Miv. O n this plan see O. A. Da niellson , ‘An ‘An niu s von Vite rbo iiber iiber die die Griindungsgeschichte Roms', Corolla Principi Ilereditario Regni Sneciac Gustavo Adolpho dedicatay (Lund, 1932) 1-16, Frutaz, op. cit.  1, No. V, II, pi. 14. 5 Th ere is no positive evidence tha t a plan plan o f ancient Rom e was prepared by Leona rdo da Vinci dur ing his stay in the city city in 151 1513-16. 3-16. Th e sugge stion tha t the ‘gentile ‘gentile intellctto’ wh o, according to Pietro Aretino, Aretino, had made such such a map and and had subm itted it it to the couttiers o f Pope Leo X who, b ored by his his explanations explanations had set fir firee to it with the wax of their candles, candles, hronol olog ogyy o f Leonardo Leonardo da V in c e s architectural architectural draw drawings ings after  afte r  was Leonardo, cf. C. Pedretti,  A Chron 1500, 150 0, (Ge neve, 19 1962 62)) 161, 161, is is no t con vinc ing, as it is is hard ly credib le th at Are tino w ou ld hav e omitted Leonardo’s name.

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Raphael had gradually developed an enthusiastic interest in the antiquities antiquities of o f the town. town . W hat fascinate fascinated d him above all all were were the architectural remains, though of course ancient sculpture and  pain  pa inti tin n g also m ad adee a po pow w er erfu full ap appe peal al to hi him m . T h e n o n - s to topp destruction of the old ruins and marbles gave him considerable  pai  p ain, n, an andd m ad adee h im see h o w imp im p e ra rati tive ve it was to m ak akee an accurate record of what was still left before it was too late, on lines not very dissimilar from those advocated by Alberti. Furthermore he believed that their ancient structures, together w ith the the evide evidence nce provided by Vitruvius1 Vitruvius1 and other ancien ancientt writers, would yield enough evidence for visual reconstruction of the ancient city, in which the now ruined buildings would be shown not as they were, but as they had been. I f Rapha Ra phael’ el’ss letter lett er to Baldassarre Castiglione o f 151 15142 42 is authen au thentic, tic, he wT wTas already already at tha th a t time seeking to establish estab lish the th e original shape shape o f some ancient ancient ruined ruine d buildings. buildings. It is anyhow certain that his interest and enthusiasm for ancient Rome eventually moved Pope Leo X to commission him about 1519 to prepare pre pare an idealiz idealized ed view o f it.3 In his letter, or m or oree accurately report, to Leo X, really written in accordance with his instructions by his friend Baldassare Castiglione in 1519,* that is to say the very year in which he also offered to erect in St. Peter’s Square the obelisk unearthed near the mauso leum o f A ug ugustu ustus,5 s,5 Raphael outlined hi hiss programme program me.. His intention was to follow the account of Rome’s regions then belie believe ved d to be by by Publius Publius Victor,6 Victor,6 th thus us showing tha t he would have dealt with one region at a time, and have considered only buildings earlier than the fall of the Roman Empire. Em pire. H e was was going g oing to use a compass compass in order ord er to take take exact measurements and he also explained the principles to be followed in drawing the ancient structures. T o Raphael’ Raphael’s w ork on his pictori pictorial al reconstruction recon struction o f ancient 1 In fact as Vitruvius’s text was too much for him, he had it turned into Italian by his

friend Fabio Marco Calvo. Calvo. Th e autog rap h copy of his translatio n is now in th e Staats Staats- bib  b ib iio ii o th e k o f M u n ich ic h , Ms. Ms . Ital It al.. 216. A n o th e r Ita I ta lian li an v e rsio rs io n o f V itru it ru v iu s is in i n the th e V a tic ti c an Library, Ms. Otto b. lat. 1653 1653.. Th e fir first st Italian Italian version to appea r in in print was tha t by Cesare Cesariano (Como, 1521).  Raffaelfoy (Citta del Vaticano, 1936) 30. 2 V. Golzio,  Raffaelfoy 3 Ibid.  84, 281-82. 4 Castiglione’ Castiglione’ss autho rship is established established bey ond do ub t in V. Cian, Cian, ‘Nel m ondo di storico lombardo lombardo, N.S. V II (194 Baldassarre Castiglione’  Archiv io storico (1942) 2) 70-76. 70-76. The text of th e letter can be read in Golzio, op. cit.  82-92. 5 Ibid.   101. 6 Ib id . 84.

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Rome in 1519-20 several contemporary writers testify, among them Andrea Fulvio, who was apparently the antiquarian adviser of the venture and went about with Raphael, pointing out to him what should be included in the survey; and this Rapha Raphael el dul dulyy drew.1 drew.1 But Raphael’ Raphael’ss unt untimel imely y deat death h in the the spring of 1520 ended all this after he had completed no more than his sketches for the pictorial account of the first region. Thus Marcantonio Michiel writing from Rome after the death of Raphael, stated: ‘el stendeva in un libro, sicome Ptolemeo ha isteso il mondo, gli edificii antiqui di Roma mostrando si chiaramente le proportioni, forme et ornamenti loro, che averlo veduto haria iscusato ad ognuno haver veduta Roma antiqua: antiqu a: et gia havea forn fornita ita la prima regione. N e mostrava solamente le piante de li edificii et il sito, il che con grandissima fatica et industria de le ruine saria raccolto; ma ancora le facia con li ornamenti quanto da Vitruvio et da la ragione de la architectura et da le istorie antique, ove le ruine non lo ritenevano, havea appreso, expressivamente designava.’2 The collapse of Raphael’s scheme was lamented by his contem con tempor poraries aries in prose and verse.3 verse.3 It was left to his de devote votedd friend and literary adviser Marco Fabio Calvo of Ravenna, to  pu  p u b lis li s h a r e p r e sen se n tati ta tio o n o f o ld R o m e th o u g h o n m u c h m o r e m ode odest st lin lines. es. Calvo was a serious serious scholar,4 scho lar,4 no nott a forger forge r o f texts like Annio da Viterbo, and he relied on genuine literary sources, such as Livy, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Pliny, and the ancient catalogues catalogues o f regions regions in the interpolated text by by Pom ponio Leto. Yet, despite his scholarship and his close links with Raphael, in w hose house he had actual actually ly lived,5 his plans o f ancient Rome are so naive as to be little more valuable than the plan invented  by  b y A n n io da V ite it e rb rbo o . H is set o f view vie w s, w h ich ic h was p r in inte ted d in Rome only a few weeks before the terrible sack of the city in 1527, were naturally inspired by Raphael’s ambitious designs. In fact by preparing prepa ring his set of plans plans o f ancient Rome he meant to carry out as far as he could the intentions of his deceased friend.  A ndre rea a Fulvio antiquario antiquario romano , 11-12. 1Weiss,  And 2Golzio, op. cit.  113. 3 Ibid. 79-80, 281-82. Ra phael’s phael’s antiqua rian activity was also praised in a ‘canz ‘canz one’ written shortly after his death by Francesco Maria Molza and included in a miscellaneous manuscript of Italian poetry copied about 1525-30 and belonging to H. P. Kraus of New York.  N o ti^ ti ^ ie varie varie di antica letteratura letteratur a medica edica e di bibliografi bibliografia a, (Roma, 4 On Calvo sec G. Mercati,  No 1917) 67-71, and the bibliographical indications ibid. 68. 5 R. Lanciani ‘La pianta di Roma antica e i disegni archeologici di Raffaello’,  Rendiconti della del la R . Accademi Acca demia a dei l-incei. l-incei . Classe d i scien science ce morali, storiche e filologiche filologiche, ser. 5, III (1894) 797.

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Calvo was, however, primarily a man of letters turned anti quarian quar ian by circumstances. Accord Ac cordingly ingly hi hiss survey was n ot so much the fruit of personal archaeological investigation, as the result o f hi hiss study o f the relevant literary literary sources sources.. The  Antiqua  Anti quaee Urbis Roma Romaee cum cum re region ionibu ibus sim simul ulac achr hrum um1by Calvo consist consistss o f a seri series es of o f plates plates suppor sup ported ted by the the barest ba rest text text.. T he first fir st plate2 shows his idea idea of o f the ‘square Rom R ome’ e’ o f Romu Ro mulus. lus. Its It s shape is rhomboidal with the north to the left and it has four gates, gates, each named after a fter one o f the fou fourr hill hillss o f the city city,, on each each of which appear only a few buildings, while four buildings are shown show n outside the city city wall wallss. A n octagonal shape shape is is given given to the Rom e o f Servius Servius Tullius,3 which wh ich now n ow includes includes all all the seven hills hills as well as num numerou erouss gates. gates. Only On ly the temple temple of o f Apollo Ap ollo fig figures ures on the Palatine, while the temple of Diana is the only building on the Aventine. Aventine. Th Thee temple temple of o f Ser Serap apiis now appears appears on the Esquiline, while the centre of Rome, the ‘umbilicus Urbis’, is indicated by a pillar surmounted by a statue. The Rome Rom e o f A ugu ugustus4 stus4 has instead instead a circular circular shape, shape, the th e circle is divided into sixteen equal sectors, each with its gate and corresponding to one of the ancient urban regions, the two regions figuring besides besides the traditional fourteen fo urteen being the ‘Regio Reg io Vaticana’ and the ‘Campus ‘Campus Martius Ma rtius M ino inor’. r’. Each E ach sector has representations o f the principal buildings buildings o f the region, reg ion, while while the centre of the city is now indicated by the ‘milliarium aureum’, which wh ich is is represented represen ted here by a pillar with a statue statue on top. Th This is ‘milliarium aureum’ also appears in the last plate of Rome, which gi gives ves the city city in the time o f the Elder E lder Pliny.5 Few build b uild ings are shown here and the shape of the city is still circular. But the gates are now thirty-two, while six bridges appear on the Tiber. This is is followed followed by a plate showing show ing the Capitol Capitol surrounded by a wall with towers, its main buildings and the ‘arx’ also surrounded by a wall and with soldiers inside it.6 Any claim to genuine topography is abandoned in the fourtee four teenn plat plates es showing showing the the ancient ancient reg regio ions ns o f Rome.7 Rome.7 For Fo r Calvo here limited himself to showing in each of these plates some vertical and parallel rows of small identical houses, each 1 O n wh ich see ibid. 795-99, Frutaz, op. cit. I, Nn. V I-X , II, pi. 14 14-1 -19. 9.  An tiqua uaee Urbis Romae cum cum region regionibu ibuss simulachr simulachrum um (Rom ae, 15 2 F- Calvus,  Antiq 1532) 32) f. 3r. 3r. 3 Ibid.  f. 4r. 4 Ibid.  f. 5r. 5 Ibid.  ff. 6r—7r . 6 Ibid. f. 8r. 7 Ibid.  ff. 9r— 9 r—22 r .

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 b e in  be ingg e q u id idis ista tan n t a n d simila sim ilarr t o th thee ne next xt o n e , b e twee tw eenn which he placed in each case some of the main buildings of the localit locality. y. Accordingly, what wh at we have here is no more m ore than tha n a  pic  p icto tori riaa l illu il luss tra tr a tio ti o n o f th thee an anci cien entt cata ca talo logu gues es o f r e g io ionn s as in inte terr   po  p o late la ted d by P o m p o n io L e to to.. W he here re Calvo Ca lvo show sh owed ed h im self se lf at a t hi hiss most fanciful was, however, in the last two plates of the Simul a c h r u m where he gave his own idea of a Roman bath and of a circus. These last two plates are in the same tradition as the well known volume which Felice Feliciano completed in 1465 for G iov iovan anni ni M arcanova arcan ova and a nd its derivates,2 derivates ,2 which wh ich display displayss a seri series es of imaginary pictures of various parts of ancient Rome peopled  by  b y pe pers rsoo n s in fift fi ftee eent nth h c e n tu tury ry g a rb rb.3 .3 I f w e w a n t som so m e fa fait ithh fu full views of Quattrocento Rome we must turn instead to the ■draawings by a pu ■dr pupil pil o f G hirlandaio hirlan daio no now w at the Escorial,4 Esc orial,4 which wh ich give several accurate views of part of the city as it still was though not for long. Enthusiasm for fo r Antiq A ntiquity uity neither prevented nor no r even slo slowed wed •down the destruction o f the Roman Rom an ruins. ruins. But then it should not be forgotten that such an enthusiasm was felt only by a very small small circl circlee of o f people. Th Thus us thro th roug ug ho ut the Renais Renaissan sance ce the •demolition of old remains never ceased, and the city continued to be regarde reg arded d as a source of stone, stone, an inexhaustible inexhaustible quarry, ever yielding materials invaluable for building or for burning into •quickl •quicklime.5 ime.5 Besides Besides the natura na turall desire of o f builders build ers and a nd stone sto ne  masons to acquire materials as cheaply as possible—to extract marble from an old ruin was obviously much less expensive than importing it from Carrara—another threat was to be found in the modernisation of the town initiated under Pope Nicholas V. For Fo r whenever a new road was was opened or an old one broa broad d ened or straightened, any monument, however ancient or important, that happened to stand in the way was quickly eliminated. t o w

1 Ibid.  f. 23>\ 24r.  L a Roma antica di Ciriaco Ciriaco d' d ' Ancona Anco na, (Roma, 1907), H. van M. 2 O n w hich cf. cf. C. Huelse Hu else n,  La Am erican can Academy Acade my in Dennis III, ‘The Garrett Manuscript of Marcanova’,  Memoirs o f the Ameri  Rome,  VI (1927) 113-26, C. Mitchcll, ‘Felicc Feliciano Antiquarius’, Proceedings of the British  Academy,  Acad emy,   XLVII (1961) 207-08. Rom a antica antica di d i Ciriaco Ciriaco d* Ancona,  Anc ona,   pi. I-XVIII, R. B. Lawrence: ‘7’hc 3 See H uelse ue lsen, n,  L a Roma Ame rican n Illustrati Illustrations ons o f the the G arrett and Modena Manuscripts Manuscripts of Marcanova’, Marcanova’, Memoirs o f the America  Academ  Aca demyy in Rome,  VI (1927) 127-31. 4 Re produced in E gge r, op. cit . 5 Fo r the dem olition o f ancient R ome see see pa rticularly rticularly the firs firstt volume of Lanciani, Lanciani, Storia degli degli scavi di Roma and the same auth or’ or’ss The Destruction of Ancient Rome, (New York, 1901).

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The constant lamentations of humanists and antiquarians, from Petrarch to Fulvio and from Biondo to Raphael, tell a similar similar tale tale bu b u t they invariably fell fell up upon on de deaf af ears ears.. Offi Offici cial al attempts to end or to decrease the destructions, were not only few, bu t also also wholly wh olly unsuccessful. unsuccessful. Despite De spite its emphasis on classical learning the Renaissance proved undeniably far more destructive, where ancient remains were concerned, than the  pre  p recc e d in ingg cen c entu turi ries es.. N o r s h o u ld th t h is surp su rpri rise se us, us , since sinc e the th e Ren R enai ais s sance sance passion passion for building and tow n planning inevit inevitably ably broug bro ught ht w ith it the sacr sacrif ifiice o f much muc h o f the old for the new. D uring the Middle Ages an ancient temple was often turned into a church. B ut in the Renaissa Renaissance nce when a new church c hurch was built bu ilt any ancient ancient remains which happened to be on its site would be demolished and used as materials for the new building rather than incor  po  p o ra rate ted d in into to it. Thee speed Th speed at which ancient Rom e was fading fading away away is bro ug ught ht homee vividly hom vividly by the melanch melancholy oly chro chronicl niclee o f demolition. demolition. Under Un der Pope Pop e Eugenius Euge nius IV I V what wh at was still still standing o f the ‘Zecca Zecca vecchia’ vecchia’ disappeared for ever.1 Th Thee ruined arch o f Gratian, Gra tian, Valentinian, Valentinian, and Theodosius, followed at some time between 1451 and 1454 during the alterations made in the Via San Celso, the later Via dei Banchi.2 T h at this took place un unde derr the pontificate of o f so enlightened a humanist as Pope Nicholas V is not altogether surprisi surprising. ng. Fo r hi his enthusi enthusiasm asm for the Greek and Roman classics did not extend to the tangible relics of Antiquity, and found fou nd expression expression in a passion for f or building. Ind Indeed eed during d uring his his  pont  po ntif ific icat atee th thee r e g io ion n be betw twee een n th thee Caelian Cae lian an and d th thee Capit Ca pitol, ol, as well as the Aventine, the Forum and, naturally, the Coliseum were deprived de prived o f mu much ch o f their the ir ancient stone.3 stone.3 Was all all this this never nev er to stop ? I t seemed seemed not. I f hopes were raised raised by by the bull of April 28th, 1462, with which Pius II sought to protect the ruins o f Rom e,4 they certain certainly ly did not no t last lo long ng ; fo r everything eve rything went we nt on as as if no nothin thing g had happened. In fact it was was un unde derr this very Pope, whose poetic remains included an elegy bewailing the state state o f Rom Ro m e’ e’ss ruins,5 ruins ,5 that tha t the eastern eastern colonnade o f the Portico of Octavia, the so-called ‘Trullo’, and other important a rts a la cour des des Papes, I, 35. 1Miintz,  Le s arts Stori a degl deglii scavi scavi di Roma, Rom a, I, 53. 2 Lancia La ncia ni, Storia  L e s arts a la cour cour des des Papes,  I, 105. 3 Miintz,  Le 4 Ibid.  I, 352-53. 5 Ibid . I, 266.

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monuments were sacrificed in order to provide materials for  build  bu ildin ings gs in th thee V a tica tic a n. n.1 1 Thee quarrying o f stone Th stone out o f the the Coliseu Coliseum m and other othe r plac places es did not cease during the seven years (1464-1471) in which that enthusiastic antiquarian, Paul II, occupied the Papal throne.2 On the other hand, one of the earliest actions of his successor Sixtus IV was the issue only a few days after his election of an order to the keeper of the castle at Ostia, enjoining him to  pre  p rev v e n t an anyy e x p o rt o f m ar arbl ble, e, th this is to in incl clud udee sta st a tu tuar ary y as w ell as  bloc  bl ocks ks f r o m b u ildin ild ings gs a n d o th thee r pieces pie ces.3 .3 D ispe is pens nsaa tions tio ns f ro rom m such enactments could, however, how ever, be obtained. O ne was, was, for instance, obtained by Giulio Cesare Varano in 1488 under Inno In noce ce nt VII V III.4 I.4 But to go g o back to Sixt Sixtus us IV, IV , one can say without hesitation that, despite his foundation of the Capitoline Museum, he was not no t particularly particularly concerned for the antiquities antiquities o f Rome. His bull o f 7 April Ap ril 14745 14745 was not no t aimed at the preser pre serv v ation of the ancient ruins, but at that of the city’s churches. Because the sarcophagus of Constantina had been removed from a church by Paul II, shortly after becoming Pope Pop e he ordered ordere d its return to the church o f San Santta Costanza Costanza.6 .6 It is therefore therefore hardly hardly surprising that his pontificate witnessed the demolition of the temple temple o f Hercules Hercules in the ‘Forum Fo rum Boarium’7and Boarium’7 and the conversi c onversion on into cannon ba ballls o f what wh at still still remained rema ined o f the so-cal so-called led bridge o f H ora oratius tius C od odes es,8 ,8 as well as countless oth other er demo de moliti litions, ons, which wh ich aroused the indignation of Fausto Maddaleni Capodiferro, who vented his feelings in an acrimonious Latin epigram against Pope Sixtus.9 In 1491 the arch by Santa Maria in Via Lata vanished away for ever during du ring the rebuilding rebu ilding o f that church.1 churc h.10 0 But perhaps the m ost regrettable regrettable o f all all the the destructions destructions in the Q uattrocento uattroce nto took to ok  place  pla ce in 1499, w h e n m o st o f th thee p yr yraa m id co com m m o nl nly y k n o w n as the ‘Meta Rom Ro m uli’, uli’, which wh ich the  Mirabilia  Mira bilia Ro Rom mae Urbis had indicated  1Lanciani, Storia degli scavi di Roma,  I, 69. 2 M iintz, iin tz, hes arts a la cour des Papes.,  II. 7. 3 Ibid.   Ill, 168, n. 3.  Ibi d.  IV. 287. 4 Ibid. 5 Ibid.   Ill, 152 -53. # Ibid.  Ill, 158. 7 Ibid.   Ill, 178.  Diari o della citta di Roma Ro ma , ed. O. Tommasini, (Roma, 1890) 147. 8 S. Infcssura,  Diario  L e s arts art s a la cour cour des des Papes, III, 177. 9 Miintz,  Le 10 Infessura, op. cit.  268, Lanciani, Storia degli scavi di Roma, I, 88, A. M. Colini, ‘I frammenti di architcttura e di rilievi rinvcnuti presso 3a chiesa di S. Maria in Via Lata’,  A t t i della Pontificia Accademia Romana di Arcbeologia, Rendiconti, ser. 3, XI (1935) 41-61.

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as the the tomb tomb of Romulus Romulus,,1 was was pul pulled led down.2 down.2 Here Here wa was yet yet another example of a prominent monument having to give way to a new new road. F or it was was durin during g the building building of o f the new new Via Via Alessandrina that most of the ‘Meta’ was sacrificed, and what was then left disappeared a few year yearss later.3 later.3 Th Thee dem de m olition of ruins and the destruction d estruction o f old marbles marbles did no t decrea decrease se during the pontificate pontificate of Julius II.4 II .4 U nde nderr his his succes successor sor Leo X the need to straighten the road leading to the Capitol for the festivi ties ties held in 1513 in honou hon ourr of o f Giuliano and Loren L orenzo zo de’ d e’ Medici, Medici,  brr o u g h t w ith  b it h it a f u r th thee r sacrifice o f an ancie cient nt re rem m a in ins. s.55 In Indd e e d old Rome R ome was disappearing so fast that a brief brie f o f 28 Augu Au gust st 1515 empowered Raphael the painter to halt any further destructions o f old old marbles marbles and a nd particularly particularly of o f inscriptions.6 N o t surprisingly surprisingly also this this measure m easure had ha d little eff effec ect, t, and an enactme ena ctment nt passed by the City Council on 3 March 1520 and aimed against the destroyers o f anci ancient ent m onum ents7 prove proved d hardly hardly more m ore effe fecctive. Against the long tale of destruction it is, however, possible to set the occasional restorations of old monuments and the discoveries of o f masterpieces masterpieces of o f ancient art. Such discoveries discoveries were invariably accidenta accidental. l. F o r excavations du durin ring g the Renaissan Renaissance ce could hardly be called archaeological. Those which took place were either made in order to dig up the foundations of new  buil  bu ild d in ingg s o r in o r d e r to secu se cure re s t o n e ; or, o r, oc occa casio sional nally, ly, f o r ‘l o o t’, such as as metal or gems. T o dig in order to reveal an ancient ancient  bu  b u ild il d in ingg was wa s u nt nthi hink nkaa b le. le . O n th thee o th thee r h a nd nd,, in vi view ew o f th thee antiques which so often came to light in the course of diggings, licenses were sometimes issued giving permission to excavate in search search of metal, stone, and gem s,8or we w e fin find d contracts granting gra nting  pee rm  p rmis issi sioo n to d ig ig,, in w hi hicc h th thee g r a n to torr re rese serv rvee d f o r h imse im self lf all or a proportion of the ancient objects discovered during the operation.9 Excavations, demolitions, and the searching for antiquities were bound to, and in fact did bring to light several statues and other oth er antique objects objects o f considerabl considerablee valu value. e. W he hen n Lorenzo 1 Codice topografico della citta di Roma,   III, 35. Pontificia 2B. M. Peebles, ‘La Meta Romuli e una lettera di Michele Ferno’,  A t t i della Pontificia  Accademia R.oman R.omana a di Archeologia,  Rendiconti  Rendiconti, ser. 3, XII (1936) 21-63. 3 Ibid.  37, n. 64. 4 Lancia La ncia ni, Storia degli scavi di Roma,  I, 137. 5 Ibid.  I, 160. 6 Ibid.  I, 166, Golzio, op. cit.  39-40.  Lancia ni, Storia degli scavi di Roma,   I, 195. 7 Lanciani s Ibid.  loc. cit. 9 Ibid.  I, 196, 208-09, 215, 219.

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G hiberti was was in Rome Rom e he had the welcome welcome opp ortun ortunity ity of admir ing among am ong other o ther things a stat statue ue o f a Herm aphroditus found fo und in a drain.1 Th Thee demolition dem olition o f the temp temple le of Hercules in in the ‘Foru Fo rum m Boarium’ under Sixtus IV revealed a statue of that demigod, which whic h was eventually m ove oved d to the Capitol.2 But Bu t Pope Pop e Sixtus Sixtus was was certai certainl nlyy more m ore moved m oved when he heard o f the discover discovery y o f the sarcophagus of St. Petronilla in the very chapel dedicated to her in St. Peter’s, to which it had been translated by Pope Paul I in 757 757.3 .3 So m uch so that he hastened to send word w ord o f the discovery to King Louis XI, who happened to be the patron of the chapel, then also called called the ‘Cappella Cappella F ra ranc ncor orum um ’.4 O f course this was not as much an instance of antiquarian interest as of religious zeal zeal.. Just Ju st as as dev devotiona otionall was the enthusiasm which greeted the news of Cardinal Mendoza’s discovery in 1492 of what was believed to be the actual tablet fixed on the top of the cross of the crucifixion, said to have been brought to Rome by St. Helen, Helen, the mothe r of the the Em pero perorr Constantine.5 Constantine.5 Yet when only a few years before on 19 April 1485 a sarcophagus was found containing the practicall practically y intact body bo dy o f a girl, immediately immediately identified as Cicero’s daughter Tulliola, crowds flocked to see it, until Pope Innocent VIII put an end to this pilgrimage by having it secret secretly ly removed rem oved at night.6 nig ht.6 Though the feeling aroused by this sudden reappearance of an ancient Roman girl was perhaps dictated more by curiosity than by antiquarian interest, there is no doubt that its popular appeal owed also much to the memory of ancient Rome, which had never faded out of the people’s consciousness and was suddenly re rekind kindled led by the discovery. As for its its effe effect ct on hum anist anis t opinion, this is amply testified by the number of Latin writings in bo both th prose prose and and poetry poetry on the the event. event.77 The find findin ing g of the Belvedere Apollo, perhaps unearthed at Grottaferrata and quickly secured for himself by Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere,  Lor enzo Ghibertis Denkwurdigkeiien Denkwur digkeiien , I, 61-62, II, 187-88. 1 Ibid.   I, 46.  Lorenzo  L e s arts a la cour cour des des Papes,  III, 177. 2 Miintz,  Le 3 Lanciani, Storia degli scavi di Roma,  I, 79. 4 Ibid.   loc. cit. 5 Ibid.  I, 89. Opere Minori Mino ri, IV, (Citta del Vaticano, 1937) 268-83, 6 O n this see particularly O .   Mcrcati, Opere o f the Warburg and  F. Saxl, Saxl, ‘Th ‘Th e Classica Classicall Inscrip tion in Renaissance A rt and Po litics’, Journal of Courtauld Institutes,   IV (1940-41.) 26-21,   44 44—45, pi. 5 b. T w o acc ou ounts nts o f this discovery disco very ,  by  b y A le ssa ss a n d ro C o rtes rt es i a nd b y ‘cu ‘cuiu iusd sd am fid fi d ed igni ig ni’, ’, a re in th e B iblio ib liote teca ca L aure au renz nz ian ia n a, Florence, Ms. Ashburnham, 1657, ft. 107v-109r. 7 See See C. Hu elsen, ‘Die ‘Die A uffindun g der romisc he n Leiche vom Ja hre 1485 1485’’,  Mittheilungen des Inst In stitu itu ts fu f u r Oester Oesterreis reiscbis cbische che Gesch Geschichtsfo ichtsforsch rschung ung  , IV (1883) 433-49, Mercati, Opere minori, IV, 275-83.

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later Pope Julius II II,1 ,1 did not no t cau cause se at firs firstt the sensation sensation it certainly certainly deserved. Yet it had become famous famo us enough enou gh by the last decade of the century to be sketched twice while it was in the Cardinal’s Palace at San Pietro in Vincoli in the book of drawings draw ings by a pupil of G hirlandaio no now w at the Escorial.2 The T he enthusiasm, however, which greeted the reappearance of the  La  Laocoon,  the famous group found in January 1506 in the ‘vigna’ vigna ’ o f Felice Felice di Fredi Fr edi ‘in loco dicto le Capoce C apoce appresso la chiesa di S. Piero ad vincula’3, could scarcely have been greater. Com Co m pared to this the discovery d iscovery o f the so-called so-called Cleopatra C leopatra4 4 and that of the group of Hercules and Telephus in the Campo dei F ior iorii on 15 May 1507, 1507,5 5 made ma de much muc h less less o f an impression. imp ression. A nd even less excitement accompanied the discovery in a now unknown place in September 1514 of ancient copies of the statues sent to the Athenians by King Attalus I.8 Despite the destructions, some of the more important antiquities antiquities were not no t altogether negle neglected cted.. Restorations and repairs on more than one famous relic of ancient Rome were indeed carried out during the fifteenth and early sixteenth century, i t is, is, howev how ever, er, necessary, necessary, to distinguish between betw een repairs repairs to ancient buildings still in use, such as, for instance, the Pantheon, Castel Sant’Angelo, or the Capitol, and those to monuments of a purely artistic or archaeological interest.  Jahrbuch ch des des 1 A. Michaeiis, ‘Gesc hich te de r StiUucnhofes itn vaficanischen vafican ischen B elve dere’, dere ’,  Jahrbu Kaiserlkb deutschen archdologiscben l.nstituts, V (189 (1890) 0) 10-11. 10-11. Ac cording to a Cesena chronicle the Apollo of Belvedere was discovered in 1489, but the discovery is also recorded under the year 1493 in the same text, cf. ‘Chios'' Cronache Cesenati del Sec. X V di Giuliano Fantagu^i, ed. D. Bazzocchi, (Cesena, 1915 1915)) 30, 43. Giulia Gi ulia no della Rove re was also respo nsib le fo r the rescue and preservation o f the antique marble eagle eagle still still in the forec ou rt of the church o f the Medals ls o f Tope Tope Sixt Si xtus us I V  (1471-1484), (Roma, Santi Apostoli in Rome, cf. R. Weiss, The Meda 1961) 36, and in 1488 he prevented the export to Florence of some antiquities brought to teggio ined inedit ito o d ’artisti dei dei secoli X l l r, X V , X V I ,   /, (Firenze, light in Rome, cf G. Gaye., Carteg 1839) 285. 2 E gg er, op. cit.  pi. 53, 53, 64. 64. A no the r discovery m ade in the late fifteenth centu ry, tha t o f the underground rooms of Nero’s ‘Domus Aurea’, had a very powerful influence upon artists, who modelled their ‘grottesche’ on the wall paintings in them, cf. Vasari, op. cit.  Jahrbuch des des Kaiserlich Kaiserlich deut deutsc sche hen n archd archdol olog ogisisVI, 531, F. Weege, ‘Das goldene Haus des Nero’,  Jahrbuch chen InstitUts, XXVIII (1913) 141-42, A. von Salis,  An  A n ti k e und Renaissa Renaissance nce, (Erlenbach Drawings afte a fterr the An tiq ue by Am ico ic o A sper sp erti tini ni , (London, Zurich, 1947) 35-60, P. P. Bober,  Drawings 1957) 12.  Mededel deling ingen en der Koninhlijke Koninh lijke Nederlandse Nederlandse 3 C C. Van Essen, ‘La ‘La De cou verte du L ao co on ’,  Mede  Akade  Ak ademi miee van Wetcnsch Wetcnschappe appen n,  A fd . iM te r k m d e ,  JSiem  JSiemve ve Reeks, Reek s, Deel  18, 18, No N o . 12 (1955) 293. Faocoon— The influen influence ce o f the Group since since its it s O n the discovery and its afterma th see M. M. Bicber, Faocoon—  Redis  Rediscov covery ery, (New York, 1942). 4 Michaelis, Geschichte des Statuenhofes im vaticanischen Belvedere, 18-20. 5 Lanciani, Storia degli scavi di Roma,  I, 144. 144. An. acco unt of this discovery was give n to Isabella d’Hste by Giorgio da Ncgroponte in a letter from Rome dated 19 May 1507 in Archivio di Stato, Mantua, Archivio Gonzaga, Serie E. XXV. 3, busta 857. 6 Lanciani, Storia degli scavi di Roma,  I, 162-63.

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Repairs to the former are not really evidence of a desire to save ancient monuments from decay just because they happened to  be an anci cien ent. t. T h o se t o th thee latt la ttee r ar aree o f c ou ours rsee q u ite it e a dif differ ferent ent matter. N ow during the fif fiftee teenth nth century the Pantheon, the the Capitol, Castel Sant’Angelo were repaired and improved several several times.1 times.1 It is, is, however, how ever, not n ot until we reach the po ponti nti  ficate of Paul II that we find old remains without a utilitarian value being repaired. repaired. U nde nderr this this Pontiff the bron bronze ze equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, then still at the Lateran, was exten sivel sively y restored.2 restor ed.2 O ther the r monum mon uments ents repaired rep aired in in his his time time included included among others the arch o f Titus,3 the two tw o horse tamers o f the Q uirinal,4 uirina l,4 as well well as as a column colum n in the vicinity o f the baths o f D iocletian.8 Moreo M oreover ver it was this this very Pope who, who , in ord order er to have them them di displ splaye ayed d in a w orthier m anner, removed rem oved the porphyry porph yry sarcophagus sarcophagus o f Constanti Constantina na from the church o f Sant Santaa Costanza6 Costanza6 and the large basin in front of the church of San Giacomo al Colosseo,7in orde o rderr to place them in the piazza piazza San San Marco by the m onu onum m ental enta l palace palace which wh ich he had erected as a cardinal,8 car dinal,8 the  palac  pa lacee n o w k n o w n as Pala Pa lazz zzo o Vene Ve nezi ziaa a n d n o to torr io iouu s as th thee on once ce official residence of Mussolini. Furthe Fu rtherr work wo rk on the bronze Marcus Marcus Aurelius Aurelius was was carried carried out under und er Sixtu Sixtuss IV I V ,9 w hen the th e so-cal so-called led temple temple o f Vesta also also unde un derw rwen entt some repairs.1 re pairs.10 0 But Bu t after Sixtus Sixtus IV, who w ho died in 1484 1484,, the restoration of old buildings or other remains no longer in use appears appears to have cease ceased d altogether. From Fr om then the n until the sack sack o f the City City in 1527 noth nothing ing more see seems ms to have been done towards toward s the preservation preservation o f eve even n the m ost outstanding outstanding monuments monum ents whic w hichh were not no t required for pract practic ical al purposes. purposes. Statuary Statuary o f course went we nt on being restored and repaired and found shelter shelter in gardens and pal palaces aces.. But Bu t the ruins, die arches, the baths, the theatres, thea tres, the forums, were w ere abandoned to the ravage ravagess o f the weather and the greed of o f the building building contractors and the stonemason stonemasons. s. Th Thee Renaissance passion for building on classical lines was the main cause for much of the destruction of what still remained of ancient Rome.  JLes arts art s a la cour cour des des Papes, I, 34, 148, II, 89-90, III, 169, etc. 1 M iintz, iin tz,  JL 2 Ibid.  II, 92-93. 3 Ibid.   II, 94.  Ibi d . I I , 94—95 4 Ibid  95.. degli scav scavii di Roma, R oma,   I, 74. 6 Lan cian i, Storia degli 6 Miintz, L es arts a la cour des Papesy  II, 84. 7 Ibid.  II, 95-96.  I I p a l a ^ o d i Venecia, Vene cia,  (Roma, 1948). 8 On which see especially F. Hermanin,  II  L es arts art s a la cour cour des des Papes, III, 176-177. 9 Miintz,  Les 10 Ibid.  Ill, 174.

CHAPTER EIGHT

THE ANTIQUITIES OF ITALY: I

The antiquities of Rome alone did not monopolize the attention atte ntion o f humanist huma nists. s. Th Thee ancient remains sti still ll visibl visiblee in in other othe r  paa r ts o f Ital  p It alyy also a ro rou u sed se d th thee ir in inte tere rest st,, eith ei thee r be beca caus usee o f th thee ir historical associations, or because of their striking appearance, or just becaus becausee they were old. old. In an age age when wh en every tow n o f any note no te claimed claimed origins origins lost in the very mists mists o f A ntiquity, attem attempts pts were frequently frequently made by loca locall humanists humanists to pro p up w ith tangible tangible evidence the legends handed down by oral tradition or too credulous chroniclers chroniclers.. T o confir c onfirm m that tha t a city city owed ow ed its its founda founda  tions tions to a dem igod like like Hercu Hercules les or a Tro Trojan jan hero like like A ntenor,  beca  be cam m e a n im p o r tan ta n t du duty ty.. I t w o u ld ld,, h o w e v e r, b e m ista is take ken n to assume that antiquities outside Rome were overlooked until the Renaissan Renaissance. ce. I t is is tru truee tha t some very famous ones were stil stilll unknown long after the sixteenth century, though they were there to be seen, as was the case with the Greek temples at Paestum, which remained entirely unnoticed until the eighteenth century.1 O n the oth other er hand, monum mon uments ents such as the Arena of of Verona or some of the principal Roman antiquities of Milan, were already being scrutinized during the early fourteenth century by Benzo B enzo d’ d ’Alessandria,2 Alessandria,2 while Petrarch and Boccacci Boccaccioo also paid attention to some of the ancient monuments outside Rome,3 Rom e,3 as also also did Petra P etrarch rch’’s de devo voted ted friend Giov G iovan anni ni D on ondi di during his journey, when he went to Rome in 1375 for the Jubilee.4 Despite earlier references to Italian antiquities, what one might call the earliest account of the ancient monuments of a town, tow n, can be foun found d in a letter letter of o f Leonardo Bruni, giving a brief description of those at Rimini, where he happened to be staying w ith the Papal Curia. Curia. Bruni, w ho was the then n a papal papal secreta secretary, ry, had   Journ al of o f the the Warbu W arburgan rgand  d  1 S. Lang, ‘The Early Publications Publications of the Tem ples at P aestum ’, Journal Courtauld Institutes , X III (195 (1950) 0) 48-64. T he temples had, how ever, been m entione d as earl early y as 1524 by the Neapolitan humanist Pietro Summonte, cf. infra, 130, n.l. 2 Supra, 25, infra  122, n. 4. 3 Supra, 35, 44-46. T he acco unt of some Milanese antiquities in the Flos Florum o f Ambrogio Bossi written at the very end of the fourteenth century is, on the other hand, somewhat fictitious, cf. Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense, Milan, Ms. AG. IX. 35, ff. 15v, 61r, 62r. 4 Supra, 51.

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 be en aske  been as kedd by his frie fr iend nd (late (la terr m o r tal ta l en enem emy) y) N icco ic colo lo N icco ic coli li fo forr an account of o f the local local Roma Ro man n remains. remains. Th Thee result was was hi hiss letter to him h im o f 20 February Februa ry 14 1409 09,1 ,1 in which whic h he men m entione tioned d the ‘P or orta ta’’, i.e. the arch, of which he also emphasized the archaic diphthongs o f the inscriptions, inscriptions, and the bridge on the Marec M arecchia chia started under unde r Augustus and completed under Tiberius. Bruni’s description of the arch and bridge at Rimini shows how he was ch chiefl iefly y interested interested in their inscriptions. inscriptions. But in order orde r to find a different approach to antiquities outside Rome, an approach which was appreciative of both their spirit and their historical meaning, we must turn to the Commentarii rerum  memo  memorab rabiliu ilium m  of that gifted humanist Enea Silvio Piccolomini, w ho became became Pope Pius II (1 (145 458-1 8-1464 464). ). Th Thee learning o f the humanist and the sensitivity of the poet colour the descriptions of old remains in the Commentarii. Several Several centuries bef before ore Romanticism inaugurated the cult of ruins, Pius II looked at them with w ith rom romantic antic eye eyes. Th Thee ruins at Albano, Alba no, ancient Ostia, and Porto, what remained of Hadrian’s villa at Tivoli, led to descriptions conveying the writer’s delight between the lines. But whenever antiquities were to be seen, he would stop to inspect them. N o t in orde orderr to copy inscript inscriptions ions or take take measurements, or to find out what building materials had been employed in their construction, but in order to record their decorative role against the green of trees and meadows and the  brr ig h t c o lo  b louu re redd spri sp rin n g flower flow erss and a nd t o c om omm m e n t on o n th thee ir his h isto tori rica call associations. The sophisticated author of Euryalus and Lucretia bore lightly his his massive massive cla classi ssical cal learning. T h ou gh we may fin find d him m entioning Strabo a propos propo s o f the ruins o f ancient ancient Tusculum2 or referring refe rring the reader to Plin Pliny, y,3 3 or pointing p ointing ou outt the spot where it was alleged th thaa t Milo M ilo had killed Clodius,4 he neve n everr loses loses his lightness of touch, and his erudition never degenerates into  ped  pe d a n try tr y . A s a de desc scri ribe berr o f a nt ntiq iquu itie it ies, s, he h a d an eye f o r th thee signi signific ficant ant tha t only only A lberti’ lbe rti’ss could rival. rival. Th Thus us at Porto Po rto Ercole E rcole he was quick to notice that the huge square stone blocks of the ancient walls walls fitted togethe toge therr perfectly perfectly w ithout itho ut mor m ortar tar.5 .5 H e Ep istolaru larum m Li b r i V I I I , ed. 1 Leonard! Bruni A r re ti n i Episto ed. L. M ehus, I, (Fioren tiae, 1741) 1741) 76 -83. ! Pius Secundus Secundus,, Commentaria rerum memorabilium, (Romae, 1584) 570. The Comme Comment ntar arie iess o f Pius Pius I I Book Bookss X - X I I I ,   (Northampton, Mass. 1957) 752, Pius * The Secundus, op. cit.  556. « Ibid.   565.  Ibid . 33. * Ibid.

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informs us how a marble pile, then turned into a fort and standing by the second bridge on the Aniene from Tivoli to Rome, had ha d been the tomb tom b o f the Plautii. Plautii.11 He was rea reall lly y dumb dum b founded by what he saw saw o f Hadrian’s Hadrian’s vil villa la,2 ,2 and while while at Porto he was especially attracted by some unpolished blocks of stone with numerals marked on both sides, particularly as there was more than one view about abou t their meaning.3 W ha hatt see seems ms to have interested him most was Albano and, among the Albano monuments, the so-called tomb of the Horatii and Curiatii, (actually a monument of the Republican period) of which he rightly rejected rejected the traditional a ttribution.4 Pius II looked at Roman antiquities with the eyes of a humanist hum anist who wh o was als also o a literary literary artist artist.. Leon Batti B attista sta Alberti looked at them as a humanist who was also an outstanding architect anxious to master the building techniques of classical antiquity. Th Thus us in in his  De  D e re aedific aedificat atori oria a  which was completed  by  b y 1452 1452,, A lb lbee rti rt i ackn ac kno o w led le d g e d his in inab abili ility ty to lo looo k a t any ancient remains without feeling at once compelled to ascertain w hether anything w orth while while could be learnt from them .5 This, of course, is not surprising in a man like Alberti, who  belie  be lieve vedd th thaa t, so fa farr as ar arch chit itee c tu ture re was wa s c on once cern rnee d, m o re c o u ld  bee lear  b le arnt nt f r o m th thee ru ruin inss o f a nc ncie ient nt bu buil ildd in ingg s th thaa n f r o m any class classic ical al w riter.6 rite r.6 N o r is is it surprisin su rprising g to fin find d him making m aking draw  ings, taking tak ing careful measuremen me asurements, ts, and investigating the th e materials materials and building techniques o f any old remains remains he met m et on hi hiss travels. travels. Thus Th us we find find him examining examining some ruins at Alatr A latri7 i7,, the tomb tom b of of Theod Th eodoric oric at Ravenna,8 Ravenn a,8aa sma small ll temple in Um bria,9and bria,9 and trying to find out the technique used in the paving of the old road from Tivoli to Rome.10 Vitruvius, the direct study of ancient building methods, and Alberti’s genius made the  De re aedi aedific ficat ator oria ia  the masterpiece of early Renaissance Renaissance architectural architectura l literature. But, n ot surprisingly, it is vain to search it for a systematic description of those anti1 Ibid.  250. 2 Ibid.  251. The Comme Comment ntar arie iess o f Pius Pius I I Books X -X 1 1 I,   752, Pius Secundus, op. cit.  556. 3 The 4 Ibid.  564. 6 L. B. A lber lb er ti, UArchitettura {De re aedificatoria), ed. G. Orlandi and P. Portoghesi, II, (Milano, 1966) 443, 556. 6 Ibid.  I, 257. 1 Ibid.  I, 61. 8 Ibid.  loc. cit. 9 Ibid.  I, 59. 10 Ibid.  I, 321.

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quities which came in his way, any more than in Biondo’s  Italia  Itali a illustrata. But then then such descri descripti ptions ons were no nott among the terms o f ref referen erence ce of either either Alberti or Biondo. For Fo r in in the  Italia  Itali a illustrata it is is quite clear clear that what w hat was the a ut utho ho r’ r’ss intention inten tion was to furnish an account of the Italian peninsula accompanied by historical introductions and digressions, as well as mentions of the famous men, both ancient and modern, who had given fame to the various towns. Nevertheless we also also read here of o f a visit to the ruins ruins o f Antium together with Cardinal Cardinal Prospero Colon C olonna,1 na,1 of his delight at Albano on seeing the care with which the local relics relics o f A ntiquity were being b eing looked look ed after,2 after,2 and o f hi hiss great interest in in the attempt to ra rais isee the sunken ship shipss from the bo bottom ttom o f Lake Lake Nemi.3 Nemi.3 In order to find find descript descriptions ions of o f Roman Rom an remains remains outside outside Rome R ome  by  b y B io iond ndo, o, it is ne nece cessa ssary ry to t u r n to his ex exta tant nt lette le tters rs.. O n e o f them, sent to Leonello d’Este, Marquis of Ferrara, and wr 

 Italia  Ita lia illustra illu strata ta,5 had

also taken him to Nemi, where he had the excitement of being able to inspect some pieces pieces o f Caligula’ Caligula’ss sunken ships ships which w hich had ha d  beee n b r o u g h t u p f ro  be rom m th thee lake, lak e, a nd th thee n t o A lb lban ano, o, w h e re he had been most impressed by what was still left of the ancient theatre.6 In another an other letter, letter, of o f 12 September September 14 1461 addressed addressed to to G re rego gorio rio Lolli,7 Lolli,7 Biondo included a description o f some most mo st impressive ruins, obviously those of Hadrian’s villa, still to be seen ab about out two miles miles from Tivoli. T ivoli. But to go back to the  Italia  Ita lia illustrata , there is no doubt that this treatise, in which Biondo can be rightly said to have inaugurated historical geography, exerted an overwhelming influence on later topographical and geographical geogra phical literature. literature. N ot only only treati treatises ses like like the Geographia o f Berlinghi Ber linghieri, eri, but b ut also also accounts accounts o f towns such such as that o f Ravenna t>eray Italia illustr ill ustrata ata,,  311. 1 Blon Bl ondu dus, s, Qt>e 2 Infra,, 113. ' loc. cit. 8 Ibid. loc. 4 N oga ra, op. cit.  154-59. 5 A. Campana, ‘Due note su Roberto Valturio’, StiuJi \\iminesi e bibliografici in onore di Carlo Lucchesi,  (Faenxa, 1952) 15. 6 Th is the atre was also described in the Connnentarii o f Pius Pius II, cf. cf. Pius Se cundus, op. cit. 563. ’Nogara, op. cit . 194-202.

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 b y D e side  by si deri rioo S pr pret etii o r th thaa t o f No N o la by A m b r o g io Leon Le one, e, displa dis playy quite clearly the hall-mark of Biondo’s treatise. Besides Enea Silvio Piccolomini, other humanist travellers did not fail to notice the Roman arches, bridges, theatres, aqueducts, etc., etc., dotted dotte d all all over the Italian Italian countryside. O f these travellers, Enea Silvio Piccolomini may have been the greatest artist. artist. Archaeologicall Archaeologically, y, however, how ever, by far the most impo im portan rtantt o f them th em was w as Ciriaco d’ d ’A nc ncona ona (13 (1391 ??-af after ter 14 1453 53). ). T h e achieve ment of this indefatigable traveller lies, it is true, in the field of G reek archaeol archaeology. ogy. It would, however, be erroneous to assu assume me that he did no nott also also spend spend much energy energy and time on the antiqui ties o f Italy. W ha hatt has has reached reache d us us abou ab outt his activiti activities es in Italy does n o t amount, am ount, admittedly, admittedly, to very much. His so-cal so-called led  Itinerarium  Itinerarium,* in which he described his his Italian Italian journeys up to 14 14335, is is unfor un fortu tu nately somew som ewhat hat confused conf used and only exceptionally exceptionally tel tells ls us as as much as we would wo uld like like to know abou aboutt this this or that that monument. monume nt. F or ortun tun  ately this is partially supplemented by some extant fragments of his lost Commentaria,2 and also also by the th e biogr b iograp aphy hy o f Ciriaco w ritten ritte n by his fellow-citizen fellow-citizen and a nd friend fr iend Francesco Fr ancesco Scalamonti.3 Scalamonti.3 From Fr om all this it is is obvious that tha t during dur ing his Italian journeys Ciriaco Ciriaco also made copious notes and sketches of what caught his eye.  Na  N a tu tura rall llyy his firs fi rstt pr p r io iorr ity it y o n such su ch jo jour urne neys ys was wa s th thee tra tr a n scr sc r ip ipti tioo n of inscriptions: but he also sketched monuments and took measurements of ancient ruins, made drawings of coins or statues, and occasi occasiona onall lly y copied out o ut a passage passage which had particu p articu larly larly interested intere sted him in a volume volum e seen in some library. library. Needless to say, these explorations were inspired by his great enthusiasm for cla class ssic ical al antiquity. I t was therefore there fore quite typical typical of o f this enthusiasm that when he visited Fano in 1448 or 1449 he was so impressed by the local arch of Augustus that, besides copying its inscriptions, he could not resist delivering a lecture to some of thee local th local inh inhab abitan itants ts on o n its historical historic al significance.4 significance.4 No N o r is is it difficult to imagine his feelings when he saw the Arena at Verona,5 or when w hen in front fro nt o f Trajan’ Tra jan’ss arch at Benevento6 or o f  1Published in Kyriaci Anconitani Itinerarium, ed. L. Mehus, (Florcntiae, 1742). 2 A. Degli De gli Abati Ab ati Olivie ri, Commeniariorum Cyriaci Anconitani nova fragmenta notis illustratay  I I Mondo Mondo (Pisa urii, 1763). 1763). See also C. C. C. Van Esse n, ‘I Co mm entaria ent aria di Ciriaco d’An d’An co na 5,  II  An tic o nel Rina Ri nasc scim imen ento to-At -Atti ti del \ 7 Conve onvegn gno o Internationale di stiuli sal Rinascimento, (Firenze, 1958), 191-94, Bodnar, op. cit.  69-72. Picene, e, X V (Fermo, 3 G. Colucci,  Delle antichita Picen (Fermo, 17 1792 92)), XLV -CL V. 4 P. Qvidii Fastorum , (Rome, 1489) f. 91v; R. Sabbadini, Classici e umanisti da codici ambros'ani , (Firenze, (Firen ze, 19 1933 33)) 122. 122. W hen Ciriaco C iriaco we nt to Fa no the th e so-called ‘Ba ‘Basi sili lica ca* * of Vitruvius had already disappeared, as it had been destroyed about 1274 by St. Nicholas of Tolentino, cf. G. Berardi, Fano Romana, basilica di V'itruvio,  (Fano, 1967) 44-45.  In fra , 117. 6 Infra 6 Coluc Co lucci, ci, op. cit.  XV, XCIC.

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that erected erected in hon h onou ourr o f the same same emperor em peror in hi hiss native native Ancona.1 Other travellers with antiquarian tastes are also known to have recorded the antiquities they saw during their journeys. Such a traveller was Marin Sanudo, the famous Venetian diarist who was the author of, among other things, a  De antiquitatibus  Italiae2 which has not no t reached reache d us, and a statist statistical ical and geog ge ogra raph ph  ical ical description o f Friuli.3 Friu li.3 In his  Itineran  Itinerant) t)  Sanudo recorded the tour made by him in 1483 through the Venetian territories on thee Italian mainland, the so-cal th so-called led ‘T ‘T err errafe aferm rma’. a’. Th Thus us along the shores of Lake Garda we see his attention being caught by some Roman mosaics and other antiquities, and particularly by a capital with the head of Zeus Ammon in the church of Santa M aria del Benaco.4 Needless to say say, Rom an Vero V erona na impressed him very m uch uch.5 .5 The T he two tw o pl places where his his antiquarian enthu  sias siasm m soared highest were, however, how ever, Aquileia Aquileia and Pola Pola.. W hat appealed to him in particular at Aquileia, apart from the very early early churches, were the broke bro ken n walls walls,, a theatre, and an aqueduc aqu eductt among the ruins of the patriarchal palace ‘mal conditionato et roto, rot o, ut u t dicitur, longo mia 7’. 7’.6 A t Pola it was the amphitheatre am phitheatre and an d the triumphal triump hal arch7 arc h7 that tha t made him so enthusias enthusiasti tic. c. His enthusiasm for the monuments of Pola was shared by another humanist, that Pietro Martire d’Anghiera who spent most of his life in the Spanish service and became the historian of the New W orld. So mu much ch so that in hi his relation o f the Embassy of o f 1501 to the Venetia Venetians ns and th thee Sulta Sultan n o f Egypt on behalf o f Ferdinand and Isabella, he mentioned having seen at Pola two ancient theatres, an arch with inscriptions, as well as many other epigraphic epigraphic texts, texts, o f which he copied about abou t forty.8 One of the many problems facing antiquarians was the identificat identification ion o f ancient sit sites es and the establishing establishing w hether a town tow n o r vill village age and if so which had been built over them. them. An attempt a ttempt to equate ancient with modern place names was made again and again by Biondo in the  Italia  Ita lia illustra illus trata ta , and after him it became a  Ital ia 1A. Campana, ‘Giannozzo Manetti, Ciriaco e Parco di Trajnno ad Ancona’,  Italia hledioevale e Umanistica , 11 (1959) 483-504.  Jtinerario rio per la Terraferma Terraferm a Vene^iana neWann neWanno o M C C C C L X X X I I /, 2 Cf. M. Sanudo,  Jtinera / , cd. R aw do n Brow n, f Padova, 18 1847 47)) 29. 29. 'riuli di Marin Marino o San Sanut uto o fattaVanno fattaVanno M D II-IM II- IM D III L. 3 l~)cscri^ione della Vatria del / 'riuli L . cd., Manin, (Venezia, 1853).  Jtinerario io per la Terraferma Terraferm a Vene^iana, 88. 4 Sanudo,  Jtinerar *7^.99-101.  Ibi d.   143-44. 6 Ibid.  Ibid.  153-54. 7 Ibid. 8 S. Maffei, Verona illustrata , IV, (Verorn, 1731) 191-92.

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comm com m on practice among am ong topographical topograp hical writers. writers. Needless Needless to say say,, the identification of the site of an ancient town was not always succes successf sful ul.. Th Thee attem attempts pts of the hum humanist anist Antonio A ntonio Ivani to fin findd the m ode odern rn equivalents equivalents o f some some ancient place place names names in Lunigiana, Lunigiana, led to many erroneous conjectures derived from his relying too much on a very corrupt manuscript of Florus, all these being clear from his letter to Leonardo Tobalio of Pontremoli of 30 January 144 4422.1 In other cas cases it it could be long before a very obviou ob viouss site was identified. identified. F o r instanc instancee it was only as as late as 1442 that Giacomo Bracelli established in his  Descriptio ora raee  IJgusticae  IJgusticae that the Gulf of La Spezia was the harbour of ancient Luni2, an identification which was accepted by Biondo in the  Italia  Ita lia illustrata illustra ta3 an and d Berlinghieri Ber linghieri in the th e Geographia4. It could also happen that an identification did not necessarily encounter universal universal approval. In the  De hello llo bispa bispani nien ensi si Bracelli refused to accept the view v iew that tha t Piom bino was the ancient anc ient Populonia Pop ulonia.5 .5 In fact a disputed identification could even lead to a debate which wh ich m ight drag dra g on for centuries centuries.. In 1525, for instance, instance, there appeared by the types of Ludovico Arrighi a Latin poem by Pietro Corsi, Corsi, a humanist hum anist sol solely ely remem bered now fo forr his his polemic with Erasmus, in which he sought to establish that Civita Castellana had been an ‘oppidum’ of the Falisci, not of the Veientes,6 as was was held by many.7 H ere was an issu issuee which was not yet closed three centuries later, when a book was issued in Terni Te rni seeking seeking to prove pro ve that Civita Civita Cast Castel ella lana na had been the ancient ancient Veium.8 Of all controversies of this type, that on the Rubicon which Caesa Caesarr had crossed, crossed, w ent on longest. A m ong the many rivers rivers o f Romagna the actual choice was among the Pisciatello, called Rigone in its lower reaches, the Fiumicino near Savignano, and the Uso, U so, the last one being the ‘of offi fici cial al’’ R ubicon ubic on o f today.9 toda y.9 O f  1 G. Sforza, Sforza, ‘Gli stud i archeolo gici sulla Lu nigian a e i suoi scavi dal 1442 al 1800’, 1800’,  A t t i e memorie della R,  Deputavione di Storia Stor ia Patri Pa tria a per le Prov Provinc incie ie Moden Modenesi. esi.  ser. 4, VII (1895) 81. 2 Ibid. 90.  Ital ia illustr illu strata ata , 299. 3 Blon Bl ondu dus, s, Opera,  Italia 4 F. B erlin gh ghieri ieri,, Geographia, (Firenze, 1482) f. eeiv. Societa Figure di 5 C. A ndria ni, ‘Giacom o B racelli racelli nella storia della geog rafia’, rafia’,  A t t i della Societa Storia Patria , LII (1924) 145. Givis Ro. Poema de Civitat Civi tatee Castellana Faliscorum Faliscor um non Veie V eienti ntium um oppido, (Rom e, 6 Petri Cursii Givis 1525). 7 See for instance Pius Secundus, op. cit. 63.  Diss ertations ns in cui si stabilisce stabilisce per pe r ipotesi ch che Civita-Castellana Civita-Castell ana e Vantica Veio Vei o si si 8 F. M orelli,  Dissertatio cerca erca qual f u la sed sede de5 Falisci e do dove parte pa rte di questi si stabil sta bilii dop dopo o la presa di Veio, (Terni, 1825). 9 A brief account o f the various views views on the Rubicon up to the m iddle o f the sixteenth sixteenth  Disserta'xjo a'xjone ne seco econda de ITabate  IT abate Pasquale Pasquale A m a t i savign savignan anese ese sopra alcu alcune ne lettere del century is in  Dissert signo signorr doitor Bianchi di Rim R im in i e sopra il Rubicone degli antichi,  (Faenza, 1763) 6-8.

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these the Pisciatello was the favourite among fifteenth century humanists humanists.. It was was the choi choice ce o f Biondo,1 w ho quo quoted ted in support the so-called ‘Sanctio’, that is to say the apocryphal inscription  plaa ced  pl ce d b y a b rid ri d g e o n th this is r iv ivee r a n d fo forr b id iddd in ing g an any y a rm rmy y to cros cr osss in the the name name o f the Roman sen senat atee and peo peopl ple. e.22 This This identification identification was accepted a ccepted by Francesco F rancesco Berlinghieri3 and Raffaele Maffei (Volaterrano), who also gave the text of the ‘sanctio’.4 ‘sanctio’.4 I t was rejected, on the other oth er hand, han d, by Pontic Po nticoo Virunio, who in the dedication of his  Historiae Britan ritanni nica caee  com  ple  p lete ted d a t R e g g io E m ilia ili a in 1508, de deni nied ed th thaa t th thee Pisc Pi scia iatel tello lo was Caesar’s R ub ubico icon.8 n.8 Th T h e ‘Sa ‘Sanctio nctio’’ was eventually re rem m ov oved ed in 1522 (only to be put back in 1545) at the request of the ‘Decuriones’ iones’ o f Cesen Cesenaa but for the w ro rong ng reasons. reasons. F o r its its removal remova l was was not due to its being believed to be a forgery, but because of its dilapidated condition.6 The removal of the ‘Sanctio’ in 1522 shows how anxiety for local antiquities could also also be felt outside Rome. Rom e. But Bu t already already some sixty years earlier the gradual destruction of what still remained o f Rom an Luni Lun i had been arousing consider considerabl ablee appre hension. T o stop any fur furthe therr damage to those ruins was clear clearly ly imperative, but bu t how was this this to be achieved? Cardinal Cardinal Filippo Calandrini who wh o as a local local man viewed the situation with w ith dismay, dismay, thought that the only way to save the ruins was to secure an order ord er from the Pope. He may have been succes successf sful ul in getting a  brr ie f f r o m th  b thee P op opee , b u t n o t in e n d in ing g th thee d emol em oliti ition ons. s. F o r tho ug ugh h Pius II had intervened interve ned by issuing issuing a b rie f on 7 April 1461 forbidding forb idding an any y interfering w ith the remains remains o f L uni,7 it made, unfortun unfo rtunately ately,, no di diffe fferen rence ce at all all. In fact when wh en the th e ‘Palazzo ‘Palazzo del del Comune’ was being built at Sarzana in 1474, stone from Luni  prr o v id  p idee d a co cons nsid idee ra rabl blee p a r t o f th thee b u ild il d in ingg m ater at eria ials ls.8 .8 Against the countless destructions, the number of restor ations ations o f ancient m onum ents was distressi distressingly ngly sma small ll.. Th Thee repairs repairs  Ita lia illastr ill astrata ata , 343. J Blondus, Opera,  Italia 2 C.I.L.   XI. I, 30*. To those who gave the text of this inscription should be added Jacopo da Udine in a letter to Francesco Barbaro of 1448, cf. ‘Jacobi de Utino canonici  Miscellanea a di varie operette operette  . . . airillustriss, Aquile'jensis De civitate Aquilejae Epistola’,  Miscellane Sig. Abate D. Giuseppe Pasini . . . , II (Venezia, 1740) 115. 3 B erlin ghie ri, op. cit.  f. ee4r. 4 Vo laterran us, op. cit.  f. K7r. Britannicae, (S.L.N.A.) f. b3v. 5 L. P onticu s V iruniu s,  Historiae Britannicae vero Rubicon Rubiconee quem quem Caesar contra contra Romanum Romanu m interdictum trajecitf  (Romae, 6 J. P. Braschius,  De vero  (Romae, 1733) 173 3) 30 301. 1. T he ‘Sanc tio’ is no w at Cesena in in the Muse o Arche ologico. pa tria a, la famhlia e la siovine??a di Niccolo K. 77’he brief is printed in G. Sforza,  L.a patri (Lucca, 1884) 270-71. 8 Sforza, Gli studi archeologici sulla Lunigiana,  87, n. 1.

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done to the Rom an aqueduct at Albano at the the exp expen ense se of o f Cardinal Cardinal Ludovico Trevisan1 Trevisan1 and the the isol isolati ation on by him o f other ancie ancient nt remains there,2 the re,2 were we re unfortun unfo rtunately ately as untypical as as they w ere infrequen infreq uent. t. Nonetheless No netheless some care care for antiquities antiquities could also also be seen in neighbouring Nemi, thanks to the enlightened outlook of its feudal lord, Biondo’s protector Cardinal Prospero Colonna.3 Colonn a.3 H e was responsible for what wh at might m ight be call called ed the first attempt at archaeological recovery. For a long time pieces of wood, bronze fittings, etc., belong ing to two ships which could be dimly seen in clear weather lying on the bottom of the lake, had been brought up at Nemi in the nets o f local fishermen. fishermen. Some of o f these piece piecess had been show sho w n to Biondo B iondo by Cardinal Colonna Colon na in 1444 1444.4 .4 One O ne can accord ingly wonder how much the Cardinal’s eventual decision to salvage the ships was due to Biondo’s powers of persuasion. Whether or not this was so, the Cardinal decided in due course to salvage the ships and commissioned Alberti, then a papal abbreviator, abbre viator, to proceed procee d w ith it. it. T ha hatt the choice choice o f Alberti, who was obviously the man best qualified for the task, had been suggested by Biondo, then a colleague of his in the Papal Chancery, cannot be confirmed but seems likely likely enough. W hat is, is, however, how ever, impo im portan rtantt is that A lberti had divers and the necessary machinery sent from Genoa, and set abo about ut the the task. task. T he raising o f the fir first st ship, ship, which took to ok  plac  pl acee n o t late la terr t h a n J u n e 1450, was wa s som so m e th thin ing g o f an oc occa casi sion on,, as the papal court had come to Nemi to watch the operation. But one of the ships had already been lifted out of the water when the rotten wood gave way, so that it went back to the  bo  b o tto tt o m ,5 afte af terr w h ich ic h n o f u r th thee r a tte tt e m p t was wa s m ad ade. e. W h a t was wa s salvaged nonetheless proved of some value to both Biondo and A lberti. Thanks Tha nks to it, it, the the former form er was was able able to give a detaile detailedd account o f how the ship shipss had been built b uilt and attribute erroneously erroneously their construction to Tiberius on the strength of an inscription on a lead lead pipe.6 T he latter also also investigated their the ir structure, bu butt  by assi as sign gnin ingg th thee ir c o n s tru tr u c tio ti o n to T r a jan ja n 7 h e also als o p r o v e d qu quit itee  Itali a illustr ill ustrata ata , 319. 1Blondus, Opera,  Italia 2 Ibid,   loc. cit. 3 Supra, 108. 4 No ga ra, op. cit.  155.  Ital ia illustr illu strata ata , 32 5 Blondus, Opera,  Italia 326. Th e passage passage concern ing the Nem i ships ships in Pius Pius  L. iliii Gregorii Gregorii Gyraldi Secundus, op. cit.  566-67 der derives ives from Biondo. Th e account in  L.ili Ferrariensis de re nauticalibellus, (Basileae, 154 1540) 0) 47, com es e ntirely from A lbe rti, op. cit. I, 389.  Itali a illustr ill ustrata ata , 326. 6 B lon du dus, s, Opera,  Italia 7 A lber lb erti, ti, op. cit.  I, 389.

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w rong. O n the other hand, one would wo uld sear search ch A lberti’s lberti’s extant extant w ritings in vain for any m ention o f his salvag salvagee attempts, perhaps perh aps  beca  be caus usee th thee o p e ra rati tio o n h a d be beee n a fa failu ilure re.1 .1 Compared to the attempted rescue of the Nemi ships, the haphazard excavations occasionally attempted outside Rome seldom proved prov ed exciti exciting. ng. Also becaus becausee rather rath er than prope pro perr sear searche chess with an archaeological aim, they really were diggings made in the course course o f agricultural agricultural work, work , or while layi laying ng the foundations o f a new building, building, or while searchi searching ng for buri buried ed treasur treasure. e. A n exception was the spectacular dig which took place at Viterbo in the autumn of 1493, during which the statues of some of the more flamboyant characters connected with the mythical history of the city city were unearthed. Unfortunately on this this occasion the ground had been previously ‘salted’ by the notori ous Giovanni Nanni, better known as Annio da Viterbo, who promptly lectured on the exceptional historical signi fica ficanc ncee of o f these these wonderful wonderful fi finds nds.2 .2 Needl Needles esss to say, what Annio brought to light was a series of miserable fakes m anuf anufactured actured fo forr the ooccas ccasio ion. n. Genuine Ge nuine discoveri discoveries es were, however, how ever, far from being uncommon. uncom mon. A par partt from the immediate immediate neighbourh neighb ourhood ood o f Rome, one hear hearss o f a bronze Hercule Herculess half h alf a cubit in height and a cornaline with a man’s head found at Luni or thereabout in 1474 by a peasant, who ceded them to thee famous th fam ous sculpto scu lptorr Matteo Matte o Civitali Civitali.3 .3 In 15 1510 10 the Sarzana city council presented a marble triton found at Luni to the French gove go verno rnorr o f G enoa.4 enoa .4 In 1489 one learns learns of some some golden orna ments, me nts, certainly certainly Etruscan, Etrusca n, being unea u nearthed rthed at Corneto, C orneto, the ancient Tarqu Ta rquinia inia.5 .5 Excavations also also seem seem to have h ave been carried out ou t at Este during the Quattrocento. W e know this this thanks thanks to the priest Girolamo Atestino, who mentioned in his vernacular chronicle how gold rings, engraved gems, and bronze weapons, were constantly being found in old tombs in Este and its territory, mosaics, marble pillars, and gold and silver coins also coming to light there there very frequent frequently. ly.6 6 But talki talking ng o f Este, it may may be w orth mentioning that an antique lamp, allegedly still burning when ve y on wh ich cf. 1 Perha ps A lbe rti’s rti’s no w lost  De Na vey cf. Alberti, op. cit. I, 389, 389, was conne cted with the Nemi ships. Traccia per pe r rna biogr biografi afia a di Anni An nio o da Viterbo Vite rbo>434. 2 Weiss, Traccia 3 Sforza, Gli studi archeologici sulla Lunigiana, 85. * Ibid. 102.  Monume nti antichi pubbl pu bblicat icatii p e r cura cura della R .  Accademia  Accad emia 5 M. Pa llottin llo ttino, o, ‘Tarq uini ui nia’, a’,  Monumenti  Naz  N azio iona nale le dei Lincei, Lince i, XXXVI (1937) 20. cronica ica de de la antiqua cittade de de A teste, teste, (S.L.N.A.) ff. a4r, b3*. 6 H. Atestino,  L a cron

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11 5

discovered, was fou found nd at Este Es te ab about out 1500. O ur source for this this extraordinary piece of information is the humanist Francesco Maturanzio, who tells us that he eventually became the owner o f so so unique a piece piece and left left a description o f it.1 W hether heth er he invented inven ted the story or was was made to believe believe it, is unknow unkno w n. But onee may well on well wonder wond er w hether we have here a distant distant echo of o f the story concerning another ancient lamp ‘still burning’, found in the tomb of Pallas in Rome and handed down to us by William o f Malmes M almesbur bury.2 y.2 Thanks to Elia Caprioli we learn that a considerable number of statues and small bronzes were being unearthed at Brescia in his own time time.3 .3 Particularly Particularly notew note w orth orthy y among amo ng these was was a  brr o n z e figu  b fi gure re o f M ar ars, s, fo fou u n d a m o n g th thee ru ruin inss o f a tem te m pl plee dedicated to this god just outside the city.4 city.4 The T he discovery o f Etruscan antiquities near his native Volterra was recalled by Raffaele MafFei, who mentioned in particular a recently found stone ston e image with w ith an Etrusca E truscan n inscription,5 inscription ,5this being one o f many which were continu continuall ally y being being foun found d there. there. F ur urthe therr south, south, the the countless tombs, cinerary urns, bronze arms, and gold rings which were continually found outside Vasto, were mentioned  by  b y A n to tonn io G a late la teo o in th thee  De situ sit u lapigiae lapigia e.6 But in order to find an investigation of ancient sites prompted by definite anti quarian aims one has to turn to Sigismondo Tizio, whose explorations of ancient underground passages at Chiusi, in which he found and inspected tombs and inscribed pottery,7 speak for his enthusiasm.8 antiquit ate urbis Patav Pat avii ii, (Basileae, 1560) 55-6, G. B. 1 See on this F . S cardeon card eon ius,  De antiquitate servire alia vita di Fran Frances cesco co M aturan atu ranzio zio orato oratore re e poeta perugino perugino, Vermiglioli,  Memorie pe r servire {Perugia, 18 1807 07)) 50-3. Scardeo nius, op. cit.  56 gives the inscriptions on the urns inside which was found the lamp, and which arc an o bvious humanist forgery, forgery, this being shown shown by the non-classica non-classicall name Olibius on b oth inscriptions and some w ords from P lautus,  A.ulularia 41 o n 1. 1. 2 o f the second inscription. 2 Supra, 10 n.6. 3 H. Cap reolu s, Chronica de rebus Brixianorum,  (Brixiae, s.a.) f. A6r. * Ibid,  f. B4V. 6 Volaterranus, op. cit.  f.G8v. 6 A. Galateus, Fiber de situ lapygiae, (Basileae, 1558) 96. Vopera di Sigism Sigismond ondo o T i^io i^i o  (1458-1528), (Siena, 1903) 137. 7 P. P iccolom iccol om ini, F a vita e Vopera 8 It is wo rth p ointing ou t that ancient remains remains also also attracted the attention of Leonardo da Vinci w ho was, incidentally, incidentally, the the ow ner o f a volum e w ith drawing s o f ancient buildings, buildings, cf. Pedretti, op. cit. 79 79,, L. Reti ‘The ‘The Tw o Unpub lished Manuscripts Manuscripts o f Leonardo da Vinci in Alaga^ine,  CX (1968) the B iblioteca iblioteca Nacional o f M adrid -II’ -II’,, Burlington Alaga^ine, (1968) 81, 81, 86, n. 100. B ut his dra w ing s o f som e rem ains nea r Civitavecchia, on wh ichjtf. L. H. Heydenreich, Heydenreich, ‘Stud ‘Studii accolta Vinciana, XIV (1930-34) 39-5 3, archeologici di Leo nardo da Vinci a Civitavecchia’, Civitavecchia’, R accolta were aiming at a reco nstruc tion o f them fo r ends no t necessarily necessarily antiquarian. antiquarian.

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Antique remains were often used as evidence for the identi fication fication o f ancient sites sites o r buildings, etc. etc. Th Thus us a letter o f Antonio Ivani to his fellow humanist Antonio Medusei written on 15 July 1473, informs us how after having seen an inscrip tion on its wall, which suggested that the abbey church of San Venanzio at Ceperana stood on the site once occupied by the temple of Jupiter Sabatius, he had carried out an exploration of the church, which was rewarded by the discovery of an ancient  pilla  pi llarr in th thee c h o ir a n d th thre reee simila sim ilarr on ones es in th thee c ry rypt pt,, w h ich ic h confirmed conf irmed hi hiss suspici suspicions. ons.1 1 This discovery discovery gave him also also an an excuse for a dissertation on the cult of Jupiter Sabatius in the same same letter,2 letter,2 while while in another an other w ritten ritten to Niccolo Michel Michelozz ozzii in 1472 14 72,3 ,3 he maintaine m aintained d that tha t the ancient theatre the atre at Luni Lu ni had ha d really really  been  be en an a m p h ith it h e a tre tr e a n d t h a t an anci cien entt L u n i ha had d be been en fa farr lar la r g e r than the medieval city. Another humanist, Desiderio Spreti, having noticed on two o f the mosai mosaics cs o f Sant’Apol Sant’Apolli linar naree N uo uovo vo at Ravenna representing the palace of Theodoric and the town of Classe, that churches and other buildings had curtains instead of doors, thought he could confirm the veracity of this detail by referring to some ancient ancient bronze hooks still on o n the top to p o f the tw o entrance entrancess o f the church chu rch o f San Vitale.4 The T he Arena A rena o f V erona and a passage passage in Juvenal enabled the humanist Giovanni Antonio Panteo to assert tha t hatt this city had been b een a Rom Ro m an ‘m unicipium unic ipium ’ ;5 just as the marbles, pillars, mosaics, coins and inscriptions found at Este, enabled Girolamo Atestino to assert that the town had once  bee lo  b lon n g e d t o th thee R o m a n Emperors.® S to tone ne c ar arvi ving ngss an and d in insc scri ripp  tions also also enabled e nabled Elia E lia Caprioli to identify identify the existenc existencee o f some anheologici gici sulla sulla Lunigiana, 77-9. 1 Sforza, G li studi anheolo 3 Ibid. 79.  R.cla^ioni d'alcitni viagg viaggii in dive diverse rse p a r ti della Tosca Toscana na, XI, 3 Ibid.,   8 4 - 5 ; G Targiorri Targiorri To zzetti,  R.cla^ioni (Firenze, 1777) 21. 4 D. Spretus,  De amplittuline, de vastatione et de instauratione urbis Ravennae,  (Vcnctiis, 1489)

f. a6 a6V V.

*Amiotationes Amiota tiones Joannis Joannis A nton nt onii ii Vanthei \ rer reron onen ensis sis, (Venetiis, 1506) f. P2r. * Atestino, op. cit.,  f. b3r.

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 pa rtic  part icu u lar la r cu cults lts as well we ll as tem te m pl ples es in th thee Brescia Bre scia c ou ounn try tr y sid si d e. e.11 And this same humanist had enough enthusiasm to travel all the way to Milan, just in order to examine the columns of the churc ch urch h o f San Lorenzo Lore nzo and an d thus confirm his his suspicions suspicions tha t some  buil  bu ildi ding ngss at Bresc Br escia ia ha h a d be been en er eree cte ct e d by b y th t h e E m p e r o r M ax axim imia ian.2 n.2 The antiquity and size of ancient Lupiae were assumed by Antonio Galateo on the evidence of an arch, passages, vaults, and foundations of buildings which could still be seen under ground grou nd.3 .3 It was left left to Benedett B enedetto o Giovio, the humanist huma nist bro brother ther of the far more famous Paolo, to conjecture from the presence of mosaic pavements in Borgovico at Como, just where the Convent of the Umiliati was standing, that this must have been the situation of the villa of Caninius Rufus mentioned by the younger Pliny4; at the same time the pillars in the Como baptis tery led him to w onde onderr whether w hether they were all all that was left left of o f the  poo r c h o f C alpu  p al purn rniu iuss F a b a tu tus, s, th thee ex existe istenc ncee o f w h ich ic h h a d be been en revealed to him by the young you nger er Pliny’ P liny’ss letters.5 letters .5 Needless to say, say, some o f the ancient monuments monum ents outside outside Rom e aroused particular particular intere interest st.. As the most important impo rtant Roman building building in n or orth th Italy, it was inevitable that the Arena of Verona should have  been  be en vi viee w ed w ith it h b o th awe aw e a n d ad adm m ira ir a tio ti o n d u r in ing g th thee M id iddl dlee Ages. Ages.6 6 D uring the first first half o f the the fifte fifteent enth h century the A ren rena, a, which an anonymous account, probably late medieval, had called ‘altum lambyrintum in quo nescitur ingressus et egressus’ egressus ’,7 was visited by Ciriaco d ’Ancona, An cona, w ho declared that th at it had been built by Augustus in the year 3 B . C . , giving at the same time a description of it full of admiration for the way in which it had been built.8 According to Giovanni Giovan ni Antonio Anton io Panteo’s  De laudi laudibu buss Veron Veronae ae  of 1483, the Arena struck one as a superhum an construction.9 As for the builder o f it, it, who wh o could he have been b u t Vitruvius ? Such an attribution attribu tion seemed seemed quite quite obvious to Marin Sanudo, who on being shown by the local humanist Giusto dei Giusti the inscription with the name L. VIT RV VIV S on the arch o f the Gavi, G avi, which was was loca locall lly y believed  believed  1 Capre Ca preolu olu s, op. cit.  f. B4r'v. 2 Ibid.  f. A2r-v 3 Galat Ga lateu eus, s, op. cit.  82-83. 4 B. G iovi io vio, o, Opere scelte edite per cura della Societa storica Comense, (Como, 1887) 231; C.  Hpi stularum arum U b r i Decem, I, iii. Plinius Secundus,  Hpistul 5 G iov io, Opere scelte . . 233; Plinius Secu ndus, op. cit.  V. xi. 6 Cf. Maflfei, op. cit.  IV, 79-88. 7Bihlioteca Vaticana, Ms. Vat. lat. 5108, f. 30r. 8 Colucci, op. cit.,  XV, XCIII.  A.nnotationes Joannis Joannis A n to n ii Panthei Veronensis, f. P4V. 9 A.nnotationes

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to have been part of the Arena, jumped to the conclusion that this Vitruvius, whom he felt certain was the great architect, had also been responsible for the building of it.1 Other monuments, such as the arch of Augustus and the  bri  b rid d g e o f T ib ibee riu ri u s at R imin im ini, i, th thee T o r t a A u re reaa ’ at a t R av avee nn nnaa , th thee arch of Augustus at Fano, were locally regarded with enough  prr id  p idee t o b e r e p r o d u c e d o n th thee seals o f th thee ir re resp spec ectiv tivee to tow w n s .2 Furthermore the Fano arch was the subject of a lecture by Ciriac Ciriacoo d ’A nco ncona;3 na;3 and after a fter the destruction destru ction o f its its uppe up perr part pa rt during the siege of 1464, it was at least twice represented as it was before being damaged, first about 1475 on a capital of the Loggie o f San Michele Michele,, and again in 15 1513 on the fro front nt o f the new ne w church chur ch o f San San Michele,4 Michele,4lest lest the original appearance o f so im po port rt ant a m onu onum m ent be for forgotte gotten. n. Some particular si sites also also seem seem to have exerted exerted an an unusual app appeal eal.. D urin uring g the second half o f the fourteenth century, the ruins at Sirmione on Lake Garda, the so-called ‘Grotte di Catullo’, were noticed by Benvenuto da Imola, who said in his commentary on Dante’s  Divine Co Com medy edy how he had seen there the remains of ancient buildings under gro un undd and how ho w nothing grew there except except olive olives. s.5 5 D urin uring g the fifteenth century some passing references to the Roman remains at Sirmione were made in the  De laud laudib ibus us Veron Veronae ae  by Giovanni A nto ntonio nio Panteo,6 Pan teo,6 the comm c ommentary entary on Catullus Catullus by A nton ntonio io Partenio da Lazis Lazise, e,7 7 and the emendat em endation ionss on o n Catullu Catulluss and the  Priapeia  Priap eia by Girol G irolam amo o Avanzi, Avanzi, w ho was full full o f admirati adm iration on for the ‘structuram latericiam Triplici fornice concuneatam’ which he saw saw there there.8 .8 All this this shows, shows, o f cour course, se, that for obvious geograph ge ograph  ical ical reasons reasons the Sirmione Sirmione ruins were well know kno w n to the humanists o f Verona. Verona. Y et it was was a hum humanist anist from Milan, Milan, Stefano Stefano Dulcinio, Du lcinio, who furnished in a letter of 31 October 1502 prefixed to his SirmicP  the first description of any length of those remains. D ulcinio’s ulcinio’s description description o f the Sirmion Sirmionee ruins does not n ot add to our  pe r la Terraferma Terraferm a Vene^iana, Vene^iana ,  101. 1 Sanudo,  Itinerario per 2 G. C. Bascape, ‘I sigilli dei dei Comu Co mu ni Italian! ncl me dio cvo c vo e ne li’eta li’eta m od ern a’, Studi di taleoorafia, diplumatica, storia e araldica in onore di Cesare Manaresi , (Milano, 1953) 89, 91--2,  pi.. 11, 23.  pi a Supra, 109. 4 F or these ‘rep rod uc tion s’ sec K. Weiss, ‘L’ ‘L’arco arco di A ug us to a Fa no nel Rinas cim ento’,  Italia  Ita lia Medio Medioeva evale le e Umanistica, VIII (1965) 351-58, PL. XIV-XV.  Benevenuti uti de de Rambaldis Ra mbaldis de Imola Comentum super Dant D antis is Aldig Al dighe herii rii Comoedia Comoediam m, II, 181. 6 Beneven  A n n o tati ta tio o ns Joatmis A nton nt onii ii Panthei Veronensis Veronensis,,  f. P4V. 6 An 7 Ca tullus, tullu s, ( Carmina ), (Venetiis, 1491.) f. giv.  ITier. A vanc va ncii ii . . . in \ ral. Catullu Cat ullum m et in Priapeias T.menda T.mendationes tiones, (Venetiis, 1495) f. a5r. 8 ITier. BS. Dulcinius, Sirmio , (Mcdiolani, 1502) ff. a3v~6r.

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knowledge of them except in this, that they appear to have been then in the same state as they still were before the site was thoroughly excavated and restored a few decades ago. Another famous site, that of ancient Tarquinia, did not find a D ulcinio to describe it. Passing Passing refer references ences to it may on the other hand be found as early as Petrarch, who after mentioning Corneto in the  Itinerariu  Itinerarium m Sjriacum, Sjriacum , stated that within its bound arie ar iess was was Tarquinia, Tarquinia, now bu t a name and ruins.1 ruins.1 Also Domenico Dom enico Bandini reflected reflected similar similar sentiments abou ab outt T arq arquinia uinia.2 .2 But Bu t although some diggings, doubtless prompted by the hope of treasure, were occasionally made there during the Quattrocento,3 several centuries were to elapse before Tarquinia was really discovered. discovered. I t was was during durin g the earl early y sixteenth sixteenth century that the discovery o f ancient E tru truria ria started. started. But the the real real discoverer of the Etruscans was the Scotsman Thomas Dempster in the early seventeenth century centur y with w ith his his  De Etru Et ruri ria a Kegali, Kegali, a w ork which had to wait for over a century before appearing in print.4 Already Flavio Biondo had shown some interest in the Etruscans, one of the digressions in his  Italia  Itali a illustrata illus trata   being an attempt attem pt to show what wha t the Romans Roma ns had owed to them.5 them .5 Here H ere I.eon Battista Battista Alberti went we nt further. furthe r. For Fo r beside besidess noticing the Etruscan remains that came his way during his wanderings through the territories of ancient Etruria, he was also keen enough to inspect various ruins, cemeteries, and tombs recently  brr o u g h t t o lig  b li g h t.1 t. 15 H e also saw, it is in i n tere te rest stin ing g t o n ot otee , h o w th thee lettering of their inscriptions, though close to the Greek and Latin characters, was something quite different and, moreover, quite unint unintelli elligible gible.7 .7 Th Thee Etruscan langua language ge may may have appeared appeared so to Alberti. Alberti. O n the oth other er hand, it it appeared appeared to his his con contem tem por aries to have no mysteries for the notorious Annio da Viterbo, whose shameless fabrications included some texts in an obvious gibberish, which he claimed to be Etruscan and found no 1Perrarca, Opera,  (Venctiis, 1503) f. c5r. 2 Supra, 56. 3 Ibid. 114- The unde rgrou nd passages passages,, tom bs with with figures, figures, and statues at Tarquinia were mentioned in a Latin poem by Lorenzo Vitelli or Vitelleschi, written during the second half o f the fif fifteen teenth th century and addressed to Francesco Filclfo, Filclfo, cf. cf. Pallottino, Tarquinia, 19 19.. 4 T. Dempster,  De ILtruria Recall lib ri   T7 T7 /, (Florentiae, 17231723-24). 24). O n interest in the F.truscans during the Quattrocento see A. Chastel, ‘L’ ‘‘Etruscan Revival” du XVe Si£cle’,  Revue Archeologique Archeologique, (1959) 1, 165-80.  Itali a illustra illu strata ta , 300. 5 B lon du dus, s, Opera,  Italia •Alberti, op. cit.  II, 697. 7 Ibid.  loc. cit.

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difficul diffi culty ty in tu turn rnin ingg into in to Latin.1 La tin.1 N o one on e to-day believes believes in the ‘discoveries’ of Annio, though as late as the mid-eighteenth century the Lisbon Academy was still deeming it advisable to w arn scholars scholars against against hi hiss forgeries. forgeries. But Bu t even some some of o f hi hiss con tem pora poraries ries were we re n o t deceived deceive d by his his claims claims.. Raffae Raffaele le Maff Maffei ei,, forr instance, fo instance, not no t only dismissed his discoveries2 discoveries2 bu but, t, furthe fur therm rmore ore,, as was fitting fitting to a native o f Volterra, Vo lterra, th a t is is to say a tow n where wh ere Etruscan antiquities were continually brought to light, went as far as to examine the problem of Etruscan origins and to sketch a history o f this people in his Commentaria Urbana.3 Th Thee greatest effort in this field was, however, that of Sigismondo Tizio, the chronicler chron icler of o f Sien Siena. a. I f Tizio Tiz io is is still still remem rem embere bered, d, it is is certainly certainly not because of his critical powers, which were decidedly weak, to the point po int tha t he never nev er suspected suspected the authenticity authenticity o f the texts texts  pu  p u b lish li shee d by A n n io io.4 .4 H en ence ce w h e n he de deal altt w ith it h th thee or orig igin inss o f the Etruscans and Siena, his conclusions were certainly very dubio du bious us.6 .6 It I t is all all the same unden undeniable iable that tha t he felt an irresistible irresistible attraction attraction towards the Etruscan civili civilizat zatio ion. n. T o learn Etruscan soon became his principal aim, and though he naturally failed, nonet non ethel heless ess he honestl honestly y thou th ough ghtt he had found foun d the way to unde under r stand the many inscriptions he had so sedulously transcribed.6 Thee orig Th origins ins o f a tow town, n, the th e identity identity o f its its founder found er or founders, when had its foundation taken place, who had been its most illustrious citizens, were questions which were already being asked and answered during the Middle Ages and continued to  bee p o sed  b se d d u r in ingg th thee Renai Re naissa ssanc nce. e. Civic Civ ic p r id idee h a d n a tu tura rally lly stimulated such an interest, and if a town happened to be the  bir  b irth thp p lac la c e o f one o ne o f the th e gr gree a t m e n o f An A n tiq ti q u ity it y som so m e m o n u m e n t o r at least least an alleged alleged tomb tom b was often pro provided vided.. Here He re Mantua had probably been the first with its thirteenth century statue of Virgil in the garb of a medieval university teacher, still to be seen seen to-d to-day ay on the front o f the ‘Broletto’. Broletto’. O f another statue statue of Virgil in the town, all we know is that it was removed in 1397  by Carlo Ca rlo M alate ala testa sta as an ob obje ject ct o f sup su p e rstit rs titio ious us c ul ult, t, th thuu s 1 Cf. Cf. O. A. Dan ielsson, ‘Etrusk isch e Insch riften in han dsch riftlicher U ebe rlieferun g’, g’, Skrifter utgivna av  K .  Humanistikxi  Humanistik xi Vetenskap Veten skap-Samfu -Samfundet ndet i Uppsala, 25:3, (Uppsala-Leipzig,  Italia n 1928) XIII-XX, R. Weiss, ‘An unknown epigraphic tract by Annius of Viterbo’,  Italian Studies presented to E . R . Vincent, (Cambridge, 1962) 101-20. 2 Vo laterran us, op. cit.  f. RR5r. 3 Ibid.  f. G8v. 4 Biblioteca Vaticana, Ms. Chig. G.I. 31, ff. 10v, 32r, etc. 6 Picc olom ini, op. c i t  151-52. 6 Cf. Biblioteca Vaticana, Ms. Chig. G. I. 31, ff. 39v-42r, 48r, 51v-52r, etc.

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arousing arous ing the indignation indign ation o f hum anist Italy. Italy.1 1 A nd that tha t a Virgil Virgil ‘cult’ existed in Mantua is also brought home to us by the  pres  pr esen ence ce o f his effigy o n th thee local loc al co coin inag age. e.2 2 B u t th this is a nd th thee statue on o n the ‘Broletto’ ‘Brole tto’ still still seemed inadequate to Isabella Isabella d’ d ’Este, the very intellectual wife of Francesco Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua. Thus in 14 1499 we fin find d he herr in touch touc h with w ith both Gioviano Pontano the humanist and Mantegna the painter about a monu m ent to Virgil to be erected in Mantua,3 M antua,3 a scheme scheme which came to nought, nou ght, probably because because o f lack lack o f mon money. ey. What Virgil meant to Mantua Ovid meant to Sulmona. Apart from his appearing on the local seals, more than one statue of o f O vid was to be seen seen there during the th e fifteent fifteenth h century. century. One of these, erected in 1477 by Polidoro Tiberti of Cesena during his term as ‘Capitano’ of Sulmona and still preserved in the local local m useum, useum , shows the poet po et in the attire o f a ‘do ‘do cto ct o r’. r’.4 4 Th Thee cult of o f O vid at a t Sulmona Sulmona was, however, equall equalled ed by by that tha t o f Livy Livy at Padua. Padua. Th Thee tomb o f A ntenor, the alle allege gedd founder o f the city city,, had ha d been erected there as early early as 12831283-84. 84. Visible evidence for a loca locall cult o f Livy started later. later. The discovery of the inscription of another Livy, immediately identified as the great historian, made between 1318 and 1324 was followed in 1413 by that of some bones believed to be his his own. Ev Eventu entually ally in 14 1428 these  bone  bo ness w er eree pl plaa ced ce d w ith it h an in insc scrr ip ipti tioo n an and d b u s t o n on onee o f th thee outer walls of the Salone della Ragione. Not for long, however, for in 1457 they were removed into the interior of the building, together togethe r with w ith the presumed tombstone tomb stone and a new bust.5 bu st.5 It was was left to Como to place statues of the two Plinies on each side of the main entrance o f the Cathedral at the the very end o f the fifteenth fifteenth century at the instigation of Benedetto Giovio. The tomb of an illustrious citizen could occasionally lead to some confusi confusion. on. This is is w hat happened at Parma, where the supposed remains of the tomb of Macrobius, then believed to have been born in the town, could still be seen in the fourteenth century. century. Th Thee date o f their fin final al disappear disappearance ance is un unkn know ow n.6 1 Supra,   50-51.  Num ismatic atica a Mantovana, I (1927) 11-3, 27-31, 2A. Magnaguti, ‘Numismatica Virgiliana’,  Numism 61-2. 3 E. Tietze Co nrat,  Mantegna, (London, 1955) 207. 4 PI. PI. VIII, A. Campana, ‘Le ‘Le statue qua ttrocentesche di Ov idio e il capitanato sulmo nese onvegn gno o Internationale Internationale Ovidian Ovidiano, o,  I, (Roma, 1959) 269-88. di Polidoro Tiberti’,  A t t i del Conve 5 Ullm an, Studies in the Italian Renaissance, 55-8.  Archiv io storic storico o per pe r le Pro Provin vince ce Parmensi, N.S. XX V III 6A. M ancini, anc ini, ‘Mac rob robio io Parmen.se’, Parmen.se’,  Archivio (1928) 1-9.

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What we instead know is that after the death in 1416 of the celebrated philosopher and astronomer Biagio Pelacani, the sculptor responsible for his tomb, still to be seen on the front of the Cathedral, represented Pelacani on the right end of it and Macrobius on the left left. W ith the result resu lt that already already no nott so many years later, scholars like Ciriaco d’Ancona and Flavio Biondo were led to believe that the tomb was that of Macrobius, to which wh ich Pelacani’s Pelacani’s remains had been b een added.1 added .1 M onum ents such as the stone marking the spot at Rimini where Caesar was believed to have harangued hara ngued his troops troo ps after crossing crossing the Rubicon R ubicon,2 ,2 or the ‘Sanctio’ by the bridge near Cesena on what was believed to be that tha t river,3 rive r,3 are furthe fur therr instances instances o f civi civicc pride, accompanied accom panied by an interest in Roman characters and events.  No  N o rm a lly ll y th thee or orig igin inss o f a to tow w n w er eree de deal altt w ith it h in th thee initia ini tiall chapters o f lo local cal chroni chronicles cles.. A no nothe therr place place where whe re they were often discussed discussed was in in medieval descriptions description s of o f citi cities es.. These accounts of cities were not, broadly speaking, conspicuous for the disp displa layy of o f cr crit itic ical al powers on the part p art o f their authors. The description des cription o f Milan by by Benzo d ’Alessandri Alessandriaa written w ritten abo about ut 131 3164 64 is an exception. exception. F or not n ot only do we find raised and discussed discussed here some problems problems connected connected with w ith the origins origins o f th this is town , but bu t also also because because they they are treated treated w ith a thoro thoroughn ughness ess unusual for his his time. Benzo’s methods anticipate in several ways those of the humanists o f the next two centuri centuries, es, when the origins and earl early history of towns or regions were often the subjects of works of varying var ying size size and character. Some of o f these, such as the long Latin letter on the antiquities and nobility of Aquileia sent to Francesco Fra ncesco Barba B arbaro ro in 1448 1448 by Jacop Jac opo o da U dine,6 dine ,6 the  De or orig igin inee  Fulginat  Fulginatum um6w ritten ritte n after 1453 1453 by the Aristotelian A ristotelian Niccolo N iccolo Tign T ignosi osi (1402(14 02-147 1472), 2), who wh o was one of o f the teachers teachers o f Marsilio Marsilio Ficino, the  De  D e antiquitatibus antiquitatibus Car arne neae ae  by Fabio Quintiliano Ermacora,7the  De  ori  orig gine ine urbis urbis Venetiarum by Bernardo Giustinian8or the Carmen in Utini originem by Marco Antonio Sabellico,9were really straight Bonon onta ta illustrat illus trata, a,  (Bononiae, 1494) i. a 8V, PI. IX. 3 Ibid.  2-5. See See also N. Burtiu s,  Bon cippo rimines riminesee di Giulio Cesa Cesare. re. 3 Supra Supr a, 112. * Campa Ca mpa na,  II cippo 4 ‘Bentii Alexa ndrini de Me diolano civitate op usc ulum ’, cd. L. A. Ferrai,  Bullettino dellTstitntu Storico Italiano,  no. 9 (1890) 15-36.  Miscellanea a di varie varie operet operette te  . . . alVillustriss. sig. Abate Don Giuseppe Luca 6 Prin ted in  Miscellane Pasini,  II, 105-34. 6 Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele II, Rome, Ms. 112, ff. lr-lOv. 7 In Biblioteca Biblioteca Com unale, Udine, Fon do Jo pp i, Ms. 66. 66. origine ine urbis Venetiaru Vene tiarum, m,  (Venetiis, S.A.). 8 B. G iustinia ius tinia n,  De orig 9 M. A. Sabellicus, Opuscula, (S.L.N.A.), ff- K3r-L9v.

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forw ard historie histories. s. Others, Oth ers, like like the same same a uth or or’’s  De vetusta vetustate te com posed about ab out 1483 or shortly sh ortly afterwards,2 afterw ards,2  Aquileiensis patriae pa triae 1 composed combined history and topography, while more or less topo graphical were the same Sabellico’s  De Vene Veneta taee Urbis situ  written in 1491-92,3 the account acc ount o f Palermo Pa lermo by Pietro Pietr o Ranzani Ranz ani (14281492),4the  De p a tria tr ia illustra illu strata ta5by Jacop Ja copo o da Porcia, this this being an account acc ount o f Friuli sent to Lorenzo Lore nzo de de’’ Medic Medici, i, Duke Du ke o f Urbino, Urb ino, and therefore between 1516 and 1519, and perhaps the now lost  De  agro  agro Ariminen Arim inensi si  by Roberto Valt Va lturio. urio.66 Some Some o f th thes esee trea treati tise ses, s, however, how ever, also also fou found nd roo room m for f or some mention m ention o f lo local cal antiqui antiquiti ties. es. Thus the  De or orig igin inee et antiquitate antiquitate Urbis Seme  by Francesco Patrizi, Bishop of Gaeta,7a tract which was one of the sources used by Sigismondo Tizio in his his chronicle,8 m entioned also also some o f the local antiquities9, as also did the  De situ Japisiae Japisiae  by Antonio Galateo.10 Also individual churches were occasionally the subject of w hat m ight be cal calle led d short monographs. To the fourteenth fourtee nth century belongs an account of the foundation of the church of San Giova G iovanni nni Ev Evange angelista lista at Ravenn Rav enna.1 a.11 1 But Bu t it was du during ring the sixteenth century that the early churches of this city appear to have been the subject subject of o f particular stu study. dy. O f th this is kind was the detailed description of the Basilica of Sant’ Apollinare in Classe, which the Camaldolese Monk Vitale Acquedotti addressed in 1 Ibid.  tf. A3r-F9v. 2This date is suggested by a note by Pilade Boccatdo on behalf of Matin Sanudo, and therefore written in 1483 or thereabouts, when Boccardo was Sanudo’s secretary, in which vetustate  ‘quam  Itim rario o SabcUico is asked to send the  De vetustate ‘quam pri primum*. mum*. Th e letter is in Sanu do, Itimrari  per  pe r la 'I'errafer 'I'erraferma ma Vene^iana,  XLIII. 3 Sabellicus, op. cit.,  ff. A2V-D4V; for its date sec G. Mercati. Ultimi contributi alia storia degli degli umanisti umani sti —  V'ascicolo  //, (Citta del Vaticano, 1939) 14, n.l.  — V'ascicolo opusculum de auctorey auctorey primord prim ordiis iis et progrcssu progrcssu felicis feli cis urbis urbi s 4 Petri Ranzani Panorwitani . . . opusculum Panormi. . .  (Panormi, 1737). •r’ In Biblioteca B iblioteca C om una le, U dine , Fon F on do Jo pp i, Ms. 66 66.. note su Roberto Roberto Valtu Va lturio rio , 12-17. Also strictly f>Cam >Ca m pana, pa na,  Due note strictly topog raphica l was the description of Bergamo and its countryside written in 1516 by Marcantonio Michiel and rigine ne et temporibus temporibus Urbis Bergom Bergomii Prancisci Bellafini liber  lib er : A g r i ct Urbis Bergomati Bergomatiss  pri  p rin n te d in  De origi descr descript iptio io M atri Anto A nto nii ni i Micba Micbaeli eliss Patricii Veneti, (Venetiis, 1532) if. e4r -f2r. 7Biblioteca Hiccatdiana, Florence, (Biblioteca Morcniana) Ms. Pecci, 11, ff. 8r -22v. 8 Vatican Vatica n Library, Libr ary, Ms. Chig. G.I. G. I. 31, ff.. 175r. 9 Biblioteca R iccardiana, Flo renc e, (Biblioteca M orcnian a) Ms. Pecci, Pecci, 11, 11, ff. 18v 18v-2 -2 0r . 10 Printe Pri ntedd in Ga lateus, late us, op. cit. As for the archaeologi archaeological cal pursuits o f Fra Francesco Colonna, the au thor o f the liypnerotomachia Poliphili, it has been established established tha t the antiqui ties described in his work are of literary origin, i.e. derived from the works of classical and Renaissance writers, and only very occasionally from ancient remains in the Venetian territory, cf. M. T. Casclla and G. Pcrzzi, Francesco Colonna-Bio^rafia e opere,  II, (Padova, 1959) 32-77. Tr aciatu atuss de de dedic ded icat ation ion lurl lu rles esie ie S'. Joan Joann? n?sU sULv Lvan ange gelist listee in Biblioteca Classcnse, 11 The Traci Classcnse, Raven na, Ms. 406.

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1511 to Cardinal Cardinal Francesco Soderini,1 Soderini,1 or the tracts tracts on the churches of San Giovanni Evangelista, San Vitale, and the tomb o f Galla Placidia, Placidia, by by Gian Pietro P ietro Ferr F erretti etti (1482(1482-1557). 1557).2 2 T he connexion connex ion o f churches churches with ancient ancient sit sites was was also not overlooked. overlook ed. Already Giorgio Merula had stressed in the  Antiq  An tiquit uitate atess Vice comit  comitum um  the connexion between the church of San Lorenzo at Milan and the temple o f Hercules erected by Maximian.3 Maximian.3 This was also stressed in what was, despite its brevity, the most impor im portant tant study on the archaeology archaeology of chur churches ches produced produ ced in the early sixteenth century, this being the  De templo templo D . Eustorgii , Tribus Magis, D. Laurentii templo et atii scitu dignis   by Andrea A lciati,4 to whom w hom we also also owe a straigh stra ightfor tforw w ard early early history histo ry o f Milan5, Milan5, written wr itten while he was stil stilll studying study ing under und er Giano Gia no Parrasio, in which local antiquities were not overlooked. Among the accounts of towns or regions including some antiquarian information, a few stand out on account of their  paa rtic  p rt icu u lar la r th thoo r o u g h n e ss o r in inte tere rest st.. C hr hron onol olog ogic ical ally ly,, th thee fir first st one deserving some special mention is the  De amplitudine amplitudine,  de  de vastatione et de instauratione Urbis Kavennae   by Desiderio Spreti (1414-C. (141 4-C.1474 1474). ). Alrea Alr eady dy in 14 1457 57,, w hile seeking see king re refug fugee in the countryside from the plague, Spreti had found time to address a Latin tract in letter form to the Venetian praetor of Ravenna, Pietro Zorzi®, in which he gave a narrative of the events which led to the city’s city’s coming com ing under un der Venetian Ve netian rule in 14 1441. This tract tra ct eventuall eventually y became became part o f the second second and third books o f the  De com pleted after after 1461 146177 and posthum posthu m ously  amplitudine  amplitudine, which was completed  prr in  p inte tedd in Venic Ve nicee in 1489 1489.. W he here reas as th thee tra tr a c t sent se nt to Z o rz rzii was a straightforw straigh tforward ard historical historical narrative, this was not so with Spreti’s Spreti’s major ma jor w ork. A lthoug ltho ugh h its its main purpo purpose se is is also also historical, historical, Spreti Spreti also found room in it for talking about the city and its most notable monuments. monume nts. Th Thee ancient ancient wall wallss and the ‘Porta ‘Porta Aurea’ A urea’,,  I. a basilica di S a n t’Apolh Ap olhna nare re in Classt\   (Citta del Y'aticano, 1Printed in M. Mazzotti,  I.a 1954) 243-71. 2 Cf.  Cf. Va tican Library, Lib rary, Ms. Vat. lat. 5835, 5835, ttff. 7 M 8 v , 58v, 58v, Ms. Vat. lat. 5336, 5336, t l 2 ? -25*. tiq uita tate tess I icec iceco omitun itun? ? L ib r i X  , (Mcdiolani, 1630) 4. 3 G. Merula,  An tiqui  A na lect le cta a Bollandia Boll andiana na , X I (1892) 207 11 4 Printed in  Ana 11..  Rerun? n? Patriae Andreae Andrea e A lc ia ti I.C I. C . celeherrim celeherrimii lib ri UU, UU ,  (Mcdiolani, 1625;. 5 Reru 6 Bibliotec Bibli otecaa Marcia Ma rciana, na, Venice, Ve nice, Ms. Lat. X IV . 251 251 (4685), (4685), 6th 6t h fascicle, H'. l r - 1 5 '\  His torian ianmi mi / lier lieron onyn ynri ri Rnbei Rnbei L ib ri X y ’Although its composition is given as c. 1459 in  Histor (Venetiis, 1572) 397, its letter of dedication to Vitale Lando, who was podcsta of Ravenna in 1461, cf. G. Fabri, llffemeride sagra et istorica di Ravenna, (Ravenna, 1675) 412,written after Lando was no longer occupying this office, shows that it must have been completed after tha t date. date. A copy of Spreti’s Spreti’s work appears in the invento ry of books o f Giovan ni Marcanova drawn up in 1467, cf. L. Sighinolfi, ‘La biblioteca di Giovanni Marcanova’, Collectanea variae doctrinae Leoni S. Olschki, (Monachii, 1921) 218.

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which he rightly rig htly attrib a ttribute uted d to Claudius, Claudius, are mentione me ntioned d in it,1 and so are San Vitale, the tomb of Galla Placidia, and the other main churche churches. s. A nd when whe n w riting about abo ut San Vitale Vitale he delighted in mentioning a block of a rare stone to be seen in it which was transparent in spite of its thickness, the two marble figures of  boys  bo ys,, th thee n b e lieve lie vedd to t o b e by n o on onee less th thaa n P ol olyc ycle letu tus, s, as well we ll as a mosaic on the ceiling with the Agnus Dei, which always appeared as facing one, whichever the angle from which it was observed.2 Following w hat he had learnt from the chronicle of Agnellus, Agnellus, Spreti asserted that the city walls had been enlarged by Galla Placi Placidi diaa and Valentinian Valentinian III.3 O f the tomb tom b o f Th Theod eodoric, oric, he stated tha t it was now no w cal called Sancta Sancta Maria Maria R otun otunda da,4 ,4 and he al also m entioned a gilt statue statue o f this this king rem oved by Charlemagne.5 Ch arlemagne.5 He also informs us that a church churc h built by the Goth G othss and dedicated to St. St. Andrew A ndrew had been recently levell levelled ed dow n by the Veneti V enetians ans in order to make room for their new fortress;6but all this is but a sample sample of o f w hat we are told by Spreti, S preti, whose interes inte restt in in mosaics mosaics was wide enough for him to use them as sources of antiquarian inform infor m ation.7 ation .7 Th Thee same same applied applied to to loca locall inscriptions inscriptions and here he struck a new note by giving a substantial group of them at the end of his treatise.8 Spreti’s volume is still invaluable to the student of the antiquities antiquities of Ravenna. Th Thee writings on hi hiss own ow n native tow n by Giovanni Nanni, better known as Annio da Viterbo, proved instead a curse to historians and antiquarians for several centuries centuries.. W hat A nnio wished to establis establish h was was that Viterbo Viter bo had been the very cradle cradle o f civili civilizati zation. on. N ow the traditional link link o f the tow n with Hercules Hercules was was hardly hardly out of o f the ordinary. So he decided to improve imp rove on it, and in a seri series es of o f public lectur lectures es A nnio told his fellow citizens how Isis and Osiris, as well as a host of heroes and heroines indiscriminately drawn from classical mythology, had taken part in its foundation and early develop m en ent.9 t.9 Evidence Evidenc e for such clai claims ms was soon to follow. Th Thus us J Sprcius, op. cit.  jf. a4v. 2 Ibid.  f. a5r. 3 Ibid . f. a4v. 4 Ibid.  f. a5r. 5 Ibid.  loc. cit. 6 Ibid.  ioc. cit. 7 Ibid.  f. a6r'v.  Infr a, 152. 8 Infra Traccia per una biogr biografi afia a di Ann A nnio io da Viterbo Vite rbo,,  432. 9 Weiss, Traccia

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 b e twe  be tw e e n 148 14888 a nd 1492 he p r o d u c e d a hi hist stor ory y o f V ite it e rb rbo o fro fr o m the beginning to the time of Pope Innocent VIII (1484-1492),1 where he gave bis own incredible version of its early history. Another of his works, already completed in February 1491 and now lost but for a few fragments, dealt with the illustrious men o f V iterbo,2 its its historical historical reliabi reliabili lity ty being shown show n by his his making m aking the Farnese family descend from Osiris and be brought to Tuscany by prince Tyr Tyrrhenus. rhenus. Furthe Fu rtherm rm ore between 14 1490 and 1492 he manufactured some epigraphic evidence in pseudoEtruscan and Greek, showing what had happened to Atlas, Electra and Co., after settling in Viterbo, as well as a decree of the Lombard King Desiderius giving details about the territories subjected subjected to the town.3 Only a fraction of o f the writings o f A nnio has reached us. us. These also also include two tw o tracts in which wh ich he expounded hi his epigra epigraphi phicc di disc scove overi ries4 es4 and the  Alexa  Ale xandr ndrina ina lucubratio, which he dedicated in 1495 to Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, the future Pope Paul III, for which he had selected the very ver y ambitious ambitious theme o f the ori origins gins o f Italy.5 Italy.5 Annio’s forgeries, both literary and epigraphic, accompanied  by  b y ample am ple c om omm m en ents ts,, w er eree ev even entu tual ally ly assem ass emble bled d to togg e th thee r in his ‘magnum opus’, the  Antiq  An tiquit uitate atess, which were printed for the first time in Rome in 14 1498. E ve ven n by then the n his his enthusiasm for the antiquities antiquities of o f hi hiss birthplace had not no t cooled cooled down. Witness his  pee titi  p ti tio o n to P op opee A lexa le xand nder er V I ,6 in w h ich ic h he be begg gged ed t o be  plac  pl aced ed in ch char arge ge o f th thee a nt ntiqu iquiti ities es o f th thee V ite it e rb rbo o co coun untr trys ysid ide. e. Whether his petition was successful, we do not know; but one may be left to wonder what his contribution might have been if he had directed his energies and talents to an honest illustration of the genuine antiquities of Viterbo and its adjacent country. Genuine and straightforward antiquarian enthusiasm backed  by a critica crit icall an andd in inqq ui uisi siti tive ve m in ind d w er eree in inst stee ad b e h in ind d th thee h isto is torr y o f his native Brescia Brescia by Elia Caprioli. Caprioli. Also this hum anist anis t was very proud of the long history of his city. But, unlike Annio, Caprioli was an honest man, who did not approve of the fabrica tion tio n of o f historical evidence. evidence. In his day several several legends, legends, mostly 1The Viterbiae Historiae }.pithoma  in the Vatican Library, Ms. Vat. lat. 6263, il. 346r371v. unknown "pi^'npbic tract by An nins nin s o f l 7iterbo, iterbo,  102. 2 Weiss,  A n unknown  Ibid. 1 0 1 - 2 0 . 3 Ibid. 4 Supra , 120, n.l. 6 Biblioteca E stenso, M ode odena, na, Ms. Gam ma Z 3, 2, 2, ff. l r-9 v. della 6 A. Me rcati, 'Cornunic azioni antiquarie dall'A rch ivio Seg reto Va ticano’,  A t t i della Pontificia Accademia Romana di Arcbeologia,  Rendiconti  Rendiconti, ser. 3, XIX (1942-43) 415-18.

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connected with Hercules, were circulating about the origins of Brescia. These These he he had no hesi hesitat tation ion in repudiati repudiating.1 ng.1 O n the other hand, he erroneously believed that the Emperor Maximian had been responsible for some of the ancient buildings in the tow n.2 Ele agreed o f course with w ith the view tha t Bresci Bresciaa had been a Roman colony,3and quoted an inscription seen near Toscolano on Lake Garda,4 in order to prove the connexion between between the tow n and Julius Caes Caesar ar.. Th Thee many Roman Rom an statues statues and smal smalll  bron  br onzz es u n e a r th thee d at Brescia Bresc ia w e re a sour so urce ce o f p rid ri d e to hi him m. Hence he quoted with obvious pleasure a statement by the wellknown antiquarian Michele Ferrarini, asserting that no other town tow n could co uld di display splay so many Roman Rom an remains.5 Ano A nothe therr humanist he was was delighted delighted to quote qu ote was was Girol G irolam amo o Campagnola Campagnola a prop propos os o f two leading local antiquities, namely a very ancient temple and the amphitheatre, then believed to have been built by the E m pe peror ror Maximian.6 H e als also o strove to to show with the the help o f epigraphic evidence, that the church of San Giovanni Battista stood on the site of the oracle of Pallas,7and that the church of San Barnaba used to be the temple of Hercules.8 The archaeological sections in Caprioli’s history show his unusual competence as as an antiquarian. In ord order er to find find a systemat systematic ic account o f the antiquities antiquities o f an Italian Italian tow to w n we must, m ust, however, wait until 1514, when the  De N o la   of Ambrogio Leone was first published in Venice, two years after being completed com pleted by the author. A m brog brogio io Leone (14 (145757-152 1525) 5),, a humanist hum anist physician physician who w ho had settled settled in Venice Venice because because his his native n ative tow n of N ola near ne ar Naples had tur turne ned d dow d own n his his clai claims to nobility,9 nobility,9 is only remembered now as a correspondent of Erasmus, who honoured him with his praise in the  Ad  A d a gia gi a .1 .10 0 A ctua ct ually lly h e was also also a translator from the G reek o f some distincti distinction on and belonged to the coterie of Aldus, then the leading humanist circle of Italy. Thee aim o f th Th thee  De N o la was was decidedly decidedly humanistic. N o t only did it include an account of the ancient topography of Nola and its ‘ager’, but it also strove to show at all costs how the way of life 1Capreohis, op. cit.  IT IT. A2rA2r - A 3 v . 2 Supra, 117. 3 Capre Ca pre olu s, op. cit.  f. A5r. 4 Ibid. f.   Biv. 5 Ibid.  f. A6r. 6 Ibid.  ff. A4v-A5r. 7 Ibid.  f. B4r. 8 Ibid.  loc. cit, Nol ana eccl eccles esia iast stica ica storia, I, (Napoli, 1747) 629. 9 G. Remondini,  Della Nolana  Adag iorum um Cbiliadesy Cbiliadesy (Basileae, 1515) f. f2v. 10 Erasmus,  Adagior

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of its inhabitants was a direct continuation of that of their ancient forbears. Leone’s description of the ‘ager Nolanus’ and its boundaries,1 where following Biondo’s example he strove to furnish the location and modern names of various ancient sites, is a very ■ cre red ditab itablle th thoo u g h not no t invariably accurate effort effort.. He may have  beee n m o re o r less ne  be n e ar th thee m a rk w h e n h e id iden entif tifie ied d H e rc rcuu lan la n u m w ith Torre de dell Greco.2 Greco.2 But he cert certai ainl nly y went wrong w hen he he ■declared that Torre Annunziata was on the site of the ancient Stabia,3 Stabia,3 Castellamare di Stabia being bein g instead inste ad the actual one. T he topography of Nola in classical times was also the subject of careful study by Leone, a study which indicates his familiarity w ith the old mo monum numents ents of o f the cit city y and loc local al inscripti inscriptions. ons. Thu Thuss we find him pointing out that the ‘Fossae’ had protected it from floods,4 and supplyin sup plying g the th e size size of o f the ancient anc ient city and its gates.5 gate s.5 H e investigated the building mate m ateri rials als which had been employed in the ancient remains,6 rema ins,6 n o r did he om o m it, as as had been long lo ng ‘de rigueur’, to bewail the ceaseless destruction of what ruins were still still left.7 left.7 The descripti description on o f ancient ancient Nola by Leone incl include udess tw o amphitheatres, one of which he identified as being part of an already ruined ruine d castle, castle,8 8 and added furtherm furth erm ore that tha t Orso O rso Orsini, a former feudal lord of the town, had enlarged the ‘Regia’ with stones stones rem oved from one of o f them.9 them .9 Many M any other local local antiqui antiquities ties still visible, such as the famous ‘Tumuli’, were described by Leone,10 who also indicated the sites of ancient temples and stree str eets.1 ts.11 1 As was only natura nat ural, l, Leone Le one drew considerably consider ably from fro m inscriptio insc riptions ns and clas classic sical al w riters. riters . Excessive reliance on literary literary texts was actually a source of weakness in his case, since he often failed to interpret correctly their topographical indications. What, incidentally, proved utterly beyond him were the hagiographic problems connected with St. Paulinus, which he com  ple  p lete tely ly failed fai led to un unra rave vel. l. ol a  di A m brogio L eone’, 1On which see A. Maiuri, ‘Sul  De N ola eone’, Studi in onore di Riccardo Filangieri, II, (Napoli, 1959) 261-71. la ,  (Venetiis, 1514) f. c4r. 2 A. Leo,  De No la, 3 Ibid,  ff ff. cS v- ^. The ubication of Pom pei, Stabi Stabia, a, and H erculanum had a lready lready been •discussed by Francesco Pucci in his commentary on Cicero’s letters ‘Ad Atticum’, cf. M. Santoro, Uno scolaro del Poli%iano a Napoli: Francesco Pucci,  (Napoli, 1948) 96. 4 Leo, op. cit. ff. civ-c2r. 5 Ibid. f. b 6 v . 6 Ibid.  f. b7r. 7 Ibid.  loc. cit. 8 Ibid.  ff. b4v, b7r'v. 9 Ibid.  ff. b7r, e6v. 10 Ibid.  f. b7r b 7r *v. 11 Ibid.  ff. b7v, cir'v.

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The antiquarian antiquarian interest o f the  De N o la  is not confined to its text text.. F or at the author’ auth or’ss request the noted painter painter and engraver engra ver Girolamo Mocetto supplied four engraved plates as illus trati trations. ons. O f these these two two ar aree of o f particular particular interes interestt for our purpose, purp ose, one of them because it shows the old ‘ager Nolanus’, that is to say the Gulf of Sorrento and its adjacent territory with their ancient place place names,1 names,1 the othe o therr because because it is is a plan of o f N ola in classical times with its ‘viae’ and monuments etc. as known to Leone,2 Leone ,2 this being b eing the earliest earliest archaeological plan o f an Italian tow n (Rome excepted, excepted, o f course), course), which has reached us. us. Though not comparable in importance with the  De N ola ol a ,  the  Antiqu  An tiquitatu itatum m Bellu llunensiu sium ser/ ser/n nones qmttuor •*which Pierio Valeria V aleriano no completed in 1522, are nonetheless worthy of some special mention. It is is true that tha t this this w ork ork,, in which the autho r investi gated the origins of Belluno, is almost entirely based on literary and epigraphic sources and does not really deal with the ancient remains remains o f Belluno and its its countryside. coun tryside. All the same its its dis cussion of the early settlements is not without interest, and itstopographical account of the course of the Piave is done with remarkable accur accuracy acy.. Th Thee last last of the ‘Sermones’, ‘Sermones’, togethe toge therr with Valeriano’s Latin poem Urbis patriae Genethliacon*  are a celebra tion of the ‘Familia Flavia’, to which Belluno was believed to owe its past greatness, a greatness which Valeriano was anxiousshould not be forgotten. Although it really shows no serious attempt at recon structing the topography of Como in classical times, the chapter entitled ‘De prisco urbis situ et publicis aedificiis’ in the  Historiae  Patriae L ib r i Duo o f Benede Ben edetto tto G iovio (1471-1544)5 (1471-1544)5 is stil stilll o f some sign signifi ificance. cance. In fact the identification identification o f some remains in the town or its neighbourhood with buildings mentioned in the letter letterss of o f the younger young er Pliny,6 makes this this chapter ch apter a co contribu ntribution tion to archaeolog archaeology y which should no t be overlooked. Th Thee  Historiae  Histori ae  Patriae, it is is interesting interesting to note, were accompanied by an account of the town from the chronicle of Benzo d’Alessandria and the letter letter of Cass Cassio iodo doru russ to Gaudiosus,7 Gaudiosus,7 and give give the histor history y of Como Com o until until 15 1532. Yet Ye t from what w hat we kno know w about abo ut the antiquarian 1 Ibid.  Ibi d.  facing f. iiiir. 2 PI. X, Leo,  op. t i t .   f. b5r.  A ntiq iqui uita tatu tum m Bellune Bellunensiu nsium m Sermones Quat Qu attu tuor or ,  (Venetiis, 1620). 3 J. P. V alcr ianu s,  Ant 4 Pr in ted ibid.  110-14. 5 G iov io , Opere scelte  . . . » 2 25 25-34 6 Supra , 117. 7 G iov io, Opere scelte  . . . , X I V .

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activity and enthusiasm of Benedetto Giovio, it is certain that they embody the researches of almost a lifetime, and as such they the y could could hardly hardly be om itted itted from this this survey.1 survey.1 From the fourth decade of the Cinquecento onwards, accounts of local antiquities became less and less an exception. It was then that works like Giovanni Crisostomo Zanchi’s  De  D e vrigine Orobiorum sive Cenomanorum libri tres  (1531), Paolo Giovio’s  Descriptio L a r i i  L m c u s  p  pu u b lis li s h e d in 155 1558 8 b u t co com m pl plee ted te d n o t lo lonn g after 1536, the  Antiq  An tiqui uita tate tess Valentinae Valentinae  of Francesco Alighieri (1537), the  De  D e orig rigine ine e t amplitudin amplitudinee civitatis civitati s Veron Veronae ae  of Torello Saraina (1540), etc., bore witness to a new flourishing of local antiquarian studies, which would have been unthinkable a few decades earlier. earlier. T ha t even B ion iondo do’’s  Italia  Ita lia illustrata illus trata   was no longer found adequate was typical of the new climate, which found in Leandro Alberti’s  Descrittione  Descrittione di tutta tu tta P Ital It alia ia   (1550) a far better answer to present p resent need needs. s. 1 O ne sho uld also m entio n as o f conside rable interest, in view o f their use o f local local antiquities as evidence, the history of Milan started in 1494 or shortly after by Tristano C.alch chii Medi Mediol olan anen ensis sis Historiae Historiae Patriae L ib ri l lgi nti ,  (Mediolani, -Calchi, printed in Trista ni C.al  His toire re de rhisto rhi sto riogr rio grap aphi hicc moderne, (Paris, 1914) 132-34, and 1627), on which see K. Fuetcr,  Histoi the still unpublished Uistoria Ferrarictisis  by Pellegrino Prisciani, dedicated to Ercole 1, D uk e o f Fe rrara (14 (1471 71-- 1505 1505). ). T he  His  is available in in several m anuscripts, e.g. V atican  H isto tori ria a  is Library, Ms. Ms. O ttob. lat. lat. 27 2773 73.. N or sho uld one om it to notice the m ention o f ancient  bu  b u i l d i n g s a n d r u i n s in N a p l e s a n d it s n e i g h b o u r h o o d i n t h e l e t t e r w r i t t e n b y P i e t r o S u m napolet ana del  de l  monte to Marcantonio Michiel on 24 March 1524, cf. F. Nicolini,  IJ a rt e napoletana  Rinascimento  Rinascimen to e la l a h.ttera h.tt era d i Pietro Pie tro Summonte a Marcantonio Marcanto nio Mich Mi chiel  iel , (N apo li, 192 1925) 5) 173-75. A t 174 17 4 Sum m onte gives w hat m ust be the earliest earliest Renaissanc Renaissancee m ention o f the temples at Paestum . Superf Superfic icia iall descriptions descriptions o f some ancient remains in in Naples and its neig hbo urho od were also given by Gioviano Pontano, cf.  johannis  johan nis lovian lov ianii Ponta Po ntani ni De I Jb eral er alita itate te  . . .  De  D e  Magnificentia  . . . U h r i ,   (Neapoii, 1498) ff. K2r-K3v,  Ponta  Po ntani ni de bello neapolitano et de sermoney {Neapoli, 1509) ff. G5r~G6v.

CHAPTER TEN

THE DISCOVERY OF THE GREEK WORLD

O ur knowledge knowledg e o f Greek Gr eek antiquity antiquity began rather rathe r late. ate. By the middle of the fifteenth century Roman antiquity had already  been  be en th thee ob obje ject ct o f stu st u dy f o r ne near arly ly a c en entu tury ry a nd o f in indi disc scrim rim  inate in ate admirati adm iration on for much long longer. er. O n the other hand, despit despitee Crusades and trade, Latin rule and missionary effort, the archaeo logical study of the Greek world during the Renaissance prac tically began and ended with Ciriaco d’Ancona, and by 1455 Ciriac Ciriaco o was was dead. A fter him him the Turkis Tu rkish h conquest conqu est of o f Byzanti Byzantine ne lands put an end to antiquarian travel in Greek territories for about a century; and when Pierre Gilles went to Constantinople in 1546 as antiquary to the French ambassador, the Renaissance was was nearly over. Gilles’s Gilles’s tw o treatises treatises appeared in prin t only in 1561 and deal with the topography of Constantinople and the Bosporus.1 N o account accoun t of the topograph topog raphy y o f Athens, which is is shown as a typically German city in the great Nuremberg chronic ch ronicle le o f 14 1493, 93,22 was publishe publ ished d until un til 16 1624 24,, when wh en the th e  Atbenae  Atben ae  Att  A ttic ica a e   of Johannes Meursius was issued for the first time. This Leiden professor had deemed it more comfortable to rely on literary sources than to go over to Greece to see for himself. His handbook remained the indispensable guide of every cultiv ated traveller to Athens for over a century. If little was known about Greek architectural remains, even less was known about Greek sculpture, though antiquarians honestly believed believed themselves themselves to know kn ow a go good od deal abo about ut it. it. But then, though from the Renaissance onwards the West was full of alleged alleged Greek Gre ek pieces pieces,, very few o f them happened happene d to be genuine. A t Oxford there were, were, of o f cour course, se, the the Arundel marble marbles. s. But until the the arrival of the Elgin marbles, marbles, there cannot have been many to be seen seen in in London. Lond on. In this this visitors visitors to Venice Venice were at an advantage. advantage. For Fo r among the tangible tangible resul results ts of o f the Venetian Venetian genius genius for fo r loo looting, ting, they the y could see see the famous famous fou f ourr bronze hor horses ses of St. Mark’s, removed from Constantinople in 1204 and so 1 T h e  De  D e Bosporo Bosporo Tbracio Tbra cio lib li b r i II I,   (Lugduni, 1561) and  De Topograp Topo grapbia bia Constantinopoleos 1561 61). ). et illius illius antiqui antiquitati tatibus bus libri I V  (Lu gdu ni, 15  L ib e r Cronicarum Cron icarum , (Nuremberge, 1493) f. XXVIIIr. 2 H . S che de l,  Lib

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DISCOVERY OF THE GREEK WORLD

fittingly placed on the upper front of a church where even the venerated body of the patron patro n saint saint was was stolen stolen prope property. rty. In the West what passed for Greek sculpture were as a rule either Hellenist Hellenistic ic copi copies es or Roman Rom an imitations. imitations. W hether hethe r even WinckelWinckelmann ever set eyes upon a Greek original, must be open to doubt. The numerous remains still scattered all over the Greek world occasionally intrigued some travellers during the four teenth century. As a rule such an interest intere st did not no t stra stray y beyond be yond the more glamorous antiquities of Athens or Constantinople. Like Constantinople, Athens was regarded as belonging to a speci special al clas class. s. But while a late late antique account acc ount o f the former, form er, the  No  N o titi ti tia a urbis urbis Co Cons nstan tantin tinopo opolita litana naee, had not been been altogether unkn unknow ownn to the medieval W est1, est1, nothin no thing g o f the kind k ind had ha d been available available forr Athens. fo Ath ens. Like Shakespeare’ S hakespeare’ss Padua, Athens was considered ‘Mistress of all arts’, the city out of which, in Dante’s words, ‘ogni scie scienz nzaa disf disfavi avill lla’ a’..2 O n the other othe r hand, where whereas as Con stantinople remained a great capital, medieval Athens was but a sad relic relic of its its departed glory. Th Those ose ancient temples which wh ich had survived had been turned into places of Christian worship. That of Hephaistos in the Agora had become the church of St. George, while the very Parthenon was turned into a cathedral dedicated to the Panaghia, and it was known as St. Mary of Athens during the Frankish rule. The legends linked with Roman monuments which fill the counterp art in Athens. Athens. Th Thus us  Mirabil  Mir abilia ia Ro Roma maee Urbis, had their counterpart from the w ritings ritings o f a twelfth twelfth century century metropolitan me tropolitan o f the the cit city, Michael Acominatus, we learn how in his time the choregic m onu onum m ent of Lysicr Lysicrat ates es was was commonly kn know ow n as the  t o v   Arjfxoadei'ovs,3  while what was still left of Hadrian’s aqueduct was probably already believed to have been the school o f A ristotle.4 Y et the pride o f medieval medieval Rome R ome in the re reli lics cs o f its its  past  pa st gr grea eatn tnes ess, s, a pri p rid d e w hi hich ch di did d n o t p r e v e n t its i ts in inhh a b ita it a nt ntss fro fr o m using them as building materials, was much less noticeable in Athens. Th Thee Frankish, Cata Catala lan, n, and Florentine Flore ntine rulers rulers of Athens Athen s took no greater interest in the ancient monuments of their  ti a e Regionum Urbis Ur bis Romae ei Urbis Ur bis Constantinopolita Constantino politanae, nae, Glossarium Gloss arium L a tino ti no 1 See See  K o ti tia Theotiscum Theotiscum Codex Cod ex Vindobonensis Vindobonensis  162, ed. F. Untcrkircher, (Umbrae Codicum Occidcrttalium II), (Amsterdam, 1960) IX, XIII.  Pu rgator torio io , XV, 99. 2 D an te,  Purga Mediae val and Rena Renaiss issan ance ce Visi Vi sito tors rs to Greek Gree k Land La ndsy sy(Princeton, 3 J. M orton Pa ton ^Chapters on Mediaeval 1951) 5.  Inf ra , 134. 4 Infra

DISCOVERY OF THE GREEK WORLD

133 133

capital, than the Venetians, the Genoese, and the Knights of Rhodes took in those to be found in their own Greek domains, which means just ab about out nil. nil. It is is therefore somewhat somew hat surprising surprising to learn learn that in a letter letter written in 1380 King Peter IV of o f Aragon Arago n referred to the Acropolis as ‘la pus richa joia que al mont sie e tal que entre tots los Reys de chrestians envides lo porien fer semblant’ sem blant’,1 ,1 a sentiment perhaps shared by the Acciaiuol Acciaiuolii dukes, though strategic reasons may also have been instrumental in their erecting a palace there. Both the first first two travell travellers ers who w ho left some some information inform ation about abo ut Greek antiquities were pilgrims travelling to the Holy Land. W hat we are are told by one of them, the G erman Priest Priest Ludolf L udolf von Sudheim, who was writing about 1350, is not only very little,  bu  b u t also als o w ildl il dlyy inacc ina ccur urat ate. e. W e th thuu s lear le arn n fro fr o m h im th thaa t th thee city of Genoa had been entirely built out of remains brought from Athens.2 Athe ns.2 A bo bout ut the site site of ancient T ro roy y or, more m ore exact exactly ly,, what he believed it to be, he only said that no remains could now be seen. seen. But Bu t he also related ho how w some of o f the city’s city’s found foundations ations were we re now un under der water, and also also that tha t as as soon as as any of o f its its remains were du dugg up they were exported at on once ce.. Furtherm Fu rtherm ore what he had said about Genoa and Athens, he now repeated about Venice, which he believed to have been entirely built from materi material alss brou br ough ghtt over from Troy Troy,, going as as far far as as to record tha t there was not one single pillar or carved stone in Venice, which was not of Trojan origin.3 What we are told by Sudheim is both trivial and inaccurate, and doubtless reflects the garbled tales which he was told during his pilgrimage. pilgrimage. O n the other han hand, d, the the inform ation supplied supplied by the  Lib  L iber er peregrin peregrination ationis is a d Lorn Sancta Sancta, written one generation later by the notary Nicolo Martoni of Carinola near Capua, describing the pilgrimage on which he set out on 17 June 1394, is definitely more exciting, not so much for what he tells us about some leading monuments, as because he also relates some of the wonders connected connected w ith them. It was on hi hiss  jou  jo u rn rnee y h o m e f r o m E g y p t an and d Pale Pa lesti stine ne th thaa t N ico ic o lo M a rto rt o n i visited Greece. Greece. T hu huss in Febru Fe bruary ary 13 1395 he was able to spend a couple o f da days ys in Athens, A thens, which enabled enabled him h im to inspect 1 O n w hich see A. R ub io i Lluc h, 4Significacio 4Significacio de Felogi de 1’ 1’A cro po lis d ’A tenes pel Rei Pcrc ‘1ceremoni6s’,  Homenaje ofrecido a D . Kamdn Menende% Menende%P P i da  da I :  Misceldnea de Estud Es tudio ioss linguisticos, literarios^y historicos, III (Madrid, 1925), 37-56, cit . 29. 2 M orton Pa ton,  op. cit.  Ibi d.   loc. cit. 3 Ibid.

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th e principal the principa l local local antiquities. antiquities. H ere some residents acted as his guides1 guides1 and told to ld him a lot o f nonsense ab about out some of o f the ancient remains, which he accepted quite uncriti uncriticall cally. y. ‘E t prim o accessimus’ he tells us, ‘ad illos duos fontes aquarum de quibus oportebat quemlibet scolarem bibere pro aquirenda scientia . . . qui fontes erant e rant duo du o pulcerime laborati et fabricati fabricati cum lapidibus lapidibus m arm oreis’.2 oreis’.2 H e also tells tells us tha t he saw the ruins o f the school o f Aristotle,3 all all this this being b eing probab pro bably ly what w hat was was left o f the aqueduct aqueduc t  bu  b u ilt il t by H a d ria ri a n a nd c o m p lete le ted d by A n to tonn in inuu s Pius. Piu s. H e a d m ire ir e d the ‘magnum hospitium’ of Hadrian and was duly impressed by the size of the twenty pillars still standing, so much so, that he stated that four men would have had to join hands with fully stretched stretched arms in order to encir encircl clee one o f them .4 The beauty of the Propylaea built by Mnesicles quite defin itely moved him, to the point of making him admit that they were as handsome as Frederick II’s bridgehead of his own city o f Capua.5 Simil Similarl arly y the church churc h of o f the Panaghia or o r St. St. Mary M ary of Athens as it was called by the Latins, i.e. the Parthenon, struck him as being of the same size as the church, that is to say the cathedral of o f Capua.6 Particularly interesting intere sting for our ou r pu purpo rpose se is is what he said about its gates: ‘In dicto introytu sunt porte de illis portellis qui steterunt in portis civitatis Troye, quando civitas civitas T roy royee fuit destructa. Portelli Por telli po porta rtaru rum m ipsius ipsius civitatis civitatis fuerunt portati ad Acthenas et facte fuerunt porte in dicta ecclesia Sancte Marie.’7 As a devout Christian, Nicolo also made a note of the most striking Christian relics in the ‘Panaghia’, these including a volume of the Greek gospels, written in gold letters by no less a person than the very mother of Constantine the Great, St. H elen,8 ele n,8 a scribal attribu attr ibutio tion n which w hich one o ne may perhaps be allowed to view with w ith sceptici scepticism. sm. H e also also has a wonde wo nderful rful story, really really a medieval legend, connected with the ‘Gorgoneium’: on the top o f the two tw o Rom an columns stil stilll standing to-day to-day up the southern ramp ram p o f the Acropol A cropolis, is, just a lit littl tlee above the choregic choregic monum m onument ent of Thrasyllus, there was a niche with an idol, which had the 1 Ibid.  Ibi d. 32. 2 Ibid.  Ibi d.   loc.  Ibid .  loc. 3 Ibid.  Ibid . 33. 4 Ibid. 5 Ibid.  Ibi d.   loc. 8 Jbid.  loc. 7 Ibid.  Ibid .  loc. 8 Ibid. 34 .  Ibid . 34.

cit. cit. cit. cit. cit.

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 p o w e r t o sink  po si nk any ships shi ps ap app p ro roaa c h in ing g A th thee n s w ith it h h o stil st ilee intentions,1 H ad such a w ond onder er been in Naples, it w ould certainly certainly have been attribute attrib uted d to V irgil!2 Simila Similarly rly at at Por P ortt Raphty, Raphty, about ab out twenty-two tw enty-two miles miles from Athens A thens,, he learnt that tw o marble marb le statues o f a man and a maid had originally been aliv alive, e, but had been turned into stone by the gods in answer to the girl’s  pra  p raye yer, r, w h e n he herr ch chas astit tity y was wa s th thre reaa ten te n e d .3 Eleu El eusis sis to o was visited by Nicolo, who saw and inspected there ‘hedificia et multe columpne et marmores qui iacent ibi’ as well as the remains remains o f an aqueduct.4 aqu educt.4 The main interest interest o f the narrative n arrative o f Nicolo M artoni resi reside dess not so much in the details that he gives us about some Athenian antiquit antiquities, ies, as that tha t he is so often our o ur sole sole source for some o f the medieval legends legends concerning them. them . M oreo oreover ver for his time he was certainly quite exceptional in taking such an interest in these old remains, which attracted him for two reasons: because they were bo both th ancient ancient and Athenian. Athenian. O n the the other othe r hand, th thee Venetians who were exploring the ‘Labyrinth’ of Gortyn in Crete already in the very early fifteenth century,5were merely moved by curiosity and nothing else. D ur uring ing the fifteenth fifteenth century some interest in in Gree G reek k antiquiti antiquities es was was developed further furth er thanks to the new interest in geographical geographical travel. travel. Th Thee Florentine teaching teaching of o f Emanue Em anuell Chrysoloras (13971400) had led to a knowledge of the Geography o f Ptolem y,6 and consequently to an interest in geography in general, particularly in the humanist hum anist circl circlee of o f Niccolo Niccoli.7 Niccoli.7 Contact with Niccoli, Niccoli, and perhaps access to the  De Insu Insulis lis  of o f D om omen enico ico Silvestri8 as well as to Ptolemy, were thus probably instrumental in inducing Cristoforo Buondelmonti, a Florentine priest, to move to Rhodes Rho des in 1414 in order orde r to explore the isla islands nds of Greece. This meant a long odyssey which lasted for some sixteen years at 1 Ibid.  loc. cit. 2 Fo r the w onders attributed to Virgil Virgil in Naples see D . C om paretti, Virgilio net Medio TirOy  IT, (Firenze, 1946) passim. 3 M orton Fat on, op. cit. 31. 4 Ibid. 35. 5A. M. W oodw ard, ‘The G ortyn “ La byrinth ” and its its Visitors Visitors in the the Fifteenth Cen tury’ tury’,, (1949) 324— 324—25. F or fifteenth an d sixtee sixtee nth The  A n n u a l  o f the  Brit  Br itish ish School Scho ol a t A th e n s , X L IV (1949)  Re latio ion n d ’un voyage voyage de Leva Le vant, nt, I , century visitors to it see also J. Pitton de Tournefort,  Relat (Paris, 1717) 66. 6 R. W eiss, ‘Ja ‘Ja co po A ng eli da Sc arpe ria’, ria’,  Medioevo e Rinascim Rina scimento ento — Studi Studi in onore di Bruno  N a r d i,   II, (Firenze, 1955), 811 n. 50, 812, 824. 7 G. Z ipp el ,  Nicco  Ni ccold ld N icco ic co li , (Firenze, 1890), 50. 8 W hich was available to hum anists in early fifteenth fifteenth ce ntury F lorence, cf. D. Silvestri,  De  D e insidis insid is et earum prop pr oprie rie tatib ta tib usy us y ed. C. Pecoraro, (Palermo, 1955), 6-8, 24.

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least, east,1 1 during which w hich Buondelmonti Bu ondelmonti found ample ample time time to learn Greek and write a Latin description of Crete addressed to  Nic  N icco coli li (1417), as well we ll as an itin iti n e ra rary ry o f th thee islands isla nds in th thee same sam e language (1420), accompanying both these works with maps.2 Besides pursuing his geographical interests, Buondelmonti searched searched for Greek G reek manuscripts. manuscripts. W hat, however, howe ver, concerns concerns us us are his archaeological interests, which are so clearly reflected in hiss geographical writings. Needless hi Needless to say say,, Crete Crete pro prove ved d to him a veritable antiquarian’s paradise; his companions in some of his wanderings through this island also included a humanist, Rinuccio Rinuc cio da Castiglione Fiore Fio rentin ntino,3 o,3 w ho later was one of of Lorenz Lo renzo o Valla’ Valla’ss teachers teachers of Greek. In Crete the the so-cal so-called led tomb tom b o f Zeus at M oun ountt Juktas Juk tas certainly certainly impressed impressed him.4 And thoug tho ughh he was still medieval enough to refer to the statuary as ‘idols’ he was nonetheless fully fully appreciative o f their the ir beauty. beauty. Mosaics Mosaics  paa rtic  p rt icu u larl la rlyy ap appe peal aled ed t o hi him m , an and d h e was wa s th thee re refo fore re d e lig li g h ted te d to discover during a visit to what was ‘Olim Philopolim hodie Macriticho . . . musaicum pavimentum immaculatum omnium figurarum figura rum sub magnis mag nis macerieb ma ceriebus’. us’.5 5 Reference to some R om oman an ruins suggests that Buondelmonti was able to distinguish Greek from Roman monuments. monuments. But whether Greek or Roman, ancient remains remains aroused hi hiss admiration. I t is is therefore not no t surprising to find him writing, not without some concern: ‘In  po  p o r t u m ol olim im Penic Pe nicis is h o d ie L u t r o in intr traa v imu im u s et d e stru st ruct ctam am civitatemque vetustissimam cum columnis prostratam videmus : inter eas candidissimi marmoris sepulcra prope casas illorum rusticorum inveni, in quibus sues polentum comedebant et sculpturas circum nobilissi nobilissimas mas laniabant. Lacerata m ulta vidi ydolorum busta inter quae marmorum hedifitia sparsa iacebant.’6 Indeed Indee d the th e dazzlin dazzling g lovelin loveliness ess of o f one marble head that tha t he found at Romelus, particularly moved him, though he could not quite decide decide w hether it represented Venus Venus or o r Diana,7 Dian a,7 while while the so called ‘Labyrinth’ at Gortyn filled him with wonder tempered  by awe. aw e.88  L ette tere re Italia Ita liane ne, XVI 1 R. Weiss, ‘Un um anista antiquario— Cristo foro B uo nd elm on ti’, ti’,  Let (1964), 105. 2 PI. XL T he  Desc  De scrip riptio tio Insulae Creta Cr etaee  is printed in F. Corner, Creta Sacra, I , (Venctiis, 1755) 77-109, the book on the islands is in C. Buondelmonti, "Liber Insularum  Archipe  Arch ipelag lagic ic  ed. G, R. L. De Sinner, (Lipsiae et BeroJini, 1824). 3 C orn er,  op. c it . I, 94.  Ib id , I, 97 4 Ibid  97.. 5 Ibid\   I, 96.  Ibid ,  I, 84. 8 Ibid,  Ibid .  I, 85. 7 Ibid.  9 Ibid. Ibi d.   I, 103-104,

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Some notable antiquities were also mentioned by Buondelm onti in in hi hiss book boo k on the G reek isl islan ands ds.. Here the chapter chapter on Rhodes gave him an opportun oppo rtunity ity to include include a short sho rt digression digression on the ‘Colossus ‘Colossus’’ draw n entirely entirely from literary sources sources.1 .1 In that tha t on Delos he tell tellss us no t only about abo ut the ruins still still to be seen seen,, but bu t also also how he vainly endeavoured with the assistance of a large crowd and some ship’s ropes to replace the colossal archaic statue of Apollo Apo llo on its its former form er pedestal.2 pedestal.2 Ciriac Ciriaco o d’An d’Ancona cona could scar scarce cely ly have done better here! As a rule rule Buondelm Bu ondelm onti was ready to accept as as true true w hat they told him about monuments: yet though he ‘swallowed’ the so-call so-called ed ‘tom ‘tom b o f Zeus’ Zeus ’ in Crete,3 he prefer pre ferred red no n o t to commit com mit himself to its authenticity, when shown the alleged remains of the sepulchre of o f H om er at Chios.4 Besides Besides the Archipelago, Arch ipelago, the handbook on the Greek islands also dealt with Crete, Rhodes, the Jonian Islands, those on the Sea of Marmara, and Con stantinople. stantinople. In the Byzantine Byzantine capital capital Buondelm Bu ondelmonti onti was was particu particu  larly larly busy inspecting antiquities. antiquities. T hu huss not no t only did he describe, describe,  bu  b u t he also to o k m easu ea sure rem m en ents ts o f th thee H ip ippp o d r o m e an and d H ag aghi hiaa Sophia5 and reco re corde rded d such principal m onum ents as the eques trian statue of Justinian, the horse of which he rightly claimed came came from a statue statue of o f Theodosius,6 Theo dosius,6 the four pillar pillarss on which, according to him, him , had once stood the bronze bro nze horses o f St. St. M ark’ ark’ss Venice, Venice, the ‘Ag ‘Agulia’ ulia’,, etc.,7 etc.,7 as well well as as the m ore impressive impressive Christian relics relics.. O f the ‘A gulia’ gulia ’ he also copied the metrical m etrical Latin inscr in scriptio iption,8 n,8 which is is n o t surprising surp rising,, in view o f his taste for epigraphy, a taste which made him, among other things, carve carve hi his own o wn epitaph epitaph on a rock while while stranded at Furni,9 Fu rni,9 and have some sentences attributed to Greek philosophers inscribed in a Latin version vers ion on o n a small small pillar, now no w in the Rhodes Rh odes Museum.1 Museum .100 Buondelmonti was the first western traveller who looked at Greek antiquities with a really appreciative and sensitive eye. Here his immediate and by far greater successor was Ciriaco 1Buondelmonti,  op. 2 Ibid.  Ib id. 92. 3 Supra , 136. 4 B uon delm onti,  op.  Ibi d.  122. 5 Ibid. 6 Weiss,  L'n umanis uma nista ta 7Buondelmonti,  op.  Ihid.  Ihi d.   loc. cit.

cit. 72. cit.,  112. antiqn ant iqnari ario o , 115. cit.  123.

Ubid.UO.

10 Ct. laco pi, ‘Italian ‘Italian!! insigni nella Rodi del passato. II ritro va m en to d ’un a cpig rafe di Cristoforo Buondelmonti’, l.SUnhvrso,  XI (1930), 17-21.

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d ’Ancona. Anc ona. T he exploits exploits o f Ciriaco Ciriaco as as a tra ve vell ller er in in G reek ree k lands soon cast cast the achievement o f Buondelm Buo ndelm onti into the shade. shade. A nd Filelfo’ Filelfo’ss remark rem ark ‘nunq ‘nunquam uam quiescit quiescit Kiriacus’ Kiriacus ’,1 shows how his restless travelling struck his contemporaries, who fully appre ciated his unique contribution to antiquarian science. Ciriaco had a mercantile upbringing relieved by travel along the Italian coast as well as to Greece and Egy Egypt, pt, which w hich gave him the opp o ppor or  tunity of seein seeing g seve several ral m onum onuments ents o f the ancient ancient world. The result o f these travels travels was that he soon succumbed succ umbed to the spel spelll of of the classical sirens, so that he was already copying some of the old inscriptio insc riptions ns which wh ich came his way2 be befor foree he was able to understand what he took down. What eventually led Ciriaco to give himself entirely to the study of Antiquity, was the greatest ancient monument of his native nativ e city, city, Traja Tr ajan’ n’ss arch at Ancona An cona.3 .3 F o r it made mad e him realize realize m ore and mo more re that tha t what wh at stil stilll remained of o f the ancient w orld was doomed to perish sooner or later, and that it was therefore his imperative duty to try to rescue, or at any rate to record, its relics relics for posterity before it was too lat late. e. In ord order er to carry ou outt such a plan, a knowledge of Greek and Latin was obviously needed. needed. Thu Thuss Virgil and the now forgotten fo rgotten Tomm T omm aso Sene Senecca opened ope ned the gates o f Latin La tin to him in 14 1421 21,4 ,4 while four fo ur years later he started, while stranded in Constantinople, to learn Greek from Homer.5 From about 1423 onwards the journeys of Ciriaco were mainly occupied by archaeological activity, his diplomatic and  busin  bu sines esss p u r s u its it s tak ta k in ing g de defin finite itely ly a sec se c on ond d pl plac acee in hi hiss co conc ncer ern. n. A ntiquity ntiqu ity was no now w his his ruling rulin g passion passion.. Yet Ye t he was no nott altogether altoge ther indifferent to medieval relics,6 while his enthusiastic acco a ccount unt o f a triptych by R oge ogerr van der Weyden, which he admired at Ferrara in 1449, 1449,77 ind indicat icates es how he could also also look look at contem porary art a rt with an appreciative eye. During his many visits to Greece Ciriaco tirelessly searched for and recorded as many antiquities as he could. His notes included descriptions of places, odd passages from manuscripts,  bu  b u t a b o v e all tra tr a n scr sc r ip ipts ts o f in insc scri ript ptio ionn s a n d sketc sk etche hess o f n o tab ta b le ci t. 17. 1 B od na r,  op. cit.  Ibid . 19. 2 Ibid. s Cf. Cam pana, Gianno^o Mamtti , Ciriaco e / ’ A  A r c o di Traian Tra iano o a d A.ncona, 485. 4 Bodnar,  op. cit. cit . 20. 6 Ibid. 22. 22 . • De gli A bati O livieri, livieri,  op. cit. ci t.   passim. ci t.   X V , C X L H I - I V . 7 Co luc ci,  op. cit.

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m onu onum m ents. Greece had already already been visited visited by him several several times, when whe n Ciriaco Ciriaco saw saw A thens then s for the first first time in 143 1436. Here He re he lodged in the house of the Genoese Antonello Balduino on thee Acropolis,1 th Acro polis,1 whence when ce he set fo forth rth to explore the city. city. Needless to say, the Parthenon made an enormous impression upon him, and he made a care careful ful sketch sketch of o f its west front.2 He also also made made a draw dra w ing o f the ancient a ncient city city walls walls ;3 walls walls and a nd hug hugee pillars pillars invari inv ari ably appealed to him, and he also duly copied the inscriptions recording reco rding the city city of o f Theseus and a nd the later one o f H adrian.4 adria n.4 Many other Athenian antiquities were also recorded by him.  N o r w e re hi hiss in inte tere rest stss re rest stri ricc ted te d t o th thee a nc ncie ient nt G re reee k aspe as pect ct o f the city: Roman Athens engaged his attention too, since his notes and sketches also deal with many remains of the Antonine a8eCiriaco made a unique contribution to archeological science not only by saving for us the text of countless inscriptions, but also by his drawings, measurements, and descriptions of build ings, statues, monuments, and other antiquities all over a substanti substantial al part of o f the Greek G reek world. Just Ju st to give an id idea ea o f the magnitude of his contribution, his sketch of the impressive sepulchre of o f Philopappos on the Museion hill hill shows much o f the  bu  b u ild il d in ingg th thaa t has since di disa sap p pe peaa re red. d.55 H is dr draa w in ingg s an and d m easu ea sure re  m ents o f H ad adrian rian’’s temple at Cyzicus6 Cyzicus6 are, apart apa rt from fro m coins, coins, the th e only visual records that we possess of what was counted the eighth w onde onderr o f the ancient ancient world and is is now a mound m ound covered covered with bri briars. ars. His other drawings drawings included included Haghia Sophia,7 Sophia,7 the so-called ‘tower of the winds’, really the ‘Horologium’ of Andronicus of Cirrha, which he drew on his second visit to A thens,8 etc. Ciriaco’s identifications of sites and monuments were not always correct, just as his drawings are not very accurate by m odern standards standards.. Thus he tho thoug ught ht Katsingri to be the citade citadell o f Mycenae Mycenae,9 ,9 a spot near the prom onto ontory ry o f Taenarum the Pylos Pylos cit . 40. 1 B od na r,  op. cit. 40 . 2 B. As hm ole, ‘Cyriac o f A nc on a’,  Proceedings  Proceedings o f the Britis Br itish h Ac ad em y,  XLV (1959) pi. II, IV, V. cit . 37. 3 B od na r,  op. cit. 4 Ibid.  Ibid . 39. 5 Ibid. 38 .  Ibid . 38. 6 Cf. B. A shm ole, ‘Cyriac ‘Cyriac of Anc ona and th e Te m ple o f H adria n at Cyzicus’, Cyzicus’,  Journal   Journ al   c f the Warburg War burg and Courta Cou rta uld Instit Ins titute utess, XIX (1956), 179-91. 7A shm ole, Cyriac of Ancona , pi. XV.  m  Rom a antica di Ciriaco d 3Ancona Anco na, fig. 30. 8 H uels en,  I  m 9 Bo dn ar,  op. cit. 64 . cit . 64.

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o f N estor,1 and infer inferred red the the temple temple of Zeu Zeuss at Dodona D odona to be located in the neighbo neigh bourh urhoo ood d of o f Nicopolis.2 Nicop olis.2 The T he choregic monument of Thrasyllus before the cave of the Panagia on the south wall of the Acropolis and that of Lysicrates were believed  by h im to be th thee a tre tr e seats,3 seats ,3 an and d he qu quit itee m isu is u n d e r sto st o o d th thee representations represen tations on the running runn ing Ionic frieze frieze o f the Pa rthenon.4 rthen on.4 On the other hand, at Gythium he refused to accept the local ruins as the the remains o f the palace of o f Menelaus.5 Mene laus.5 And A nd it is interesting to recall how during his ‘navigatio pontica’ he went ahead with his plan to explore an abyss, though warned by the local peasants that its entrance was guarded by an awesome dragon.6 To Ciriaco, and indeed, for that matter, to every cultivated European until the age of Romanticism, Greece was no more than tha n a museum inhabited by people people beyond contempt. contempt. Thus, but b ut for one exception, exception, he regarded rega rded the Spartans o f hi hiss time as utterly degraded.7 degraded.7 This This did did not, not, however however,, stop stop hi him m from from making making friends w ith seve several ral Greeks. Th Thee most mo st famous o f them was Gemisthos Pletho, the humanist whose esoteric Platonism coloured the last stages of Byzantine philosophy, and he con stantly saw him when w hen he h e spent spe nt the w inter inte r of o f 14471447-48 48 at M istra.8 Other Greek friends ranged from the Despot Constantine, who  beca  be cam m e th thee last la st Byza By zant ntin inee em pe pero ror, r, to th thee de deac acon on Agal Ag allia liano nos, s, w ho in 144 1447 completed com pleted a copy of o f S trabo tra bo9 9fo forr Ciriaco Ciriaco.. T he Greek G reek friends of Ciriac Ciriacoo could prove very valuable valuable to him. him. One On e of of them, George Ge orge Cantacuz Cantacuzenu enus, s, lent him a Herodotus and other old  bo  b o o k s in 1437.1 1437.100 At V ityl it ylo o J o h n Pala Pa laeo eolo logu gus, s, th thee D e spo sp o t Constantine’s local deputy, pointed out to him the ancient remains employed to build part of the fortress, and proved invaluable in the discovery of an inscription of the Emperor Gordian, which made it possible to identify the place with the ancient anc ient Bitylon B itylon.1 .11 Eq Equa ually lly valuable as sources o f inf infor orm m ation atio n l Ib id id. 58 -9 .

2 Ibid  Ib id.. 29, 3 K. M. Setton, Catalan Domination of Athens   1311-1388, ("Cambridge, Mass., 1948) 233. 4 Ibid.  Ibid .  235. 5 B od na r, op. cit. 60. ss’d e uma nisli da da cod codic icii Am bro sian i , 27. 6 Sabbadini, Cla ss’d 7 Ib id . 31. 8 Bo dn ar, op. cit.  57, 61-2. If we are to believe believe Iacopo Ze no, it was was actually Ciriaco Ciriaco w ho induced Pletho to go to Italy to attend the Council for the union between the Greek and Latin Churches, cf. L. Bertalot and A. Campana, ‘Gli scritti di lacopo Zeno e il suo elogio di Ciriaco d’Ancona’,  L a W iblkfi ibl kfilia lia,,  XLI (1939) 374. 9 N ow Mss. Eto n College 14 141 and Biblioteca Biblioteca Laurenziana, Florence, X X V III. 15. 15. 10 Bodnar, op. cit . 42.  Ibi d. 59. 11 Ibid.

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were monasteries, monasteries, which often provided pro vided useful useful inte intell lligen igence ce abou a boutt ancient ancie nt site sites. s. His passion for the visible visible relics relics of A ntiquity ntiqu ity did not, however, make Ciriaco neglect the search for manuscripts, and though his quest for them was not that of a Poggio or an Aurispa, he certainly did not omit to inspect a monastic library whenever an opportunity arose. Ciriaco was above all an antiquarian, whose main aim was to colle collect ct information and record anci ancient ent monuments. l it tl e wonder, then, that his literary remains consist mainly of a few tracts in Latin La tin and Greek, Gree k, and a Latin La tin version o f the slim slim pseudoAristotelian  De Virtu Vi rtutib tibus us   addressed to Paolo della Pergola.1 H e also wrote wr ote some Italian verse,2 proba probably bly because he foun fo undd Latin versification difficult, as well as some Latin inscriptions, as for instance those composed in honour of Janus, King of Cyprus, or of Francesco Gattilusio.3 N o r was he above con cocting a few apocrypha, like the inscription of Heliodorus the mad Carthaginian, which he claimed to have found on his tomb near nea r Gades G ades,4 ,4 a ‘m ‘m emento em ento m or ori’ i’ to anyone considering c onsidering travel  bee y o n d th  b thee pilla pil lars rs o f H er ercu cule les. s. I t was wa s qu quit itee ch char arac acte teris ristic tic o f his h is approach and his inability to systematize his materials, that he never achieved or even planned a ‘Graecia illustrata ’. During Ciriaco’s lifetime the history of the Eastern Roman Em pire ended for ever. ever. A crusade crusade against against the the Tu Turks rks and an d a union between be tween the Greek and Lati L atin n churches had been envisaged envisaged as the only means to save save what wh at was still still left of o f Justin Ju stinia ian’ n’ss empire. Both the crusade and the union were very much in Ciriaco’s thoughts, thou ghts, and he was was very activ activee on behalf be half o f these cau cause sess. Y et this did not prevent him from being on good terms with the Sultans as well as w ith the Byzantine Byzantine Em per perors ors.. A safe co cond nduc uctt from fro m the Sultan, Sultan, allowing him to proce p roceed ed everyw ev erywhere here,5 ,5 made his  pro  p rog g re ress s th thrr o u g h th thee G re reee k w o r ld easier. easie r. A n d it is scarce sca rcely ly surprising that we last hear of Ciriaco in conquered Constanti nople nop le acting as as secretary to Moham M ohamm m ed II.6 II .6 T o Ciriaco Ciriaco the 1

B. N ardi, ‘L cttera tura c cu ltura veneziana del Q ua ttro ce nto ’,  L a civi ci vilt lta a vene^ian vene^iana a del  de l  Quattrocento, (Firenze, 1957) 137, n. 26. 2As fo r instance instance his sonne t on Sparta in Sabbad ini, Classici e umanisti da codi codici ci Am bros iani> 32-33 . F o r bis bis participa tion in the ‘Certam ‘Certam e co ron ario ’ see F. Fiamini, ‘La lirica lirica toscan a d e l R i n a s c i m e n t o \  An n a li della R . Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa , XIV (1891) 5, 34, n. 1. 3 Colucci,  op. cit. cit .  X V , L X X X , C X X X V 1 1 - X L . 4 C . l . L . II , 149*. 5 Co luc ci,  op. c it. it .  X V , C U V . 6 B od na r,  op. c it . 68 68.. Th e view tha t Ciriac Ciriaco o m ade a study o f the equestrian statue o f Justinian a fter the fall fall o f Co nstantinople can not be accepted accepted any longer, cf. cf. F. B abinger,  Jour nal o f the Warburg Warbu rg and an d Cou C ourta rta uld  ‘ N ote on Cyriac Cyriac o f Ancona and Som e o f his his Frien ds’, ds’,  Journal  Insti  In stitut tutes es , X X V (1 (196 962) 2) 32 322— 2—23 23.. A bo ut Ciriaco Ciriaco reading reading Thu cydides to M oham m ed II during the siege of Constantinople see R. Weiss, ‘Ciriaco d’Ancona in Oriente’, Venecia e  rO ri e n te fr f r a tardo tar do Medioevo e Kinascimentot Kinascim entot  (Firenze, 1966), 336-

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conqueror of Greece was certainly a master well worth serving. After Ciriaco Ciriaco d’ d ’ Ancona some some information informa tion about the m onu m en ents ts o f A thens the ns was include inc luded d in Td ©eWpa  Ka  Kai  zhSao-K-aAela, a tract tra ct by an unkno unk now w n auth a uthor1 or1 generally referred refer red to as the the ‘Vienna Anonymous’, who was in the city about the time when Mohammed II visited it, that is about 1458, but was in all  pro  p rob b a b ilit il ityy n o t a na nativ tivee o f it. I t is ob obvi vioo us t h a t th this is w r ite it e r was wa s anxious at all costs to identify as many of the extant remains as  poss  po ssib ible le w ith it h a nc ncie ient nt scho sc hool ols, s, th thee atre at res, s, a n d palaces. pala ces. T h u s, ju just st to give a few examples, he believed the ‘tower of the winds’ to have ha ve been the th e school o f Socrates,2 Socrates,2 while he located located that th at o f Aristotle Ar istotle in in the Stoa Stoa of o f Eumenes.3 Eum enes.3 This shows that tha t he was no nott acquainted with w ith the local tradition, tradition , which w hich identifi identified ed it w ith some o f the ruins of o f Hadrian Ha drian’’s aqueduc aque duct.4 t.4 He also believed believed the temple o f Olym pian Zeus Z eus to have been bee n a royal royal palace,5 and delighted de lighted in emphasizing the magnificence of the various buildings on the Acropolis,6adding here that the Parthenon, which he called the temple of the M other o f God, Go d, had be been en built and dedicated dedicated to to the unknown God by Apollos and Eulogius.7 The identifications of the ‘Vienna Anonymous’ were, of course, fanci fanciful ful.. O ne is, is, however, how ever, left to w ond onder er how ho w much muc h he relied on his own imagination and how much on local popular tradition. Yet, in spit spitee of o f everything, his his tract is is no nott altogether altogeth er without value as a witness to the existence of many monuments. On the other hand, from an archaeological point of view, his description is definitely inferior to that of a Venetian, whose name has also been denied to us, who left some notes on the city, city, which wh ich he very probably proba bly visited visited about abo ut 14 1470 70.8 .8 This Venetian V enetian scholar was not only enraptured by the beauty of what he saw,  bu  b u t he h a d f u r th thee r m o r e a s tro tr o n g in inte tere rest st in e pi pigr grap aphy hy,, a nd was wa s ready to copy an inscription whenever the opportunity arose.  Ne  N e x t t o Ciria Ci riaco co d ’A n co cona na he was wa s u n d o u b ted te d ly th thee fift fi ftee eent nthh 1 Prin ted in L. D e L abo rde ,  Atbe  At bene ness au x  X V e, X V L ey ct  A’l TIe Siecies,  I, (Parts, 1854) 17-20. O n it see see now S. G. M crcati, crcati, ‘N otere lla sulla sulla tradizion tradizion e tnanos critta dei M irabilia irabilia Urbis Athc-natiim’,  Melanges Hngbie Hngbie Tisse Tis sera rant nt, III, (Citta del Vaticano, 1964), 77-84. 2 D e L a b o r d e , op.  cit.  cit .  I, 17. 3 Ibid. 1, 18. 4 Supra,  134. 5 De l.abo rde , op.  a t .   I, 19.

6 Ibid. 1, 2 0 . 7 Ibid. loc. cit. 8 Th e fact that he v isited isited also othe r places places in in G reece and Co nstan tinople suggests tha t he cann ot have been a m em ber of the Venetian expedition wh ich held A thens in 1466 1466,, as as cit .  177. has been stated, cf. Morion Paton,  op. cit.

DISCOVERY OF THE GREEK WORLD

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century traveller who proved most enthusiastic about what was still left of ancient Greece, and he was honest enough not to invent a fancy name when unable to identify a monument. Thus he assigned no name to the Athenian temple of Olympian Zeus, Zeus, o f which he he was was abl able to count twenty columns. columns.11 He was, was, however, more fortunate with some other Athenian antiquities, thou th ou gh his his identifications identifications are sometimes questionable. Thu Thuss on reaching reaching the arch o f Hadrian, o f which he took care care to co copy py two inscriptions, he said that near it ‘dicono li homini grossi esser stato il studio di Aristotele, A ristotele, ma m a non no n e alcune vestigie vestigie del aedifi aedifici cioo antiquo. antiq uo. Ma credo piu presso fusse quello edif edifici icio, o, do dove ve sono son o le 20 colonne grande, reaedificato in memoria del studio antiquo di Aristotele et altri antiqui phil(osophi), perche e in f(orm)a de  po  p o r tic ti c o a p e r to da o g n i ba band nda, a, m a p a rre rr e , co com m e e d e tto tt o , ch chee fusse fus se coperto de marm ore et non e alc alcuna una scr scraj ajaa del del m uro ’.2 He also also did no t fai faill to notice the two Rom an pill pillars ars above the the theatre of Dionysus3 and the choregic monum mon um en entt of o f Lysicrat Lysicrates, es, the meaning of which clearly baffled him, though he made a partial copy of o f its inscription.4 inscr iption.4 O f the  m o n u m e n t  of Philopappos he left a careful description. description . Yet, Ye t, th thoo ug h he could clear clearly ly see see the names of Philopappos and Antiochos upon it, he judged it to have ha ve bee been n erect erected ed in in honour of Traj Trajan. an.55 O ther monument monumentss which did not escape his scrutiny included the so-called ‘tower o f the winds’ wind s’,6 ,6 and he also also left some appreciat appreciative ive notes notes on the Parthenon, ‘molto mirabile tutto de marmore con col(on)ne a torno tor no . . . e la faz fazzza davanti davanti nel fron fronto to sono infi infini niti ti imagini di tutto relievo relievo et copert( copert(i) i) tutti di mar mo ri’ ri’..7 Outside Adiens, he was struck stru ck by the size size o f the marble m arble lion at Piraeus,8 Pirae us,8 no now w in Venice; at Corinth he thought that the fortress was highly impressive. impressive.99 Sparta, Sparta, on the the other othe r hand, rather disappointed hi him. m. ‘In lacedaemone non e aedificii antiqui excepto alcuni muri ex lapidibus quadratis’; yet about a quarter of a mile from it ‘trovai 5 belli sassi grandi con epigrammati e lettere grece belle, 1 E. Zieb arth, ‘E ‘E in griechischer Reiscbericht des X V . Ja hrh un de rts’, rts’,  Mittheihmgen  Mitthei hmgen des  Kaiserlichen Deutschen Deutschen Archaeologischen Tnstituts Athenis Ath enische che Ab Abtb tbcil cilung ung ,  XXIV (1899) 74; the whole text occupies, pp. 72-88. 2 Ibid.  Ibid . 75.  Ibi d. 1 6 . 3 Ibid.  Ibi d. 75. 4 Ibid. 5 Ibid.  Ibid . 76.  Ibid . 77. 6 Ibid. ’  Ibid.  Ibid .  73-74.  Ib id. 77. 8 Ibid. 77 . 9 Ibid.  Ibi d. 78.

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dei li li quali quali ne tolto tolto 4, no non n trovai altro altro di bono’. bon o’.11 N o antiques antiques of interest were seen by him at Mistra, Malvasia, Modone, etc., which wh ich he also also visited. visited. In Constantinople Co nstantinople instead he was certai certainly nly not disappointed, and while there he took measurements of Haghia Ha ghia Sophia Sophia and the Hippodr Hipp odrom om e.2 Th Thee Constantinople obelisk was also duly appreciated by him and described as a ‘colonna quadra come la guchia di San Pietro da R(om)a et e  po  p o c h o m e n o r che qu quell ella, a, et e p e r o g n i fazza faz za ch char arac acte teri ri ag agyp yphic hicii over phaenici dal pe fino alia summita’.3 The antiquarian interests of the anonymous Venetian were certainly not shared by the Florentine Benedetto Dei, who had travelled trave lled extensivel extensively y in the Sultan’ S ultan’ss dom domains ains fro from m 1460 1460-67. -67. Yet Ye t even Dei D ei was aroused when w hen he saw what wha t he was told was the site site of Troy and the very tomb of Achilles, which made him write w ith evident p rid ri d e : ‘Sono istato istato a la gra gran n citta citta di Troia la la gran grande de in sulla sulla Turch Tu rchia ia e o visto la sepoltura sepo ltura d’ d ’Achille e in somma som ma ella fu  piu  p iu di fa fam m a ch chee di fa fatt ttii p e r D io ve vera race ce’.4 ’.4 O n e is left le ft to w o n d e r w ha hatt was passed passed off off to him as the the tom b of Achilles! After the 1470s the curtain fell over Greek archaeological studies for nearly nearly a century. This was was mainly mainly du duee to the Tur T urkis kishh domination dom ination o f the Greek G reek w orld orld;; but bu t not no t entirel entirely y so, so, since since travel in those lands never ceased and some Greek islands, Rhodes, Cyprus, and Crete among them, remained in Christian hands for some time, so that perhaps the principal principal cause cause was was apathy among amo ng scholars rather than impossibility of access to the remains of ancient Greece. Greece. This apathy is no t alsogether surprising, w hen we recal recall that, despite despite its its thin G reek veneer, the humanism o f the Renaissance was essentially Latin.5 1 Ikid.  Iki d.  loc. cit. 2 Ibid.  Ibid . 80. 3 Ibid.   loc. cit. avventuriero del Quattro cento— cento — L.a vita vit a e le le opere opere d i Benedett Benedetto o D ei, (Genova, 4 M. Pisani, Un avventuriero 1923) 93. 5 In 14 1486 86 or 14 1487 87 the ruins o f Persep olis were visited by G iosafatte Barba ro, w ho left a description o f them in his V'iaggio della Tana e della Persia  com pleted on 21 Decem ber 1487, 1487, cf. [G. Ramusio], Secon 1559)) f. 107v 107v.. A pa rt fro m Secondo do volume delle navigation! et viaggi, (V ene tia, 1559 obe lisks and hierog lyphs, Eg yptian antiquities arous ed little little interest. See See on this subject Weiss, Ciriaco d ’Ancona in Oriente, 329-32, K. H. Dannenfeld, ‘Egypt and Egyptian Antiqui ties in the Renaissance’, Studies in the Renaissance, IX (1959) 7-27.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

THE RISE OF CLASSICAL EPIGRAPHY

An interest in ancient inscriptions was not altogether absent in the earlier earlier Middle Ages. T he later Middle Middle Ages fostered it and the Renaissance Renaissance gave it increase. increase. T he earliest anthologies o f Latin epigraphic texts were prompted by rhetorical preoccupa tions, those very motives which also led to the collecting of Latin letters and speeches, that is to say a desire to gather fine styli stylist stic ic examp example less which might mig ht prove prov e useful useful.. Th Thee rise rise of o f hu hum m an ism stimulated a new epigraphy modelled on classical examples. But alrea already dy by the second second half ha lf o f the fourteenth fourtee nth century ancient inscriptions were also considered of value as historical, literary, and linguistic documents, yielding important antiquarian and  phi  p hilo lolo logi gicc al in info form rm atio at ion n , as well we ll as usef us eful ul fo form rmul ulas as a nd ph phra rase ses, s,  beside  bes idess b e in ingg ap appr pree cia ci a ted te d m er erel ely y be beca caus usee th thee y w er eree an ancie cient. nt. Humanists had indeed been quick to see that epigraphic texts  pro  p rocl claa imed im ed R o m a n gr grea eatn tnes ess, s, re reve veal aled ed m an any y a fa face cett o f th thee Roman Rom an way o f life, ife, showed the antiquity antiquity o f a town, town , and could be invaluable to prove a grammatical point or a disputed spelling and to confirm the veracity of a legend. From Fro m the beginning be ginning o f the fifteent fifteenth h century onwards syll syllog oges es o f inscriptions inscriptions became increasingl increasingly y numerous. In Italy many were the humanists who compiled a sylloge of inscriptions or secured one to which they added a dded more texts, or included inscrip tions in their commonplace books, or assembled anthologies in which short poems, letters, orations, etc., were interspersed with epigraphic epigra phic material. Generally Gen erally these hum humanist anist syll syllog oges es consisted consisted o f cop copie iess taken from the original ston stones. es. O r, as was was often the the case, these humanists may have embodied another sylloge or sylloges, or at any rate part of them, into their own alongside w ith transcripts take taken n from the origina originals. ls. Such transcripts were generally made from local monuments or during travels and, sometimes, even un unde derr dif difficu ficult lt cond conditions. itions. F or instance in 1464 1464 an expedition consisting of Felice Feliciano, the great painter Andrea Andrea Mantegna, Samu Samuel elee da Tradate Trad ate and G iovanni Antenoreo, Anteno reo, the latter very probably to be identified with the humanist  phys  ph ysic icia iann G io iovv a n n i M ar arca cano nova va,, spe sp e n t tw t w o S e pt ptem embe berr day dayss (2 (23r 3rd  d 

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and 24th) along the shores of Lake Garda, searching for Roman inscriptions and copying all those which they could find.1 While returning to Florence from Rome with his patron Fran cesco Sasse Sassettti, ti, Bartolomeo B artolomeo Fonzio Fo nzio is kno know w n to have stopped stop ped and an d alighted from his horse, in order to copy an old inscribed stone w hich hic h had caugh cau ghtt his his eye. eye.2 2 We find M arin Sanudo San udo and an d his secretary Pilade Boccardo while visiting Aquileia in 1484, rubbing hard with water an ancient stone behind the choir of the church o f Santa Santa Maria Maria extra extra muros, in order to read and take take dow n what wh at was engraved upon upo n it,3 and Fra Giocondo Giocond o copying an inscription placed near St. Paul’s, Rome, ‘inter urticas et spineta’ spineta’..4 Some Some insc inscri ript ptio ions ns proved, proved, moreover, particu particula larl rlyy  po  p o p u lar la r , so th a t th they ey o c c u r ag agai ain n a n d ag agai ain n in th thee sylloge syl loges. s. Such Su ch were, for instance, instance, that tha t of o f Claudi Claudiaa Hom H om ono onoea,5 ea,5 and the one on Trajan’s arch at Ancona.6 The first humanist sylloges show no particular arrangement. Thus the one gathered by the Roman city clerk (scribasenato)  Nic  N ico o la S ig igno nori rili li an and d c om ompl plet eted ed in 1409 ‘a d de dele lecc tati ta tion onee m lege le genntium tiu m ’, form formerly erly believed to be th e w or ork k o f Cola Cola di Rienzo7 Rienz o7 and of which there are also two later recensions made during the  pont  po ntif ific icat atee o f M a r tin ti n V (1 (141 4177-14 1431 31),8 ),8 show sh owss n o t m u c h o r d e r in its its arrangem ent. It consist consistss almost entir entirely ely of mon monum umental ental texts texts from Rome, though it also includes a few from other places, which wh ich are placed placed at the end, these these including including the G reek inscription insc ription on the now destroyed temple o f the Dioscuri at Naples, Naples, followed followed  by a L a tin ti n tra tr a n s lati la tio o n o f it i t.9 1The account of the expedition written by Feliciano may be read in L. Pratilli, ‘Felice Feliciano alia luce dei suoi codici',  A t t i d e l Rea/e Rea /e Isti Is titu tuto to Ve neto ne to d i sci scict ctt% t%e, e, Ie Ie Here  Here ed arti^  XC1X (1939- 40) 54. cit .  21. 2 Saxl,  op. cit. 21. F on zio ’s sylloge is stud ied ibid.  19-46. 3 Sa nu do ,  Jtinerario p e r la 7 erraferma Vene^iana, 145 145.. In the  Itiner ario   Sanudo mentions a  De antiq ant iquit uitat atib ibus us et epiiap epi iap hia   and a  De antiqu ant iquita itatib tibus us Ita liae lia e, both by him and perhaps one w ork, which have no t reached us, cf. cf. ibid.  29, 154. 154. Pa rt o f a sylloge sylloge gathe red by Sa nud o is is in the Biblioteca M arciana, Venice, Ms. La t. X IV . 260, (4258) (4258),, ff. l l r-1 8v . 4 I. Ca rini, rini, ‘Sul ‘Sul codice epigrafico epigrafico di fra fra G ioc on do reccntem entc acq uistato dalla Biblio teca Vaticana’,  Disser  Dis ser ta^io ta^ ioni ni della Pontificia Accad Acc ademi emia a Romana Roma na d i Archeol Arch eolog ogia ia, ser. 2, V (1894) 227. 5 Supra, 44, n.4. 6 O n the ‘fo ‘fo rtu na 5 o f this insc ription see Cam pana, Gianno^z0 Manetti, Ciriaco eVArea di 7 Sil va gn i,  op. (i t.   175-83. Traiano ad Ancona. 8 Sig no riii’s riii’s first reccn sion is in the Va tican Lib rary , Ms. Ba rb. Iat. Iat. 195 1952, 2, the seco nd is in Mss. V at. lat. lat. 10687 and Chig. I. VI. 204 o f the sam e library , wh ere is also the th ird ri ptio ions ns Christi Chr istiana anaee Urbis Ur bis recc nsion in Ms. V at. lat. lat. 385 3851. 1. O n Sig no riii’s riii’s svlloges see see  In sc ript . S I. I ., X X X - X X X L  Roma  Ro maee , N .S 9 Ms.. Barb. lat. 1952. 1952. f. f. 174v. T his ins crip tion ha d already been tur ne d into L atin by  sup ra , 27, but the version given  N i c c o io d a R e g g io d u r i n g t h e e ar ly f o u r t e e n t h c e n t u r y , cf.  supra he re is is a different one. T ha t the tra ns lato r of it w;ras n o t Sign orili is is certa in, for no L atin version follows a Greek inscription from Rome also given by him, cf. Ms. Barb. lat. 1952, f. 170v. Sig no riii’s riii’s sylloge also includes a few early m ediev al inscrip tions , cf. cf. ibid.  ffff. 172r174r.

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The inscriptions of Rome had also aroused the interest of Poggio during his early years in that city, an interest which  prr o v e d p a rtic  p rt icul ulaa rly rl y va valu luab able le to h im w h e n w r itin it ing g th thee  De varietate varietate  fortunae,   where w here not a fe few w are are quoted.1 quoted .1 Thus as earl early y as as 14 1403 Poggio had prepared a small sylioge of inscriptions to be found in Rome which he had sent to Colucc Coluccio io Saluta Salutati ti.2 .2 This was was later later amplified amplified by him. M oreov oreover er while at the Council Council of Constance Constance he foun found d a fragment fragme nt of an an ancient syli syliog ogee similar similar to the one now at Einsiedeln,3 as well well as as at least least a part o f a text invaluable invaluable to epigraphists, namely the  Not  N otae ae ju r is   of Probus.4 Pro bus.4 But no t much now remains of Poggio’s sylioge, which was used by Ciriaco d ’Ancona, Anc ona, and o f which wh ich only pa part rt has has reached us.5 us.5 Am A m ong the humanists who searched for and copied inscriptions, Ciriaco was certainly certainly th thee most mo st indefatigable and enthusiastic. enthusiastic. I n his career as an antiquarian, epigraphy had certainly first place among his interests and it was in this field that his achieve m ent prov proved ed greate greatest st.. Italy Italy and the Greek w orld were sedu sedu lously searched for inscriptions, the result of his labours being assembled in the six volumes of his Cotnmentaria?  which  pro  p rob b a b ly pe peri rish shed ed,, save sav e f o r som so m e f r a g m e n ts,7 ts ,7 in th thee fire w hi hich ch destroyed the Sforza library at Pesaro in 1514.8 The majority of the inscriptions gathered by Ciriaco were foun fo und d durin du ring g his travels in Greece and an d Asia Asia mi minor.® But Bu t the the inscriptions of Italy were not overlooked by him, and he assembled a larger collection of them than anyone had before him. He was perhaps the firs firstt to copy non-monumental non-monum ental inscrip inscrip tions and he is known to have collated the sylloges of Signorili and an d Pog P oggio gio w ith the original stones while in Rome Rom e in 1433 1433.1 .10 0 His copies were generally preceded by details about ubication, the conditions of the stone if damaged, and occasionally its size. Such details were not always given, and although his tran scriptions scriptions were, we re, on o n the whole, w hole, accurate, accurate, they were not n ot invariab invariably ly so. O ne o f his main weakness weaknesses es was hi hiss casual casual app approac roach h to line  Ibid . 55. 1 Supra , 63, 63 , n .5 . 2 Ibid. 3 In sc ript ri ptio ion n s Chris Ch ristia tianae nae Urbi Ur biss Romae Rom ae, II. 1, 11-13. 4 Weiss, The The Medals of Pope Pope Six tus I V  (1471-14 84), 35, n.3. 5 In M s. Vat. lat. lat. 9152 of the V atican Libra ry. 6 On which see  supra  sup ra , 109. 7As for instance instance those in ff ff. 101-24 of Ms. T rotti 373 of the A m brosian L ibrary, o n which Classi ci e uma nisti da codici codici ambrosiani, 1-52. see Sabbadini, Classici  Ibi d. 46. 8 Ibid. cit .  121-85. 9 See See for ex am ple for his copies of Athen ian in scriptions B odn ar,  op. cit. 10 E. Zie ba rth, ‘D e antiquissimis inscription um syllog is’, is’,  Ephem  Ep hem eris er is Ep Epigr igraph aphica ica Co Corp rpori oriss  Inscriptionum  Inscriptio num Uatina Ua tinarum rum Supplemen Supp lementum tum , IX (1905) 188.

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division, division, espe especi cial ally ly when copying cop ying Greek Gree k inscript inscriptions. ions. N o r was he above fabricating a text, perhaps the best known of his apocrypha being the inscription of Heliodorus the Carthaginian, which he clai claime med d to be near near Gades.1 Gades.1 Yet the debt which which classical epigraphists owe to him could scarcely be greater, since so many inscriptions have only reached us through his copies; while the fact that most: of the sylloges assembled during the Renaissance drew materials from him, speaks for the immediate  po  p o p u lari la rity ty o f Cir C iria iaco co’’s lab la b o u rs.2 rs .2 The sylloges of Signorili and Poggio, and even more those of Ciriaco Ciriaco were very extensivel extensively y used by later epigraphists. epigraphists. Th Thus us an important source of the sylioge of the humanist physician Giovanni Marcanova (d. 1467), of which there are two recen sions, one on e o f 1457-603 and an anoth other er o f 1465 1465,4 ,4 were the th e texts te xts collected by Ciriaco in 1435-37.5 1435- 37.5 Anot An othe herr source was Felice Feliciano, who was actually responsible for the transcription and the numerous illustrations of the presentation copy to Malat Malates esta ta Novello Novello o f Marcanova’ Marcanova’s secon second d recensi recension. on.66 A part from its its imagi imaginar naryy vi views ews of o f ancient ancient Rome,7 Rome ,7 the imp importance ortance o f Marcanova’s collection lies in its being the first substantial and well arranged sylioge got up since Ciriaco, and in its providing many drawings draw ings o f ancient ancient monu m onum m ents,8 some o f which, alas alas,, have not reached us. Felice Feliciano (1433-1480), whom his contemporaries called ‘Antiquario’ ‘per aver lui quasi consumato gli anni soi in cercare le generose antiquita de Roma, de Ravena e de tutta l’ltalia’9was more than anyone else instrumental in the divulga tion tio n o f Ciriaco’s Ciriaco’s epigraphic epigra phic collecti co llections.1 ons.10 0 H e himself him self copied all all 1 Supra , 141. 2 Ciriac o’s o’s Rom e sylioge, for instanc e, was circula ting in R om e and M ilan before 146 1461, 1, cf. A. Luz io and R. Rc nier, kkll Filelfo c I’ I’um um ane sim o alia co rte dei Gonzaga*, Giomale (1890) 0) 159. 159. Ciriaco’s Ciriaco’s enthusiasm was shared by some o f  storico della lett le tter era a tura tu ra ita lian li an a,  XV I (189 his Da lmatian friends. friends. Pietro Cippico Cippico at Tra u and G iorgio Begna at Zara collected collected as many texts texts o f local local inscripti inscriptions ons as they could get hold of. Th eir achievem achievem ent was, was, how ever, limited, as their searches searches never wen t beyo nd their hom e territories. See See G. Prag a, ‘Indag ‘Indag ini e stud i sulFum anesim o in Dalm azia-Ciriaco dc Pizzicol Pizzicolli li e M arino dc Resti’, Resti’,  Arc  A rc hivi hi vio o Storico Stori co (1932) 32) 262-80, G . Prag a, ’II codice M arciano di G iorg io Begn a e  pe  p e r la D a lm a tia ti a , XI i I (19 iv io Storico Stori co per pe r la D a lm a ti a ,  X III (1932 Pietro C ippico,  Ar ch ivio (1932)) 210-18. 3 B urg crbib liothck , Bern, M s. B.42. B.42. 4 Biblioteca Bstense, M oden a, Ms. Alpha. L.5.15. L.5.15. O n it and tw o othe r versions o f this Ms. see Supra , 98, nn. 2-3. cit .  100, 5 B od na r,  op. cit. 6 Ibid.  Ibid .  99, n. 4. 7 Supra, 98. 98 . 8 See Hu els en ,  L a lio/ li o/ua ua antica d i Ciriaco Ciria co d* Ancona Anc ona , figg. 5-20.  L e Porreta Porr etane ne, ed. G. Gambarin, (Bari, 1914) 17. 9 G. S. Degli Aricnti,  Le 10 O n him see now M itchell,  Felice Feliciano Anti An tiqu quar ariu ius. s.

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the ancient inscriptions he could, and asked friends to com municate mu nicate to him as as many as possible. possible. O n hearing hea ring that Callisto Callisto Montano was contemplating a business journey to Greece, he hastened to write to him in the hope of securing  bo  b o o k s an andd co copie piess o f w h a tev te v e r in insc scri ript ptio ions ns h e saw.1 saw .1 T o F eli el i ciano inscriptions were particularly valuable because of the evidence they provided about the accurate spelling of classical Latin.2 N o won w onde derr then, then , th that at besi besides des actively actively collaborating collabo rating in those of Marcanova, he also prepared a sylloge of his own, the last and most complete recension of it, being addressed,  by h im in 1464 to th thee p a in inte terr A n d re reaa M an ante tegg na na.3 .3 T hi hiss re rece cens nsio ionn like the earlier ones, follows no order, except when Feliciano transcribes transcribe s fro from m someone some one els else’ e’ss syllog sylloge. e. I t consists consists m ostly o f texts collected by Feliciano in Verona and its countryside, but it also incorporates materials from Ciriaco as well as from Marcanova and other sources, his inscriptions of Rome coming from the syllo sylloges ges o f Signorili Signorili and Poggio. N o r was was he above including false false inscriptions inscriptions fabricated fa bricated by him, just as his drawings o f antique antique stones stones and sculptur sculptures es owed much m uch to his imagination.4 A wide selection of inscriptions occur also in the sylloges of the Carmelite Michele Ferra Fe rrarini rini who wh o died no n o t later late r than tha n 14 1492. 92.55 Here the texts are often accompanied by the drawings of the m onum onuments, ents, cippuses cippuses or o r stones stones on which they were to be found, found , as as well as as some n o t very con convincin vincing g cinerary urns w ith inscription insc riptions.6 s.6 Besides many from north Italy, Ferrarini gave also inscriptions from fro m Rome, south sou th Italy, Spain, Spain, Germa Ge rmany, ny, Athens, Ath ens, etc. etc. Needless to say say many o f the inscriptions insc riptions he gives gives came from fro m oth other er sylloge sylloges. s. The Greek inscriptions given by him derive of course from Ciriaco; others were taken from the collection of Feliciano, whose account of an expedition on lake Garda to gather epigraphic texts, the so-called ‘Jubilatio’, was also included by Ferrarini in his sylloge.7 In his letter of dedication to Ludovico Rodano, written at Bologna and dated 13 February 1477, Ferrarini urged him to read the sylloge again and again in order to absorb the elegance  Ibid .  204. 1 Ibid. ci t. 50. 2 P ra tilli ,  op. cit. 3 Bib lioteca M arciana , Ven ice, M s. La t. X. 196 196 (3 (3766 766). ). Feliciano An tiq tiar ti ar ius, iu s, p i. 4 Cf. M itch cll,  Felice Feliciano i. X X X - - X X X I , X X X 1 U X 1 ..11. 6 O n F errarini see G. T irabosc hi,  hibliote  hibli oteca ca Modenese Modenese, V (Modena, 1782) 277-79, C . I . L . V I , 1 , X L I I I - X L I V ,  Inscriptiones  Inscriptio nes Christia Chri stianae nae Urbis Ur bis Romae, Rom ae,  N . S . I , X X X I V - X X X V . 6 V atica n Lib ra ry , Ms. V at. lat. 5243, ff ff. 39v, 39v, 41r, 45r. 7 Ibid.  Ibi d.  f. 33r"v.

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and the the correct spelli spelling ng of those texts.1 texts.1 As an antiquarian antiquarian and epigraphist hi hiss reputation rep utation could hardly hardly have stood higher among am ong hiss contemporaries. A decree of hi o f the ‘Anziani’ o f Reggio Emilia Emilia issued in 1493 and forbidding his sylioge to be taken out of the local Carmelite con c onve vent,2 nt,2 speaks for fo r itself, itself, while the passages abou ab outt him in Caprioli’s Ca prioli’s histor his tory y o f Brescia3 Brescia3 confirm hi hiss fame in humanist circles. These immediate followers of Ciriaco did not introduce any new methods into epigraph epigraphy. y. It was left left to Fra Giovanni G iocondo ioco ndo (1443-1515 (1443-1515)4 to improve improv e on o n th thee methods m ethods followed  bee fo  b fore re hi him m . F r a G io iocc o n d o , w ho hose se an anti tiqq u a ria ri a n acti ac tivi vity ty was accompanied by the practice of architecture and the editing of Vitruvius, Caesar, and the letters of the younger Pliny, was fascinated by inscriptions not only because of their historical significance, but also because of the concision of their phraseo logy, the elegance of their spelling, and the admirable symmetry o f their lettering. lettering. Th Their eir continuous destruction moved him therefore to attem pt a rescue rescue ope operation, ration, that tha t is to to say say to transcribe as many inscriptions as possible before it was too late, a scheme in which he was encouraged by Lorenzo de’ Medici the Magni ficent, through Alessandro Cortesi.5 Besid Besides es being arranged arra nged topographically and a nd being as compre com pre hensive as possible, Giocondo’s epigraphic collection included also an important innovation; for it had separate sections for the texts texts copied directly directly by him from the original stones and an d those which he had found fou nd in other othe r syllo sylloge gess or had h ad been communicat com municated ed to him by friends.6 friends.6 These feat feature uress alread already y occur in the the firs firstt recension (1478-c. 1489) which was dedicated to Lorenzo de’ Medici. Medici. Th They ey are also also pre presen sentt in the second, second, w hich was was dedicated to Ludovico Agnelli, Archbishop of Cosenza (1497-1499). 1 Ibid.   f. 2r. 2 Tirab osch i, Biblioteca M odenese, V , 277-78. Perh aps this decree decree was pr om pte d by the safe safe o f the inscribed stones collected by F errarini bv the friars on J anu ary 6th, 149 1493, 3, cf. cf. ibid . V. 279. cit .  f. A6r. 3 Ca pre olu s,  op. cit. 4 T he latest study on him is L.A. Ciapponi, ‘A ‘A ppun ti pe r una biograiia di G iovanni li a Medioevale e Umanist Uma nistica ica, IV (1961 Giocondo da Verona’,  Ita lia (1961)) 131-58. F o r his sylloges see cit . especially Carini,  op. cit. 6 Th e letters o f dedication to L ore nz o dc* Medici were printed several times, cf. for  Imc riptiones ones antiquae Graecae et e t Romanae in Etr E trur uria iaee Urbibus Urb ibus, instance the text in A. F. Gorius,  Imcripti III (Florentiae, 1743 1743)) 39-46. O n Cortesi collecting inscriptions and having them cop ied see see P. Pa schini, ‘Un ‘Un a famiglia di curiali nella Ro m a del Q u att ro ce nt o : 1 Co rtesi’, rtesi’,  Riv  R iv ista is ta d i stori sto ria a  della  del la Cbicsa Cbics a in Ita It a lia li a, XI (1957) 18. cit .  255-56. Originally Fra G iocond o had m eant no t to include 6 Carini,  op. cit. include inscriptions inscriptions in his sylioge sylioge w hich he had no t copied personally. personally.

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Here Giocondo’s assistant was instead of Cortesi the famous scribe scribe Bartolomeo Bartolome o Sanvito,1w S anvito,1w ho was also also responsibl responsiblee for writing w riting and decorating partly or completely all the copies of the various recensions o f the sylloge w hich have reached us.2 Th Thee differen difference ce  bee twe  b tw e e n th thee tw o re rece cens nsio ions ns is n o t so gr gree a t. T h e de dedi dica catio tion n to Loren Lo renzo zo was replaced by an identical one to Agnelli. Some o f the texts in the first recension have now disappeared, while new oness from Rome and Padua one Padua have have been been introduced. N o dedicatory dedicatory letters were w ere included includ ed in the t he third thi rd recension recen sion (c. (c. 15 1502 02), ),3 3 which wh ich shows a new section section consist con sisting ing o f texts texts commun com municated icated by friends friends and found in Rome as well as Italy, France, etc., the use of ‘schedae’ of Pomponio Leto and Pietro Sabino being also quite evident here. Giocondo searched for inscriptions wherever he could. Though his task was to rescue what was left of Antiquity, he also also did n ot overlo ov erlook ok early early Christian Ch ristian inscriptions. Occasionally Occasionally he was deceived by a spurious one, such as the notorious decree of Desider Desideriu ius. s.44 O n the other hand, hand, when he he had doubts doubts about one he w ould note n ote ‘m ‘m ode odernum rnum p u to to’’.5 He w ould also also say say if he did not know kn ow the whereabouts whereabouts o f a text,6 text,6 or if the stone stone was was abou ab outt to be destro de stroye yed,7 d,7if if it was diffi difficult cult to read,8 rea d,8 when whe n physical diff di ffiicu cult ltie iess prev p revented ented him acce accesss to one one,9 ,9 or if it had just been unearthed.10 unearthed.10 Also the syllog syllogee of o f Fra Giocond Gioc ondo o included drawings o f some of the original stone stones. s. As a collection collection it proved prov ed immediately popular and was extensively used in later sylloges.  No  N o w since sinc e th thee times tim es o f Ciria Ci riaco co th thee aim o f m o s t sylloge syll ogess was to  pro  p rov v id idee a sele se lect ctio ion n o f text te xtss f r o m th thee w h o le o f Ital It aly y as well we ll as other oth er E uro uropea peann countries, particularly particularly France and Spai Spain. n. A pa part rt from Rome and the Dalmatian collections of Ciriaco’s friends there were, however, no humanist collections dealing exclusively with epigraphic materials from one town and its countryside. Despite its emphasis on Verona and its territory, the sylloge of Felician Fe liciano1 o111 wTas not no t really rea lly a colle c ollectio ction n o f Ver V eron ones esee insc i nscrip ription tions. s. 1 Biblioteca N azio nalc Centrale, Floren ce, Ms. Ma gi. XX VIII.15 VIII.15, f. 23v. ri p t o f Humanism, Human ism,   (Oxford, 1963) 27-29. 2 J. W ardrop,  the Sc rip 3 Fo r Mss. o f the v arious rec ension s see  Insc  In scri ript ptio ions ns Christi Chr istiana anaee Urbis Ur bis Romae, N.S. I, XXXV-XXXVL 4 M use o Cor rer, V enice, Ms. Cico gna 1632, ff. 160v-61v 160v-61v . H e was also also dece ived by som e forged inscriptions, allegedly found at Este, C J . U .   V. 194*, which he also accepted as antique, cf. Ms. Cicogna 1632, f. 224r. 5 Bib lioteca M arcian a, Ve nice, Ms. La t. X IV . 171 171 (4665) f. 162v. 162v.  Ibid . 163r .  Ibid .  ff. 39v, 42*. 6 Ibid. T Ibid. 8 Ibid. f. 5K . ■ Ibid.   f. 130v. 10 Ibid. f. 7 6 v . 11 Supra , 148-149.

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We must therefore arrive at Desiderio Spreti, whose interest in inscriptions was already evident evid ent in 1455 1455,1 ,1 to find a collection of inscriptions entirely drawn from one town, this being the selection of epigraphic texts from Ravenna which he gave as an appendix to his account accoun t of o f th that at city.2 A collection of inscriptions from Brescia and its neighbourhood got up during the late fifteenth century was probab prob ably ly made m ade for Zaccaria Barbaro,3 Bar baro,3 while while outside Italy Italy twenty-two R om oman an inscriptio inscriptions ns o f Augsburg A ugsburg and its territory were assembled and published by the wellknow kn ow n humanist hum anist K on onra rad d Peutinger P eutinger in 150 1505. 5.4 4 Local collect collections ions such as these were, however, eclipsed by the sylioge of Roman inscriptions of Milan and its ‘ager’ put together by the young Andrea Alciati. What makes Alciati’s sylioge so remarkable is the effort  bee h in  b ind d it t o m a k e it a  corp  corpus us epig epigra raph phic icum um  of his native city as comprehensive compreh ensive as as possibl possible. e. It was while he was was writing writin g his his history of Milan, (1504-05) so Alciati tells us, that he decided to collect the local inscriptions and explain the more obscure ones, adding h ow he had been encouraged in in his his task task by those who had donee so before him.5 don him .5 The T he outcom e o f this decision decision was his sylioge,6 sylioge,6 where wh ere each text was preceded by an introdu intro duction ction o f varying length, in which he illustrated its historical significance, archaic spellings, mentions of offices or institutions, etc., by reference to the class classic ical al w riters. Sometimes his explanation explan ation o f an of offi fice ce really really was, as in the case case of o f ‘Com ‘Comes’ es’,7 ,7aa brie bri e f dissertation on the subject, or his introduction could be also an excuse for singing singing the prai praises ses of o f a powerful powe rful man who w ho happened happene d to own ow n the stone, such as Gian Giacomo Trivulzio or Giovanni Francesco Marliani.8 1 W hen he transcrib ed th e cp igraph ic ‘eJogia’ ‘eJogia’ o f C. Ma rius and F abius M aximus ( C.T.L.  D e M il it ia  com pleted I, 1, 2nd ed. 193, 195) 195) on f. 32r~v 32r~v of his his tra nsc ript o f L eo na rdo B run i’s i’s  De pleted at Rave nna on 5 June 14 1455 55 and no w Ms. U rb. lat. 112 1125 5 of the V atican Library. 2 Sp ret us,  op. cit. cit .  fF. c3r-c6v. 3 Biblioteca M arciana , Venice, M s. Lat. X . 197 (361 (3612). 2). A t f. f. 3r it has the B arb aro arm s with Z on the left and  B  on the right, the whole within a wreath. 4 In  Romanae vetns ve tns tatis tat is fragm fra gmen enta ta in A ug us ta Vindelicorum Vindelic orum et eius diocesi, (Aug ustae Vindelicor um , 1505 1505). ). In his preface Peutin ger says says tha t he collected collected these inscriptions ha ving been orde red to d o so by the E m pe ror M aximilian aximilian 1 and tha t he was assist assisted ed by the ‘Sodali ‘Sodalitas tas Litteraria A ugu stan a’, a’, th e canons o f the C athedral athedral and his fellow fellow citizens, citizens, cf. cf. ibid.  f. f. l v. 6Ambrosian Library, Milan, Ms. D. 425 inf., p. 1. 6 O n w'hi w'hich ch see D . Bianchi, ‘L’ope ‘L’ope ra le ttcraria e storica di A ndre a A lciato’,  Arc  A rc hivi hi vio o  storico lombardo lomb ardo , ser. 4, X X (1 Pe tra rca rc a e i re tori to ri lati la tini ni mino mi nori ri, (191 913) 3) 47-57, and Billanovich,  II Petra 157-58. Th ere are two recensions of the the sylioge sylioge represented by Mss. Mss. D. 425 inf. inf. and T rotti 353 of the the A m brosian Library. Library. 7 M s. D . 425 in f., p. 32. 8 Ib id . pp. 72, 82.

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Alciati Alciati collected collected inscriptions inscriptions wherever wherev er he could. could. O f one he he says that it was shown to him by a friend who had dug it up in hiss garden.1 O f ano hi another ther one he state statess how the original had been  prr e sen  p se n ted te d to h im .2 O ccas cc asio iona nally lly he also als o ga gave ve a d ra raw w in ing g o f th thee stone3 and he never ne ver om omitted itted to give the exact location of o f the original origin al or tell w hen it was di diffic fficult ult to decipher. Needless to say, say, the collection of Alciati showed a considerable progress from the earlier earlier ones. ones. And th thou ough gh he was n o t abov abovee occasionall occasionallyy giving a literary polish to his pieces and assigning a Roman origin to some Milanese families, he showed none the less such an insight and command of the relevant sources in his intro ductions, that one can easily forgive him such venial sins. Also dealing with local epigraphic texts, this time those of the Como terr territory, itory, was was Benedetto Bened etto Giovio. Also in in his sylloge, sylloge,44 already completed but for a few additions in 1497, each text was accompanied accompanied by a short commentar comm entary y and, m oreover, oreove r, there was was in each cas case a drawing o f the original. original. G iovio, tho ug ugh h learned, learned, was far from possessing the acumen of Alciati, this being plainly evident evid ent in his commentaries. com mentaries. Th Thee original stone was also, also, though only occasionally, drawn in the epigraphic collections of Mariangelo Ma riangelo Accursio A ccursio (1489-1546),5 who wh o was also also responsible respon sible for fo r the introduc introd uction tion of o f stricter stricter standards of accur accuracy acy.. But then the n he he had soon realized the various weaknesses of the preceding sylloges and of the necessity to reproduce faithfully the line division of the originals, originals, furnish furn ish drawings, provide pro vide mo more re accurate accurate topographical data and, above all, to collate again the texts with the originals originals w hen heneve everr this was possible. possible. In his epigraphic collections he furnished such details as the ubication of the stone, w hen it was found, fou nd, and occasionall occasionally y its its size6 size6 and w he hether ther the original was was faul faulty ty.. Th Thus us for fo r the inscription of the arch of Augustus at Fano, he rightly preferred to give the complete text nott from no fro m earli earlier er syll sylloge oges, s, bu butt from fro m the reprod rep roduc uction tion o f the arch on the front fro nt o f the local local church o f San San Michele Michele.7 .7 Accursio’s Accursio’s new  Ibi d.  p. 39. 1 Ibid. 2 Ibid.  Ibi d.  p. 86. 3 Cf. fo r instan ce M s. T ro tti 353, if. if. 79r , 81r, 84v, 85r, etc. W e also find him on ce criticising Ciriaco’s reading of an inscription, cf. ibid . f. 16v. 4 F. A. Zach ariae S.I., S.I., ‘De Benedict! Iovii Com ensis Co llectaneis llectaneis in scrip tionu m ’,  Racco  Ra ccolta lta d ’opuscoli scientifici e filologici filolo gici, XL (Venc 2 ia, 1749) 419-30, A. Soffredi, ‘Codici epigrafici di Benedetto Giovio nelle biblioteche milanesi’, Comu w-M is cellane  cellane a d i sc ri tt i in onore onore d i  Federico Frige Fr igerio rio, (Como, 1964) 379-88.  Ac cursi rsio o ( Accor  Ac corso so )  Marian  Ma riangelo gelo , 126-32. 5 See Campana,  Accu 6Ambrosian Library, Milan, Ms. D. 420 inf., ff. 41r, 44v.  Ibid.  Ib id.   f. 132 7 132rr : ‘In a rcu , sem icon uulso to rrn en tis belHc belHcis is bello pii. ij. ij. contra fanen ses M .CCC C.LX III III.. ut in pictura prope exprcssa exprcssa arcus arcus indi indicat catur ur*. *. Fo r the rep rodu ction o f the arch see  supra  sup ra , 118 and PI. XII.

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standards are already evident in the errata-corrige of the corpus o f inscriptions inscriptions from fro m Rome Rom e issued issued by Mazzocchi Mazzocchi in 1521 1521,1 ,1 which was almost certainly his, and was based on a comparison, when ever possible, possible, w ith the original stones. Perhaps, Perha ps, as as has been  po  p o in inte ted d o u t,2 t, 2 h e m e a n t t o issue iss ue a t a late la terr dat d atee a sup s uppp lem le m e n t to t o th thee corpusjof corpusjof Mazzocchi, in which wh ich case case the Rom Ro m an sylioge sylioge am ong his his m anu anuscrip scripts3 ts3 shoul sh ould d refer to this. this. The epigraphic collections of Alciati and Giovio had been accompanied by commentaries comm entaries on the epigraphic texts. texts. Com menting the texts was carried even further by another humanist, Girolamo Bologni of Treviso, (1454-1517), whose  Antiq  An tiqua uarm rmss4 sough sou ghtt to give a kind of epigraphic epigraphic treat treatise ise.. W e thus find find him already giving in the preface addressed to his own son Giulio, some examples of ancient inscriptions used on various occasions, such as in honour of a god or a well deserving personage, on a restored building, to promulgate a law, or in memory of a dead  pee r s o n ,5 as well  p we ll as a d ig igre ress ssio ion n o n c re rem m atio at ionn a m o n g th thee an anci cien entt Rom Ro m ans.6 Th ere follows follows an account of o f T rev reviso7 iso7 and a selecti selection on of inscriptions accompanied by historical and philological commentaries often very long, one of which, for instance, expla exp lain inss every every single single w ord in the inscription.8 inscription.8 Doubtl Doub tless ess this this w ork o f Bologni would w ould hav havee prov proved ed invaluable invaluable had it enjoyed enjoyed a wide divulgation, divulga tion, which it did n o t.9 And A nd it seems seems somewhat somew hat ironical that what really could be called the earliest treatise on epigraphy was the  De marmoreh marmoreh voltu volturr rrbe benis nis tabulis of 1492-93 by A nn nnio io da Viterb V iterbo,1 o,10 0 which whic h entirely dealt with his own ow n epigraphic epigra phic forgeries! The collecting of inscriptions was not an Italian monopoly for very very long. Some o f the German Germ an humanist humanistss who had studied studied or resided in Italy soon followed the example set by their Italian  I'. pigram rammata mata Anlii An lii/u /uac ac I'rhis I'r his,,  (Romae, 1521) ff. aair-aa8r. 1 I'.pig ? <".:iim[>.ti:;, . Aau  A au rsu ! ( A ty;ors^ y;ors^), ), Maruw Ma ruwgel gelo, o,   127. /,■ ?V/. lo c . c i t . 4 In the the iiibliotec a M arcian a, Venice, Ms. Lat. X IV . 168 168 (45 (4571) 71) If. l r 55r. 55r. His sylioge o f inscriptions in Musco Corrcr, Venice, Ms Gcogna 2393, is later tirai 1508, cf. ibid.  f. 54r. 6 M s L at. at . X I V . 168 M571) (T. 3v_ 3v_ 5 r.  Ibi d.   f. 5.v 6 Ibid. 7 Ibid. ff. 6v 6v C X  Ibid .  ff. 8 Ibid.  Ibid .  f. 9r. 9 Occasionally Occasionally Bologn i wen t wrong . In the  An tiq ua rius ri us   he mistakenly identified Asolo w ith ‘ Acelurn’, Acelurn’, which h e calls calls ‘A ‘A ciliurn ’, this place be ing instea d Cc neda, and sta ted th at the Piavc and the Silc were the same river, which is by no means certain, cf. Supplementi al  Giom ale de 'I.e tterat tte rat i d ’Ita lia tamo seco secon ndo,  (Venezia, 1722) 141. Hp ipra ralM lMcc i r a ' t by A t o m s o f V ite it e rb o, 10 Pu blishe d an d stud ied in W eiss,  A n tm im tn i Hpip

101 - 20 .

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colleagu colleagues, es, perhaps the m ost impo im portan rtantt of o f these these being the Opus de  antiquitatibus  antiquitatibus cum cum epitaphiis epitaphiis by Hartmann Schedel, who completed it in 150 1505, and which drew to a very very great extent from preceding pre ceding collections.1 collec tions.1 As a rule pieces pieces ga gathe there red d in the hu hum m an anist ist sylloges sylloges were ancient Roman Rom an inscriptions. inscriptions. A t firs firstt Greek inscriptions inscriptions were extremely rare exceptions, often followed by Latin trans lati lations ons o f them.2 This This o f cou cours rsee changed changed with Ciri Ciriaco, aco, whose whose travels in the Greek world had enabled him to gather a very considerable collection o f Greek Gr eek epigraphic e pigraphic texts.3 But after him his only follower in this field was the unknown Venetian w ho visited Athens Ath ens abo about ut 14 1470 704 4 and whose who se collection had no divulgation. divulga tion. It is is therefore n ot so rash to to assume assume that, apart apar t from a few existing in in Italy, all all the G reek ree k inscriptions inscr iptions given in syllog sylloges es g o t up after Ciriac Ciriaco o were derived derived from him. Inscriptions in other othe r languages attracted less attention for two reasons: because they were less plentiful and because they were unintelligible. The discovery at Andros in 1419 of the treatise of Horapollo on hieroglyphs by Cristoforo Buondelmonti5aroused some interest in them, espe especi cial ally ly in Florence, Florence, where w here B uond uondelm elmonti onti had almost certainly sent his his find find to Niccoli,6 N iccoli,6 and a copy o f H orap orapollo ollo was taken with him him by Ciria Ciriaco co when he went to Egypt in 14 1435. 5.77 It was during this very visit that Ciriaco sent a transcript of a hieroglyph inscription on one o f the pyramids, pyramids, which w hich he believed believed to be in Phoenician Phoen ician characters,8 charac ters,8 to Niccoli Nicco li and, from fro m what wha t we know of his tastes, one can safely assume that other such inscrip tions were copied by him on this occasi occasion. on. It seems seems therefore therefor e highly probable that the hieroglyphs in the copies of Ferrarini’s 1On it see especially G. B. Dc Rossi, ‘Dell ’opus de antiquitatihus  di Hartmann Schedel  Ku ovee memorie delV de lVls lstit titnt nto o d i corri$pondeti~a corri$pondeti~a arch archeo eolo lo^ ^ica^ ica^  (Lipsia, 1865)  N o r i m b e r g h e s e ’,  Kuov 500-14. 2 Supra, 147, n.9. :i Ibid.  Ibi d.  139-140.  I b id   142-143. 4  Ib 5 W eis s, Un wnanista antiqnario , 111. •’ Th e copy d iscovered by Buo nde lmo nti is is now at Florence in the L auren tian Library, Ms. 69. 69.27 27.. Th e tract of Hora pollo was only turned turned into Latin during the second half o f the fifteenth fifteenth century by G iorg io Valla. Valla. His versio n is is in in Biblioteca Biblioteca Trivu lziana , Milan, Ms. 2154. 215 4. A no the r ve rsion is is in the Vatican Library , Ms. V at. l;u l;u.. 3898, 3898, il. l r- 16r . To the se should be added the Latin versions by Willibald Pirckheimer made in Linz in '1514 at the request of the L m pe ror Maximili Maximilian an I, cf cf. L. Volkm ann, Wihkrschriflen der Renaissance, 1923)) 84, 84, Be rna rdin o Tre baz io o f Vicenza, Vicenza, first first printed
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syli sylioge oge now at Naple Napless and Paris1 Paris1 derive from a transcript by Ciriaco.2 In the field of epigraphy Egyptian hieroglyphs could scarcely have aroused le less interest interest.3 .3 Th Thee same same ca can be sai said o f Semi Semiti ticc inscriptions, inscriptions, thou th ough gh these these could be translated by Jewish scholars scholars,, as one of them who came from Pisa but was residing in Palermo actually did for the Dominican Pietro Ranzani, when the latter was anxious to secure the version of a ‘Chaldean’ inscription on one o f the gates gates of o f Palermo.4 Palerm o.4 Marin Sanudo was therefore therefo re something of an exception when he recalled the ancient Hebrew inscription insc riptionss he had seen in the Jew Je w ish cemetery cem etery at Cividale,5 Civid ale,5 some of which are now in the the tow to w n’ n’ss museum. Slight Slightly ly greater grea ter interest appears to have been aroused by epigraphic texts in the  pre  p re-R -R o m a n dialects dia lects o f Italy. Ita ly. I t is tru tr u e th thaa t som so m e twel tw elve ve years yea rs after the famous Tabulae Iguvinae  had been found in a cave near Gubbio in 1444,® the town authorities were glad to purchase them the m from fro m their owner, o wner, Paolo G reg regorio orio da Signa Signa,, in in exchange exchange for some pasture and wooding rights for two years valued at twenty flori florins ns.7 .7 But in in order to find find any any further not notice ice o f prepre-Roman Roman texts we must really wait until the late fifteenth and early six teenth century. It cannot have been later than 1493, when Ermolao Barbaro died, that Antonio Galateo sent copies to him, Pontano, Sannazzaro, Summonte, and others in order to have their opinion about an inscription recently discovered near Vasto, Va sto, which wh ich they unanimo unan imously usly judged judge d to be Messapi M essapian8 an8 and which Galateo later included in his  De situ Tapy apygiae iae.9 Two Italic inscriptions from Perugia figure in one of the epigraphic manu scripts o f Mariangelo Ma riangelo Accursio Ac cursio.1 .10 0 But the first first who wh o really really to took ok a 1Biblioteca Nazionalc, Naples, Ms. YE 5 , ff. 249v -5 -50r, 0r, Bib liothe qu e N ation alc, Pa ris, Ms. Lat. 6128, ff. 130r-31v.  Ins criptio tioms ms Christian Chr istianae ae Urbis Ur bis Romae, Rom ae,  II. 1, 382, n. 6. 2 Inscrip 3 O n the interest in hieroglyphs d urin g the Renaissan Renaissance, ce, u hich was was not pa rt of epigra phical ical studies, studies, see espe especi cial ally ly K. G ieh lov , ‘Die Hieroglyph enku nde des Hu m anismu s in in Aller boc listen listen der Allegorie der Renaissance’,  Jahrbuch der knnslhistorischen Sammhmgen des Allerboc  Kaiserhauses,  X X X II (1 ci t.,   E. Iversen, The The Myth of Egy pt and its (191 915) 5) 11- 222 222,, Volkm ann ,  op. cit.,  Hierog  Hie roglyp lyphs hs in European Europe an Trad Tr aditi ition on , (Copenhagen, 1961) 57-87. 4 Qpuscoli di antori siciliani tomo nono,  (Palermo, 1767) 30-32. tr ia del de l I rin r in li di Marino Mar ino Sannio fa f a tta tt a I ’anno anno M D U - MD 1II, 35. 5 Descri^ione dell a P a tria 6 E. G iov ag no li, Gubbio nella storia e nell'arte, (Citta di Gastello, 1932) 1932) 6, 6, ’Tabulae Iguvinae 1937) 7) 5; the reverse o f the fifth fifth ‘tab ‘tab ula ’ was prin ted at Pa rm a editae a lacobo Devoto, (Ro m ae, 193 Vbaldo data frto frtori ri da l padre Stefa Stefano no da as early as 1519 in the Latin version of the V it a di S. Vbaldo Cremona canonico regolare.

7 See See the the unsign ed article article ‘Strom ‘Strom ento di com pera delle Tav olc E ug ub ine ’, Giomale di erudhinne artistica,  I (1872) 177-81. ci t. 98. 8 G ala teu s,  op. cit.  Ib id. 97. 97 . 9 Ibid. 10A m bro sian Libra ry, M ilan, Ms. D. 420 inf., inf., ff.. 238r 238r .

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serious interest in pre-Roman epigraphy was Sigismondo Tizio, who gav gavee the text o f a consi consider derabl ablee numb nu mber er o f Etruscan inscrip inscrip tions in his history of Siena.1 Until the end o f the fifteenth fifteenth century the collecting collecting o f epigraphic texts had been limited to classical ones, though early Christian and later inscriptions had occasionally crept into more than tha n one syl sylio ioge. ge. Here He re a pioneer was was one o f the pupils of Pomponio Leto, Pietro Sabino, who in 1495 offered to King Charl Charles es V III a coll collect ection ion of ear earlly Christi Christian an inscript inscriptions. ions.22 T o the year 1498 belongs a collection of medieval inscriptions in the churches of Rome assembled by Giovanni Capocci and now lost.3 It was left to the Flore F lorentine ntine Battista Battista di Pietro Pie tro Brunelles B runelleschi chi to complete in 151 5144 a sylio sylioge ge of o f m ode odern rn Latin La tin inscriptions inscriptions to be found fou nd in Rom e.4 M odern inscriptions inscriptions were also also to be foun found d in Francesco Albertini’s  Jlpyth  Jlpythaph aphioru iorum m 5which tho thoug ugh h abo about ut to be published publish ed by the Rom R oman an print pr inter er Mazzocchi in 15 1510 106 6 ne neve verr saw the light, and they also also occur very often in his his book boo k on o n Rome Ro me issued in 1510 by the same printer.7 In view o f the great interest in epigraphy shown show n by humanists and antiquarians it is not surprising that collections of inscrip tions eventually even tually became avail available able in prin print. t. A par partt fro from m a slim slim anthology, antho logy, in which short poetic po etic texts texts in Latin were interspersed w ith some inscriptions, insc riptions, mostly apocrypha apocr yphal,8 l,8 the first first epigraph epig raphic ic collection to be printed was that of Desiderio Spreti, which appeared appe ared in Venice in 1489. 1489.9 9 After A fter tha t we have to wait until 1502, when the Erfurt humanist Nicolaus Marschalk saw to the  prr in  p intt in ing g in his h is ow n ho hom m e o f a small sm all col c olle lect ctio ion, n,110m ostly os tly c on onsi sist stin ingg  E trus us k 1 Supra, 12 120, 0, n.6. Fo r E trusc an in scriptions in Mss. collections see DanicJsson,  Etr ische Jnsibrifien in fpndschriftlicher Veberlieferung.

2 Bib lioteca M arcia na , Venice, Ms. Lat. X . 195 195 (3453 (3453)) fl fl. 276r- 32 4r . O n it ct.  Inscriptionss  Inscrip tionss Christianae \ 'rbis Romae,  11. 1, 410-52. 3 Ibid.  Ibid .  N.S.I, XL. 4 O n this sylloe e see G . De Nic ola, M scrizio scrizioni ni rom ane relative ad artisti o ad op ere d ’ a r t e \  Ar ch ivio (1908 08)) 220-25. See See also on the iv io della Societa Rom ana di storia sto ria p a tr ia , X X X I (19 collec ting of ‘m od ern ’ inscriptions C. Hiilsen, ‘Bine Sa m m lung rom ischer Renaissance—  Renaissance—  Inschriften aus den Augsburger Kollektanccn Konrad Pc-utingers\ Sit^s. der Bayerischen  A k a d . der Wissensehaften,  Philosophische-philol  Philosophische-philologische ogische and bistoris bistoriscbe cbe.. Klasse, Jahrgang  1920, 15.  Abba  Ab ba ndln nd lnng ng , (Miinchen, 1921.) cit .  ff. Zir, Z2r'v, etc. 5 A lbe rtinas ,  op. cit. 6 7bid.  f. R3V.  Ibid .  passim. ;  Ibid. 8 O n wh ich see L. B ertalot, ‘Die altcste altcste ged ruck te latcinischc latcinischc F.pitaphien sam m lung’ lung’,, Collectanea variae doctnuae Feoni S . Olscbki, (Monachii, 1921) 1-28. 9 Supra , 152. 10 See See C. Jlue lscn , ‘D ‘D ie Inschriftcnsa m m lung des E rfur tcr H um anisten Nicolaus Ma rs  Jahrbucberr der Koniolichen Koniolichen Ak ad em ie oemeinnUttiopr oemeinnUttiopr Wissensehaften Wissensehaften 37 / 7~irfurty  N e u e c h a lk 5,  Jahrbucbe Folgc-Heft, XXXVIII (1912) 161-85.

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of apocrypha and adorned with woodcuts showing the so-called ‘arch arc h o f th thee sybil’1 sybil’1 cop copied ied fro from m the 1499 1499 edition editi on o f Prob Pr obus us’’s  Notae  No tae   and some imaginary cinerary urn urns.2 s.2 This was followed in 1505 15 05 by the collection of o f A ug ugsbu sburg rg inscriptions by Peuting Pe utinger3 er3 and during the same year there appeared in Fano a small anthology assembled by Lorenzo Astemio, in which the Was  Latin  La tina, a,  Vegio’s  Ast  A stya yan n a x , and Latin epigrams were accompanied  by  b y sever sev eral al e pi pigr grap aphi hicc texts te xts,, b o th ge genu nuin inee a nd ap apoc ocry ryph phal al.. T h e anthology proved popular enough to be reprinted a few years later at E rf rfur urtt and again in 15 1515 at Fano Fa no.4 .4 O n the othe o therr hand, Rome Rom e started comparatively comparatively late late to print prin t epigraphic epigraphic texts. texts. F or it was only about 1510 that the epigraphic calendars in the third recension of Fra Giocondo’s sylloge were published in a slim tract, almost almost certa certain inly ly by Mazzocchi.5 Mazzocchi.5 But this this same same printer, who was still advertising in 1515 the sylloge of Albertini as shortly to appear,6already had in all probability by then a much greater editorial scheme in view, this being a corpus of all the ancient inscriptions of Rome. Already in 1517 Mazzocchi had secured from Pope Leo X a  priv  pr ivil ileg egee fo forr such su ch a bo b o o k .7 I t was, wa s, h o w e v er er,, on only ly in 15 1521 21 th t h a t th thee  Epigram  Epig rammata mata antiq antiqua uaee Urbis U rbis 8saw the light. light. It is no t very clear clear w ho were the scholars who were responsible for this impressive collection. collection. T ha hatt it gre grew w out ou t of o f A lbertini’ lber tini’ss sylloge sylloge seems seems scarcely credible, since this seems to have been a slender volume, and containing furthermore non-classical texts as well as some from fro m outside Rome." T ha t Mario Ma MafTei, Bishop o f A quin quino, o, to w ho hom m the volume volum e was dedicated,1 dedicated ,10 0 Mariangelo Accursio, w ho 1 I ipiiap ipi iaphia hia quaedam mirae mira e vetus fa /is, /i s,   (Lrfurt, 1502) f. l.v  Ibid . f. 4 r ' v . Similar ‘urns' occur in the sylloge of Michele Ferrarini, cf. Vatican 2 Ibid. L ibr ar y, Ms . V at. lat. 5243, H- 3( 3()v )v\ 41r, 45 r, an d in th at o f G ia co m o G ig li, cf. ibid. NTs. Vat. lar. 5238, f. 1\V 3 Supra , 152, n,4. 4 Lo r this antholo gy an d its editions sec L. L. ik rta io t, ‘L'anto logia di ep igram m i di Lo renz o A bstem io nelie >re edizioni edizioni sonc ima ne’,  MiscdUw.ea G iora io raui ui i M crcat crc atii , IV (Citta dei Vaficano, 1946) 305 26  \h:meroh roh;< ;ve el v.icris Urbis Rome.   (Romae, 1515) f. R 3v 7 liptprammctfa antiquae Vrbis , f. 10r. 6 On which see (...LI.. VJ. VJ. 1, X L V I-V IL G. B. De- Rossi, ‘N ‘N ote sur le le recueil d'ins crip tion s hi tines, in uu ile rpip ram ra m m a/a a/ a a> a>itiq itiqu uac l r b i s \ Revue Revue Archc Archcol olog ogic icfti ftie, e,  XII! (1856) 51-53. 9 Supra , 157lipigrawmdta anNanae 1Y'1Y'-'/ '/j, j, f. 1v, C)n C)n M ario Maffci see L. P esc ctti, ‘M ari o M a tte i\  Rass'.gna \ / olierr oli erraua aua , VI (1932) 65 -91, Pnschini, Urn famiplia di curiali :  I  M affc af fcii d i \/ 'olterr 'olt erra> a> 356-76 , R. I.elevie , 'La  n%  n%na  cki cardinalc Giulio dc Medici e il vescovo d’Aquino’, Strenna dei Rowanisti-Katak di Roma   1961, (Roma, 1961) 171-77.

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edited the text of Probus included in it1and was almost certainly responsible for its errata corrige cor rige,2 ,2 and A ndre ndreaa Fulvio Fulv io had a hand ha nd in it it seems seems highly lik likel ely. y. T he principal principa l sources of it were, we re, however, besides new material, some earlier sylloges—chiefly the third recension of that of Fra Giocondo, that of Pietro Sabino and perhaps those of Signorili and Poggio also contri  bu  b u tin ti n g to it. The Yipigrammata antiquae Urbis  also included several illus trations. I t is is evident eviden t here that tha t Mazzocchi Mazzocchi ‘m ‘m obilized’ fo forr th thee occasion occasion all all the woodblocks in hi hiss printing printin g works. It is tru truee that the illustrations showing monuments or other small antiqui ties ties were made expr expres essl sly y for this this boo book. k. But the orna ornam m ental frames surrounding many of the inscriptions have a familiar air, and had already been used as the frontispieces of several of Mazzocchi’ Maz zocchi’ss pub publicatio lications. ns. O ne year be before fore Mazzocch Ma zzocchi’ i’ss collec tion sawr the light the inscriptions o f Mainz had been be en publishe pub lishedd there by H uttich,3 hi hiss edition edition also also showing woodcuts of lo loca call antiquities. It was, however, how ever, left to the Venetian prin printer ter G iovanni Tacqu Ta cquini ini to issue issue in in 1525 the the last epigraphical collection pub publishe lishedd  bee fo  b fore re th thee sack sa ck o f R o m e o f 1527.4 E pi pigg ra raph phic ical ally ly th this is small sm all sylioge, entirely derived from the third recension of Fra Giocon Gio condo, do, is is o f small mall importance. It is, is, on the other othe r hand, no not entirely insignificant, as being the first edition of the  De notis notis liter arum  arum o f Peter the Deacon and some some short sh ort tracts tracts on metrology. The influence of epigraphy soon became felt in book pro duction. Th Thee use use o f mo monum numental ental capi capital tals, s, the attempt attem pt to imitate an ancient inscription in a title or a colophon, the placing of a title within a cippus, became fairly frequent features in fifteen and early early sixteenth century m anu anuscrip scripts.5 ts.5 This was a feature featur e which was was als alsoo taken taken over by the printers. printers. Th Thus us cippuses cippuses occur occu r in Ferrarini’s edition of Probus’s  Notae  No tae   printed at Brescia in I4866 I486 6 and a superb cippus figu figures res also also on the title page of the first edition of Caprioli’s history of Brescia,7while the colophons 1 F: ft. 2r -9v .  F:,pigran ,pig rantma tmata ta antiquae U rb is, ft. 2 S up ra , 154. 3 Collectanea Antiquitatum in Urbe et Agro Mogunthin repertarmi,   (Moguntiae, 1520). Prob us de notis Ro Roma ma,, H x codice codice manuscriptu manus criptu castig ca stig atior ati or 4 Hoc in volumine continentur M . V a l. Probus . . .  Pe trus cnetiis, 1525) 1525).. tru s Diaconus de eadem re r e  . . . , (Y cnetiis, 5 See See for instance M. Mciss, ‘T ‘T ow ard a M ore C om prehe nsive Re naissance Pa laeog raphy ’, The A r t Bull Bullet etin, in,  X L II (1960 ci t.,, pi. 3, 11, 21, (1960)) figg. 1, 3, 29, 330, 0, W ard rop ,  op. cit. 21, 36, 36, the item in  pi.  p i. 36 g iv e n as ‘w h e r e a b o u t s n o t r e c o r d e d ’ is M s . H o l k h a m H a ll 496, 49 6, U . M e ro n i ,  Mos  M os tra tr a dei de i  —  L.a 1966)) pi. 119-20. Codici Gontagheschi —   L.a Biblioteca dei de i Gontp Go ntp ga da Lu L u ig i I ad a d Isabella Isab ella,, (M anto va, 1966 li ttee ri s antiqu ant iquis is opusculum, opusculum,  (Brixiae, 1486), ff. aiv, a2v, a3v. 6 V. P rob us ,  De litt t. ,   f. lr. 7 Ca pre olu s,  op. ci t.,

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o f the octavo oc tavo editions editions o f Latin and Italian clas classi sics cs issued issued by the Paganini at Toscolano on Lake Garda aim at reproducing an ancient inscripti inscription.1 on.1 But to return re turn to clas lassic sical epigr epigraphy, aphy, it is is certain that tha t as as time time went wen t on greater greate r accurac accuracyy was expect expected. ed. Here He re new standards were certainly introduced by Accursio and are also evident in the handwritten corrections which Anton Lelio Rom Ro m ano (Podager) inserted in his copy o f Mazzocchi’ Mazzocchi’s Epigram Epig ramThe re is no do doub ubtt that faith faith in the valu valuee o f  mata  mat a antiq antiqua uaee U rb rbis is}} There inscriptions inscriptions was by then universal universal in the hum humanist anist world. wo rld. O r almost so, for when opposing Politian’s spelling ‘Vergilius’ instead of ‘Virgilius’, Battista Mantovano emphasized his own faith in literary rather than epigraphic evidence.3 Interest in inscriptions was not limited to their text or lettering. Th Thee original stones stones were collecte collected d with as as much •enthu •enthusia siasm sm as they were being b eing ddes estro troye yed.4 d.4 Many famous humanists, one can mention Pomponio Leto and Platina, Pontano and Pandolfo Collenuccio, and these are but a few of them the m , did so.5 Ancient Anc ient inscriptions were w ere also also set up on public o r oth other er-- buildings. buildings. Th Thus us by order orde r of o f Pope M artin V, an ‘Epita‘Epita ph  p h iu ium m L u c re reti tiee ’ alleg all egedl edly y f o u n d in R o m e b e h in ind d th thee c h u rc rch h of San Sisto in August 1426, was placed ‘in sala que dicitur de la fortu fo rtu n a ’.6 After Af ter the famous inscription of ‘Fortun Fo rtunaa Redux’ Red ux’7was 7was  brr o u g h t to lig  b li g h t a m o n g th thee ru ruin inss o f th thee tem te m pl plee o f F o r tu tunn e at Ascoli Piceno about 1496, the Bishop of the city, Prospero ■Caffarelli, himself a keen epigraphist,8had it set up on one of the •outside walls of the cathedral, with underneath it another inscription in which he recorded recorde d his his own ow n role in its preservation preserv ation.9 .9 1 U. B aro nc clli,  L a stamp sta mpa a nella R ivie iv iera ra Bresciana Bresciana del d el Ga rda rd a nei secoli X V e X V I ,  (Brescia, 1964) 33. 2 See See for instance Vatican Library, Ms. V at.' at. at. 8442. 8442. O n P od age r see see E. Perco po, ‘Di A nton Lelio Lelio Rom ano c di alcunc pasqu inate con tro Leon X ’, Giomale storico della Istteratara (1896) 6) 45-77. 45-77. italiana , X X V III (189 3 E. Bolisani, ‘V ergilius ergilius o Virgilius5? Virgilius5? L ’opinion e di u n do tto um an ista \  A t t i dello  Isti  Is titu tuto to V e m to d i science, lettere lett ere ed a r t i, CXVI1 (1958-59) 132-34. 4 O n 27 A ugu st 1515 1515 the painter Raphael was em pow ered to acquire acquire ancient stones in Rome, particularly in order to prevent the destruction of old inscriptions, cf. Golzio,  op. in this fiel field d see Lanciani, Storia degli scav  cit.  ci t.   38-40 . F or his failure in scavii di Roma,  I, 166. 6 Fo r such collections see for instance ibid. I, passim. passim. F or the collection collection o f Po m ponio Leto see Zabughin, Gudio Pomponio  Leto, II, 186-94. For that of Pandolfo Collenuccio ■see Ziebarth,  D e antiqui anti quissi ssimis mis inscriptionum inscrip tionum syllogis syllo gis, 231, n. 1. 6A m brosia n L ibrary, M ilan, Ms. T ro tti 373, f. 90 90v, v, C.I.L.   VI. 5, 13* 13*.. Ne edless to say, it was a spurious inscription! 5177. ' C.I.L.   IX . 5177. unknown epigraphic epigra phic t ra ct by An n ius iu s o f Vite Vi terb rb o,   117, n. 29. O n CafFarell 8 Weiss,  A n unknown CafFarellii sec G.  A s c o li nei Qua ttroc ttr ocen ento, to,   (Ascoli Piceno, 1950) 15-18 and passim. Fabiano,  As 9 S. A nd rea nto ne lli,  Histo  Hi storia riaee Ascula Asc ulanae nae li b r i I V accesdt acce sdt Histo Hi storia ria e Sacrae L ib e r Singularis, Singular is, (Patavii, 1673) 308-09, B. Orsini,  Descri^ione delle P itt u re Sculture A rc hite hi tett ttur ur e ed altr al tree cose rare  del  d ella la insigne insigne c itta it ta d i A s c o li nella Marc Ma rca a, (Perugia, 1790) 29, G. Carducci, Su le memorie e t  monumenti  monum enti d i A s c o li m l Piceno, (Fermo, 1853) 224.

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A t Bresci Bresciaa some some Roman inscriptions inscriptions were placed placed on the wall walls o f the palace palace of o f the M onte di Pieta in Piazz Piazzaa della della Loggia,1 Logg ia,1 but these are only a few instances among very many.  Need  Ne edle less ss to say, classical in insc scri ript ptio ions ns e xe xert rted ed a tre tr e m e nd ndou ouss influence influence on Renaiss Renaissance ance epigraphy. T he m onum ental enta l capitals capitals used on buildings were clearly derived from them, an impo im portan rtantt role being played played in this fiel field d by Leon Le on Battista Battista Alberti.2 Alber ti.2 The lettering of the inscriptions he placed on the front of his  bu  b u ildin ild ings gs co conf nfirm irmss th thee ir re relia lianc ncee o n a nc ncie ient nt R om an m od odel elss _  though here he also contributed some innovations of his own. As an architect he naturally appreciated their functional value;,  beca  be caus usee o f this th is his lapi la pida dary ry capitals cap itals were we re talle ta llerr th thaa n th thee ir R o m a n  pro  p roto toty typp e s , th this is b e in ing g du duee t o th thee ir m o re o r less pl play ayin ing g th thee ro role le o f caryati caryatids, ds, the fact that they were w ere meant to be seen seen from below having hav ing also been taken taken in into to account. As far as Renaissance Renaissance monumental inscriptions are concerned, the place where, despite earlier eff effor orts ts in oth er places, places, they can be said to have started was Rimini, where Matteo de Pasti the medallist and Agostino di Duccio the sculptor were responsible for the carving of several of them in the Malatesta Temple and the Castle, while the supervision of Alberti himself seems likely in the design of the inscription on the front fro nt o f the actual actual Temple.3 Tem ple.3 Examples Examples at Florence and Mantua show Alberti’s later development of his monumental lettering.4 In view of the great popularity of these letters it is not surprising that pattern books showing how to construct them geometrically geom etrically soon appeared. As far as it is kn know ow n the earliest of the kind, apart from some wooden tablets 46 x 30.5 cm in size now at Mantua, on which were pasted sheets with models of letters,5 lette rs,5 was the patte p attern rn bo book ok by Felice Felice Feliciano, Feliciano, which w hich was accompanied by instructions on how these letters were to be made.6 T o shortly after after 14 1480 belongs belongs the the smal smalll hand handbook book oonn 1 CJ.Is.   V . 1, 4318-19, 4325, 4328 4328,, 4361 4361.. T he decision to place inscriptions there wa s taken in 1465 ‘pro maiori ornamento nostrae principalis plateae’ and again in 1480, cf. B. Zamboni,  Memorie  Mem orie intorno alle pubbliche fabbric he pin pi n insigni della C it ta d i Brescia, (Brescia, 1778} 3°. 2 F or th e use of ‘R ‘R om an’ m onu m ental capitals by Albe rti and oth ers see G. M ardersteig,. ardersteig,. ‘Leon Battista Alberti e la rinascita del carattere lapidario Romano ncl Quattrocento’,  Ita  It a lia li a Medioevale e Umani Um anistic stica a, II (1959) 285-307, Meiss,  op. cit. cit .  passim. ci t.   287-92. It is interesting 3 M ard erste ig,  op. cit. interesting to n ote that M atteo de Pasti possessed possessed a ri p tion ti on s Christia Chri stianae nae Ur bis bi s Romae, Rom ae,  II. 1, 371, n. 1. Ms. of Ciriaco, cf.  In sc rip 4 M arde rsteig,  op. cit. cit .  293-95.  Ibi d.   297-98. 5 Ibid.  A.lp habetum etum Romanum Roma num , ed. G. Mardersteig, 6 Reproduced in Felice Feliciano Veronese,  A.lphab (Verona 1959).

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the same same subj subject ect printed at Parma by Damiano da Moyle, Moyle,11 the  paa tte  p tt e r n s in w hi hicc h lo loo o k , as was wa s p o in inte ted d o u t,2 t, 2 like lik e a k in ind d o f ty typo graph graphic ic adaptation adaptation of those of Felici Feliciano ano.. O n the other oth er hand, Alberti’s influence is visible in the patterns included in the  De  D e divin divina a proportione proportione  of Fra Luca Pacioli published in Venice in 1509 09..3 After him others othe rs also also studied the construction co nstruction o f Roma Ro mann lapidary characters characters.. But by the second decade decade o f the Cinquecento, when the booklets on the subject subject by Francesco Francesco Sigismondo Fanti and Francesco T orniello ornie llo came out,4there out ,4there was litt little le o f value to add to the foundations laid down by Alberti, Feliciano, and Pacioli.5 The influence of the Roman lapidary capitals was also felt •out •outsi side de the sphere o f epigraphy. Renaissance Renaissance medallist medallists, s, for instance, were quick in adopting them, the lettering on the  piece  pie cess by th thee a rtis rt istt k n o w n to us as L ysip ys ippu puss j u n i o r , b e in ing g th thee  bee s t p r o d u c e d in th  b this is field.6 fie ld.6 Rena Re naiss issan ance ce calli ca lligr grap aphe hers rs w er eree also much in infl flue uenc nced ed by them them .7 But be bessid ides es thi thiss the formul formulas as of clas classi sica call epigraphy epigrap hy were very m uch employed during durin g the Renais Renais sance, when the aim of every humanist composing an inscription was to make ma ke it appear appea r as as classi classical cal as possible. Some of o f the inscriptions composed com posed by Ciri C iriaco,8 aco,8 Pom pon ponio io L eto,9 eto ,9 Aldus,10 Aldus,10  just  ju st t o gi give ve a fe few w ex exam ampl ples, es, h a d such su ch an aim, w h ich ic h is also  pre  p ress e n t in c ou ount ntle less ss o th thee rs, rs , f r o m th thee ‘gr graf affi fiti’ ti’ scra sc ratc tche hed d o n th thee walls o f the Catacombs by the th e Rom R oman an academicians,1 academicians,11do dow w n to the 3 S. M orison, The Moy/l/is Alphabet , (Montagnola di Lugano, 1927). ardersteig, op. cit.  305.  2 M ardersteig, 3 S. Morison, ] :ra I.Jica de Pacioli of Borgo S. Sepolcro,   (New York, 1933) 29-73. 4 F. T orn iello , Opera del modo de fare le littere maiuxole,   (Milano, 1517); S. Fanti, Theorica et pratica de modo scribendifabricandique o?mies litterarnm species,   (Venetiis, 1514). 5 Ro m an capitals also seem to have attrac ted the atten tion o f Le ona rdo da Vinci, cf. cf. R. Bertieri, ‘Gli studi italiani sull’ alfabeto nei Rinascirnento, Pacioii e Leonardo da Vinci’, Gutenberg Gutenberg Jahrbuch , Jahrbuch , IV (1 (192 929) 9) 269-86, A. U ccd li, ‘Sopra due prcsun i e carte vinciane esistenii esistenii nella raccolta C. L. Ricketts di Chicago’, R accolta accolta Vinciana , XV XVI (1934-39) 185-90. The con struction o f capital capitalss was considered d uring the third dccade of the Cincjuecen Cincjuecento to by by Diirer, cf. A. Diirer, Fntenveysung der  Aless/ing,  (Niirnberg, 1525), A. Diirer, On the just  shapi shaping ng o f letters , (New York, 1917), by Giovanni Battista Yerini in his  I. jm in a rio ri o   printed at Toscolano in 1527, on which see  Eum  E um inar in ario io or the th ird ir d book o f the T ib e r lilem lil emen ento toru rum m I.Jt I. Jt te rarum on the construction of Roman Capitals by Giovanni Baptista  I 'erini in an English version  by  A . F. Johnso Johnson n irit ir ith h an introdu intr oductio ction n by Stan St anley ley Moriso Mo rison n , (Cambridge Maps.-Chicago, 1947) and

the re pro du ctio n o f the 15 1527 27 ed. ed. w ith an introdu ction by K. Casamassima, (Firenze, 1967), 1967), and by GcofFroi Tory, see G. Tory, Champ Plenty,   (Paris, 1529). 6 H i l l , .-1 .-1 Corpus o f Italian Medals o f the the Rena Renais issa sanc ncee befo before re Cellini , I, 205-10, IT, pi. 130-33. 7 B. L. U ilm an , The Origin and Development of Humanistic Script , (Roma, 1960) 54-56 and  pa  p a s si m . 8 Su S u p ra , 141. 14 1. 9 W e is s, Un umanista lene^iano : Papa Paolo II, 45. 45 . 10 R. W eiss, ‘La lapide d elle otto foglie di San M iche le in Iso la ’,  Arc  A rchi hivi vio o Venet Ve neto o, L X V I I I (1961) 11-16.  A rchi hi vio vi o della R . Societa Soci eta R om ana an a 11 Cf. G. L um bro so , ‘‘Gli Gli Accade m ici nolle nolle Ca taco m be’ be’,,  Arc di storia patria , XIT (1889) 34-41, C. Stornaiolo, ‘II Giovanni Battista ed il Pantagato compagni di Pomponio Leto nella visita delle catacombe rornane’,  Nu ovo ov o Bulle Bu lletti ttino no  d i archeologia cristiana,   XII (1906) 67-68.

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extravagant extravagant inventions inventions of o f Francesco Francesco Colonna.1 Colonna.1 Class assica ical forms o f dating were not overlooked. overlooked. The monum ental inscription inscription which Lorenzo Manili placed in 1467 on die front of his newly  bu  b u ilt il t h ou ouse se in R o m e ,2 has th thee da dati tinn g ‘ab u r b e c o n d ita it a ’, while wh ile that placed by Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere, the future Pope Julius II, on the main tower of the fortress at Ostia in 1483 in order ord er to recor rec ord d its fou founda ndation, tion, is dated date d ‘ab ‘ab Ostia O stia condita co ndita’’.3 Inscribed cippuses were also occasionally erected, as for instance that in memory of Domizio Calderini at Torri on Lake Garda,4 or that at Padua commemorating the restoration of a bridge by Zaccaria Barba Ba rbaro.5 ro.5 Occasionally Occasionally hum humanist anist inscr inscriptions iptions would wou ld draw dra w extensively extensively fro from m class classic ical al ones. ones. Th Thus us Francesco F rancesco Barba B arbaro’ ro’ss epitaph o f Gattamelata,6the Gattam elata,6the general immortali imm ortalized zed by Dona D onatello’ tello’ss equestrian statue at Padua, and that of Sir John Hawkwood in Paolo Uccello’s fresco in Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence, are but echoes of the epigraphic eulogy of Fabius Maximus.7 H um umanist anist inscript inscriptions ions were no nott excl exclusi usivel vely y in Latin. T he humanist Basinio Basini, for instance, composed one in Greek, w hich hic h can still still be seen in the Tern T ernpio pio Malatestian M alatestiano o at Rim ini.8 O ther the r inscripti inscriptions, ons, partly partly in Greek G reek and partly in Latin, Latin, occur on on the small monument of the humanist Platina in Santa Maria M aggiore, Rom e,9 on the epitaph of Vincenzo de Monf M onfort ort of of 1486, now on an outer wall of the cathedral at Trento,10 and on thaa t of the hum an th anist ist G iovanni iova nni Calfurnio.1 Calfurnio .11 As fo forr the appeal of inscriptions inscr iptions,, this was also also felt by artists. Already Alread y Jaco Ja copo po Bellini Bellini,, who derived his antiquarian interests from Pisanello, felt such an appeal, this being witnessed by a couple of sheets in one of his  bo  b o o k s o f dr draa w in ingg s.1 s. 12 T h e in insc scrr ip iptio tionn s g iv ivee n o n th thes esee shee sh eets ts ha hadd  beee n f o u n d in th  be thee n e ig igh h b o u r h o o d o f E s te a nd th they ey fig figur uree h e re 1 (F. C oion na)  Hypnerotomachia  Hypneroto machia Po liphi lip hili li,,  (Venetiis, 1499) passim. 2 Weiss, Un un/anista vene~iano \ Papa Paolo II, 44 44.. 3 Weiss, The Medals of Pope Sixtus IT   (1471-1484), 31--36. 4 PI. PI. X IV , R. Weiss ‘In ‘In M em oriam D om itii Ca lder ini’, ini’,  Ita lia Aledioevaie e \'m anist an istic ica% a% III (1960) 315-20. 5 Ibid.   321. 6 Saxl,  op. cit. cit .  25, n. 2. 7 C L L .   XL 1828. 8A. Campana, ‘Basinio da Parma5,  Di^iona 1965) 93. 93.  Di^i onario rio biografi biografico co degli Italia Ita liani, ni, V I], (Rom a, 1965) 9On which see A. Campana, ‘Bartolomeo Platina e Ant onio Blado\  Miscellanea  Miscella nea b ib li  ografica in memoria memor ia d i don Tommaso Tomm aso A.ccur A.c curti, ti,  (Roma, 1947) 45-50. 10 R. Weiss, ‘D ue note T ren tino A lto-A tcsine : I. Una testim onianza per la conoscenza del Greco a Tre nto nel tardo t ardo Q uattroce nto’ nto’,,  II C rist 51.. ri stal al lo, lo , IV (1962) 45 51  Ar chivio vio Storico Stori co 11V. Cian, ‘U ‘U n umanista del del Rinasc ime nto— G iovan ni Calfurnio1, Calfurnio1,  Archi  Lomb  Lo mbar ardo do,,  XXXVII (1910) 231. 12 M. R oth lisb erg er,‘Studi su lac op o Bellini’ Bellini’,, Saggi (1958-59) Saggi e Memorie Memorie di storia de lParte, \ l   (1958-59) 70-71.

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on par partly tly or wholly wholly invented monum ents. Mantegna too included some partly re-elaborated inscriptions, one from Este (also figuring in Jacopo Bellini’s Paris book of drawings) and one from the Arco dei Gavi at Verona, in two of his (now destr destroye oyed) d) fr fres esco coes es in th thee Eremitani Eremitani at Padua.1 Another artist, Domenico Ghirlandaio, invented, or more exactly had invented for him by Bartolomeo Fonzio, the inscriptions in his  Adora  Ad oration tion of the the Magi Mag i  in the Sassetti chapel in Santa Trinita, Florence.2 The popularity of inscriptions brought a spate of forgeries in its its wake. As a rule such such forgeries were made either for one o ne’’s amusement, or as a rhetorical exercise, or in order to prove a historical historical connexion, or for polit political ical purposes. Some o f them were actually carved on stone, others, on the other hand, never went we nt bey beyond ond circulating circulating in manuscript or print. A ty typic pical al rhetorical exerci exercise se was was the inscription o f Heliodorus He liodorus the C arthag inian which whic h Ciriaco Ciriaco gave as as existing near nea r Gades.3 Ga des.3 A ttem pts at establishing a historical connexion were the so called ‘Sanctio’ on the bridge brid ge near ne ar Cese Cesena na,, the aim aim o f which was to prove prov e that th at the th e river riv er flowing unde un derr it was was Caesar’s Caesar’s R ub ubico icon,4 n,4 and the stone at Rimini, later replaced by a sixteenth century one, indicating the spot where Caesar was supposed to have harangued his troops after crossing fro from m Cisalpine Cisalpine Gaul into in to Italy.8 T hey could cou ld also also  be po polit litic ical al pr prop ophe hecc ies, ie s, like th thee o ne sent se nt in 1505 by V alen al enti tinu nuss Moravus to Hieronymus Miinzer, which was clearly fabricated in supp su pport ort o f Portugue Portu guese se imperialis imperialism m ;6 or the very clumsy clumsy one on e  prr in  p inte tedd in ‘tra tr a n s lati la tio o n ’ in R om e a b o u t 1510 1510,, de deal alin ing g w ith it h th thee forthcoming fort hcoming conversi conversion on of o f the Turks to Christi Christiani anity ty.7 .7 And there were of course the absurd fabrications of Annio da Viterbo,8 de l  *A. Moschctti, ‘Lc iscrizioni lapidarie romane negli atfrcschi del Mantegna,  A t t i del  2277--3 -39. 9. M antegna  Reale  Rea le  Isti  Is titu tuto to Veneto Ven eto d i science > letter let terss ed  a r ti , L X X X IX . 2 (1929-30) 22 him self placed a La tin inscription som e time betw een 14 1482 82 and 15 1502 02 on his house ne ar the church o f San Sebastiano Sebastiano at M antua, in in order to record Lu dovico G onz aga ’s gift o f the plot  I J opera completa compl eta del  de l  o f land land on w hich the house was was built. built. Th e inscription inscription is reprod uce d in  I J  Ma ntegn nte gnaa-Pr Pres esent entat atio ions ns d i M ar ia Bellonci Bellonci, (Milano, 1967) 85. ci t.   28-29. O n inscriptions 2 Saxl,  op. cit. inscriptions in Floren tine paintings paintings of the Q uattroc ento sec D. Covi, ‘Lettering in the Inscriptions of 15th Century Florentine Painters’,  Renaissance  New  N ew s,   VII (1954) 46-50. 3 Supra , 141.  Ibi d.   112. 4 Ibid. cipp o riminese di Giulio Giuli o Cesare. 6 Ca m pan a,  II cippo 6 A. M om iglian o, ‘E nric o C aiado e la falsificazi falsificazione one di C.I.L.   II, 30*’,  Athe  At hena naeum eum , N.S. X U I ( 19 19 6 4) 4) 3 -1 -1 0 .  Pro phetia tia trouata trou ata in Ro Roma ma.. Intag Int aglia liata ta in marmoro marmor o in versi ver si la tini. tin i. T r a tt a in vulgar sentimentoy 7 Prophe (Roma, S.A.). Epigr igrap aphic hic T ra ct by An nins ni ns of Vite Vi terb rb o,   passim. 8 O n w hich see Weiss,  A n Unknown Ep

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which aimed at showing that his native town was the cradle of w estern civilizat civilization, ion, one o f which, the forged for ged decree of Desiderius, King of the Lombards, which backed the claims of Viterbo to adjacent territories, was accepted by many as genuine as late as the eighteenth century.1 As everyone knows, inscriptions included as a rule a number of abbreviations, the interpretation of which was not always clear clear.. H ere an invaluable invaluable aid was pro provid vided ed by the handbo han dbook ok of of Valerius Prob Pr obus, us, which Pog P oggio gio had discovered disco vered abou ab outt 1417 1417,2 ,2 and the later one by Peter the Deacon of Montecassino, nor were humanists hum anists slow in appreciating their their valu value. e. Th Thee tract trac t by Probus Prob us was included several times in humanist sylloges; it figures for instance instance in tha thatt of Fra G iocondo.3 ioco ndo.3 It was therefore scarc scarcel elyy surprising that the first printed text of it, issued at Brescia in 1486, was edited by the well known epigraphist Michele Ferrar Fe rrarini, ini, while w hile the subsequ su bsequent ent editions e ditions of o f it, Venice 1499 1499,, 150 502, 2, 1525, Rome, 1509, Paris, c. 1510, etc., as well as that by Mariangelo Accursio included in Mazzocchi’s lipigramniata antiquae Urbis o f 152 1521, 1,44 speak clearly clearly fo forr its its popula pop ularity. rity. Less popula pop ularr was the one by Peter the Deacon, which seldom appears in sylloges5 and was only pr print inted ed for fo r the first time in in 152 1525. O f another w ork o f the kind, kind, the  De notis notis publica amtori amt oritate tate approbate approbatess  by  b y th thee R o m a n cu curi rial al official A n d re reaa Santa Sa ntacr croc oce, e, co com m p ose os e d n o t long after 1464 and dealing with abbreviations and numbers on coins as well well as inscriptions,6 n o t so much m uch is know n, and it has nott reache no reached d us.7 One may, may, however assu assume, me, that it it was was very very  pro  p rob b a b ly m o de delle lledd up upo o n P r o b u s ’s tract tra ct.. T he interpre inter pretation tation o f inscriptions inscriptions was was not alway alwayss eas easyy. I t was therefore not uncommon for a humanist to send a text to a friend or friends asking for their opinion of it, as for instance  Ibi d.  119, n. 46. 1 See es pe cially  Ibid. 2 Supra , 147 147.. Fo r the use o f P ro bu s’ A ntae du ring the Renaissance see see D . Maffei, Maffei, G li ini^i ini^i  delTumanesimo piurtdico, piurtdi co,  (Milano 1956) 94, n. 43. 3 Sec fo r exam ple V atican L ibrar y, Ms. Vat. lat. 5236, fl. l r-4 r . 4 Sttpra, 159. 5 It occurs in bo th recensions of the sylloges sylloges o f M arcano va, fo r w hich see  supra  sup ra , 148, see also Vatican Vatican Library , Ms. Var Var.. lat. lat. 91 9152, 52, iiff. l r-25 v. T he texts o f bo th Prob us and Peter the Deacon were corrected by Gian Pietro Ferretti before 1511, cf. Vatic an Library, Ms. Var. lat. 5835, f. 61r. 6 G. Tira bo sch i, Storia della letteratura italiana, VI. 2, (Milano, 1824) 971, n.*, G. B. Picotti,  Ricerche umanistiche, (Firenze, 1955 1955)) 234. 234. F or S antacroce, wh o also prep ared a  Inscrip liones Christia Chri stianae nae I 'rbis Romae, Romae ,  IL 1, 463. sylioge, see  Inscripliones 7A ccording to Tirabo schi, Storia della letteratura italiana, VI. 2, 971, n. *, a copy of Santacro ce’s ce’s tract was at Ven ice in in the Library o f San Francesc o della della Vign a. A discussion o n ep igraphic abbreviations, probably reflecti refle cting ng the views o f G uarino da Verona , is is in A.  P o liti li tia a lite li terr aria  ari a lib li b r i septem se ptem y(Basileae, 1562) 413-T9, Decembrius,  Po

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we find Giacomo Gherardi of Volterra doing when, between 1478 and 1485 he sent an inscription of Trajan to Giovanni Battista Capranica, the ‘Pantagatus’ of Leto’s Roman Academy.1 I t was als alsoo not no t unusual for a humanist huma nist to send an inscription to a friend. Feliciano did so;2 Bartolom Ba rtolomeo eo Parten Pa rtenio io sent inscriptions from Rome Rom e to G irolamo Bologni3 B ologni3 and Agostino Ag ostino Almadiani sent at least least one one from V iterbo to Mariangelo Accursio.4 Acc ursio.4 Sometime Sometime an epigraphic text could lead to an argument, as may be found in some letters exchanged between betwe en Ciri Ciriaco aco and Poggio. F or on receiving from Ciriaco an inscription from Aquileia with IVN IV N O N IBV IB V S SACRVM, P ogg oggio io had replied replied expr express essin ing g dis disbe beli lief ef,, whereupon Ciriaco had answered by forwarding to him the text of an inscription at Parma where IVNONIBVS also occurred.5  Nee  N eedl dles esss t o say, h um an anis ists ts on only ly to too o o fte ft e n secu se cure red d va valu luab able le evidence from inscriptions when trying to establish an archaeological or philological po point. int. T or ortell telli’ i’ss  De or ortho thogra graph phia ia, Politian’s  Misce  Miscella llane nea a, Pontano’s  De aspiration aspirationee show their value in  phi  p hilo lolo logi gica call scho sc hola lars rshi hip, p, w hi hile le a n tiqu ti quaa rian ri anss like lik e F lavi la vio o B io iond ndo, o, Bernardo Rucellai, Francesco Albertini, and Andrea Fulvio, to name a few few o f them, also also drew much valuabl valuablee information from epigraphic sour sources. ces. H um umanist anist historians historians also also greatly profited from epigraphic sources, the use of inscriptions in the historical writings of Giorgio Merula, Tristano Calchi, Elia Caprioli, Pellegrino Prisciani, Andrea Alciati, Benedetto Giovio, Pierio Valeriano, and many others, showing their reliance on them. L on ong g before Rome Ro me was was sacked sacked in 1527 by the troo troops ps of o f the Emperor Charles V, epigraphic evidence had been recognized as an essential aspect of antiquarian science: the historian or  ph  p h ilo il o lo logg ist is t w h o p r e sum su m ed t o di disp spen ense se w ith it h it, d id so at his o w n risk. ri o Romano Roman o d i lacopo Gher Gh erard ardii da V o lte rra rr a ,  ed. I/.. Carusi, (Citta di Castello, 1904) 1 II D ia rio LXXXI. cit . 63. 2 P ra tilli ,  op. cit. 63 . 3 M use o Co rrer, Venice, Ms. Cicogn a, 2393, 2393, f. 8r'v, Bibliotec a M arciana , V enice , Ms. Lat. XIV. 168 (4571) f. 2* 4Ambrosian Library, Milan, Ms. D. 420 inf., f. 237r. 5 D egli A ba ti O livieri,  op. cit. ci t. 28.

CHAPTER TWELVE

THE STUDY OF ANCIENT NUMISMATICS The age of the Renaissance felt the fascination of ancient G reek and Roman Rom an coins coins.. This was in pa part rt becau because se they were tangible and handy relics of an age so much admired by the humanists, but also because so many of them, bore the effigies of those great rulers rulers whose names names fill filled ed the history histo ry books. Ancient An cient coins had, of course, been collected, imitated, and used as histor ical ical evidence before th thee fifteenth fifteenth century.1 But Bu t du durin ring g this century century interest interest in them them assumed hitherto hither to un unkno know w n prop proportions. ortions.  Need  Ne edles lesss to say, th thee g re reaa test te st R en enai aissa ssanc ncee co colle llect ctio ions ns o f coins coi ns were assembled assembled by pri princes. nces. T he Medici at Florence, the A rag ragon on  ese ese at Naples Na ples,2 ,2 the Este Es te at a t Fer Ferra rara ra,® ,® the G on onza zaga ga at M an antua tua,4 ,4 as well as other Italian rulers, assembled very impressive coin collect collection ions. s. A m ong the Medici, Medici, Piero, son of o f Cosimo the the Elder, Elder , was was the keenest collector o f them. Th Thus us in 1455 hi hiss brothe bro therr Carlo Carlo and the head of o f the local local branch o f the Medici Medici bank were w ere searching on his behalf in Rome for one hundred ancient silver coins.5 Alread Alr eadyy in 1456 1456 Piero Pie ro had assembled assemb led fifty-three go gold, ld, three hundred hundre d sil silve ver, r, and thirty-three thirty-three bronze speci specimens mens.6 .6 By 1465 these figures had been raised to one hundred in gold and  1 Supra,  passim. passim. A sh ort account of numismatic studies studies du ring the R enaissance enaissance is in  Illust  Ill ustriu rium m Imagines d t An dr ea Fulvio Fulv io  . , .  N o /a d i Ro bert be rt lFei lFeiss ss> >  (Roma, 1967).  F e s a rts rt s a la com• des Papes , If, 174-75, P. Collenuccio, Compendio Compendio de le istorie del  2 M iint z,  Fe aviotti, (Bari, (Bari, 1929 1929)) 29 292. 2. A sonn et by Pie tro Jac op o dc Je nn aro  Regno  Regno d i  N a p o li, li ,   ed. A. S aviotti, accom panying the gift of a coin o f Au gustus to K ing Ferran te 1 is in Pietro Ja cop o de  R im e , ed. M. Corti, (Bologna, 1956)  je  j e n n a r o ,  Rim 1956) 55 55. De Je nn aro was also also the au tho r of an Opera deli huomini ilhistri sopra de le medaglie, which, despite its title, has nothing to do with num isma tics. O n it sec sec R. Renicr, ‘O per e inesplorate del D i G en na ro’, Giomale storico (1888)) 472-7 5.  della letteratura italiana , X I (1888 174.. Flavio Bion do tells us in in a lette r o f 1446 rt s a la cour des Papes, IT 3 Miintz,  Fe s a rts IT, 174 that Leoncllo d’Este had ten thousand bronze coins imitating Roman pieces struck, cf.  N o g a r a ,  op. cit. 159-60. Th ese ‘coins ‘coins ’, w hich bo re Le one llo’s llo’s eff effig igy, y, w ere doub tless the m edals o f this this ruler. In the the same letter Biondo says tha t he is is send ing som e Rom an coins to Leonc llo, so that he can understand better som e passages passages in O vid and Piiny, Piiny, cf. cf. ibid.  160. In 14 1494 94 the E ste coin collcction possessed 437 gold coins ‘poste suso descno ve tavolct tavolcte* e* and 3385 silver ones, cf. G. Campori,  Raccol  Rac colta ta d i cataloghi ed invent inv entari ari inedit ine ditii, (Modena, 1870) 28-29. 4 Ciriaco Ciriaco d ’A nco na tells tells us that he saw at Pavia in 14 1442 42 a fine fine collection o f ancien t gold, silver, silver, and bronze coins belonging to G ian Lucido G onzaga, son o f the M arquis of M antua, cf. Miintz, Fes  art 173. F or the collec ting activity activity in this fiel fieldd o f  a rtss a la cour  des Papes Pa pes,,  II, 173. Isabella d ’Es te, wife of Frances co G onz aga , see see infra , 171, n.6. Pa pess, II, 131, n. 2. 5 Miintz,  Fe s a rt s a la cour des Pape  F es Collections des Medic Me dicis is a u X V e siecle, siecle,  (Paris-Londres, 1888) 16. 6 E. M iintz ,  Fes

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five five hun hundre dred d and three in in sil silver, ver,11 this great incr increas easee being being doubtless due in part to the pieces inherited by Piero in the meantime from from his father Cosi Cosimo mo the Elder. T he heyday heyday of the Medici collections, and not solely the numismatic ones, was, however, under Lorenzo de’ Medici (1449-1492), when the contents of the family palace in Florence included over two thousand and three hundred pieces.2 Such an extraordinary increase is understandable when one realizes that at the death of Pope Paul II in 1471, Lorenzo had  been  be en able abl e to acqu ac quir iree m o s t o f his c ol olle lect ctio ions ns.3 .3 N o w d u r in ing g his lifetime there is no doubt that Paul II had been the greatest collector of all in the field of numismatics and other small antiquities, with the result that in 1457, while still Cardinal Pietro Barbo, he had assembled not less than ninety-seven gold and abou ab outt one thousan thou sand d silver coins.4 Paul II was certainly a highly competent numismatist, a fact which had not escaped some of his contemporaries. contemp oraries. Enea Ene a Silvi Silvio o Piccolomini, no t yet P op opee Pius II, II , recalled Cardinal Car dinal Barb Ba rbo’ o’ss activity as coin collec co llector tor,5 ,5 while his num numisma ismatic tic learn learning ing was men menti tion oned ed by his his two tw o con tempora tem porary ry biographers, Gaspare Ga spare da V erona and Michele Michele Canensi.6 Canensi.6 Indeed the latter informs us how Pope Paul could tell at once to which Roman emperor a particular piece belonged.7 I t is clear clear tha t the future futur e Paul II had no n o scruples scruples when it came to enlarging enlarg ing his collections, collections,8 8 in the th e enrichm ent of o f which he also also sough sou ghtt the aid o f friends friends and correspondents. correspo ndents. So, for exampl example, e,  bee twe  b tw e e n 1450 a n d 1460 A rc rch h b ish is h o p Maffeo Valla Va llare ress sso o was wa s securing coins and small small antiquities for him .9 N o r did his his numismatic num ismatic interest interestss desert him him once he became became Pope. It was therefore typical of him that, upon hearing in 1468 of the discovery of a hoard of some three hundred Roman coins at Pienza, he hastened to write to Cardinal Ammannati in order to secure it.10 The inventory of the collections of Cardinal Pietro Barbo drawn up in 1457 displays his high competence in the field of   Ib id.. 38. 1 Ibid 2 Ibid.  Ibid . 79. 3 M iintz , Ues arts & la cour des Papes,  II, 154-58, III, 15, 239. Vene^iaH aHo: o: Pap P ap a Paolo II , 28. 4 Weiss, Un umanista Vene^i  Ibi d. 27. 6 Ibid.  Ibi d.   loc. cit. 6 Ibid. 7 Ibid.  Ibid .  loc. cit. 8 Infra  Inf ra,,  171.  Pa pa Paolo  /J, 28. 9 Weiss, Un umanista Vene^jam :  Papa 10 Ibid,  Ibi d,  loc. cit.

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Rom Ro m an numismati numismatics. cs. F o r it it is clear clear from his his autograp autog raph h notes notes on its margins, that he was able to tell when a Roman coin was genuine or not and whether it was scarce, though it is evident also also that Greek G reek coi coins were were not his his strong point.1 O ther prel prelat ates es are also also know n to have ind indulge ulged d in in coin collectin collecting. g. Cardinals Cardinals D om omenico enico G rimani2 riman i2 and Andrea And rea della della Valle,3 Valle,3 Pietro Bem bo,4 the future f uture cardinal, cardinal, and Angelo A ngelo Colocci5 Colocci5 were am ong them, them , and it was Bembo w ho presented the great printer printe r Aldu A lduss with w ith a gold coin o f the Em E m pero perorr Titus bearing a dolphin entwined entwined around aroun d an anchor on its reverse, which Aldus adopted as his own printer’s mark.6 Coin collecting was by no means the monopoly of princes and gre great at prelates. Many hum humanists anists pro prove vedd equally equally enthusiastic collect collectors. ors. Here He re pride of o f place place m ust be given to Niccolo Niccoli, Niccoli, whose antiquarian collections included a very impressive number of an anci cien entt coi coins ns..7 Am ong tthe he many many who secur secured ed ancient coins for Niccoli, there was Ambrogio Traversari, whose interest appears to have been mainly in Greek numismatics and w ho is know kno w n to have obtained lead cast castss o f pi piece ecess when wh en unable to obtain the originals. originals.8 8 Traversari was alwa always ys happ happy y to inspect inspect numismatic and antiquarian collections, as he did, for instance, in Venice in 1432-33,® and he appears to have been a very expert numisma num ismatist.1 tist.100 D ur urin ing g this stay stay in Venice Trav T raversa ersari ri also also met Ciriaco d’Ancona, who showed him some gold and silver coins, among which there were some with the effigies of Lysimachus, 1 Ibid.  Ibi d. 29. 2 P. Paschini, ‘Le ‘Le co liezioni arch eoiog iche dei prelari G rim ani nel C inque cen to’ to’,,  A t t i  della  del la Vontificia Accade Acc ademia mia Romana d i arcbeologia, ser. 3, V (1926-27) 152, R. Galio, ‘Le donazioni alia Serenissima di Domenico e Giovanni Grimani’,  Arc 5, L -L I  A rc bi vio vi o Veneto Vene to, ser. 5, (1952) 37.  A nt iq ui tate ta te s Ur bis bi s, f. R5r. 3 Fu lviu s,  Ant 4 V. Cian, Un dece decenn nnio io della vita vit a d i At. At . Pietro Piet ro Bembo, Bembo,  (Torino, 1885) 105-06. 5 Fo r C olocci’s olocci’s interest in ancicn t num isma tics, see see for instance the note s collected by him in Vatican Library, Ms. Vat. lat. 3436, Ms. Vat. lat. 3906, Ms. Vat, lat. 5395, and Ms. Va t. lat. lat. 684 6845. 5. F or his interests interests in ancient me trology see also P. D e Nolha c, ‘Les ‘Les Corres po  p o n d a n t s d ’Ald ’A ld e M a n u c e ’, Studi e documenti di storia e dir (1887) 290, V. FanelK, ‘Le ‘Le  d irit it to y V III (1887)  Rinasc imento , X (1959) lettere di Mons. Angelo Colocci nel Museo Britannico di Londra’,  Rinascimento 117-19. 6 L. Do rez, ‘fitude s Aldines I: La m arque typo grap hiqu e d ’AIdc M anu ce’,  Revue des  Bibliotbeques,  Bibliotbeques ,  V I (18 (1896) 96) 143-6 143-60. 0. 7 M iin tz , Ues arts a la cour des Papes, II, 168, n. 3, 169, n. 2. 8 Am  A m b r o si i Trav Tr aver ersa sari riii . . . Uatinae Hpistolae, ed. P. Cannetus, (Florentiae, 1759) 417-18. O n such lead casts casts see see R. Weiss, Weiss, ‘‘N N ota sugli esemplari plum bei di me daglie Rinas cim cntali’, cntali’,  Ita  It a lia li a N/im N/ im ism is m atic at ica a, XV (1964) 71-72.  9Am b r o si i T r a v e r s a r ii . . . Uatina Ua tinaee Hpisto Hpi stolae lae, 412, 417. 10 H is interests in m etrolog y are also show n by his his turn ing into Latin a G ree k tract on weigh ts and measures. T his version is is in Biblioteca Biblioteca La urenziana , Florence , Ms. Ash burnham 259, ff. 67r-69r.

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Philip of Macedonia, and Alexander the Great, which Traversari doubted to be genuine Macedonian issues.1 Also Ciriaco d’Ancona was a keen coin collector, though he is known to have occasionally parted with some of his pieces. This happened for instance in 1432 when, on meeting the Emperor Sigismund in Siena, he gave him a gold coin of Trajan as showing the features of a rightful prince and an example to follow,2 o r again in 14 144 45, w he hen n he sent a Rhodian Rho dian coin to hi hiss friend Bandino Band ino in R hode hodes.3 s.3 H e was always always glad to inspect or secure antique coins, as we find him doing in Florence and Fiesole in the Autu A utum m n o f 144 1442, 2,4 4 and it is possible that th at draw d rawings ings of coins figured in his Collectanea, as they did a couple of gener ations later in the sylioge of inscriptions of Giano Fantaguzzi.5 We know that among other humanist collectors was Poggio, who received at least one ancient gold coin from Andreolo G iustiniani,6 iustinia ni,6 and Giov G iovan anni ni Marcanova, M arcanova, w hose collection is known to have been increased by the gift of two ancient silver  pieces  pie ces fro fr o m th thee h u m a n ist is t c h u rc rchh m a n M a tte tt e o B ossi,7 oss i,7 so th thaa t at his death in 1467 it numbered twenty-one gold and gilded  piece  pie ces, s, on onee h u n d r e d a n d e ig ight hty y silv si lver er on ones es,, as well we ll as o th thee rs in bron br onze ze and a nd lead.8 lead .8 M arcanov arca nova’ a’ss assistant Felice Felice Feliciano was also an enthusiastic collector c ollector,9 ,9 an and d so was Giova G iovann nnii Battis B attista ta Egna Eg nazio zio.1 .100 All these collections collections were w ere almost almo st entirely o f ancient Rom Ro m an coins coins.. B ut Sigismondo Sigismondo Tizio is is also also kn know ow n to have collected Etruscan coins, while those of Greece aroused the interest inter est o f Ciriaco d’ d ’A ncona1 ncona 11 and A m bro brogio gio Tr Trave aversari.1 rsari.12 2 The T he somewhat satirical description of an imaginary coin collection 1Am bro sii Traversarii . . .  Fatin  Fa tinae ae Ep Epist istola ola e,  412,  Hodoeporicon B. A m b r o si i T rave ra vers rsar arii ii in A. br ogio io Trav Tr aver ersa sari ri e i suoi temp te mp i, (Firenze, 1912) but with separate pagin Dini-Travcrsari,  Am brog

ation, 65-66. 2 C. M itchell, ‘A ‘A rcha eolo gy and Ro m anc e’, e’,  Ita lian lia n Renaissance Renaissance Studie Stu dies— s— A tribu tri bu te to the late Cecil Cecilia ia Af. A d y edited edited by F. T\ Jacob Jacob, (London, 1960) 470-71.  It a lia Medioevale e Vmanis Vma nistica tica, V (1962) 289. 3 C. M itch ell, ‘E x lib ris C iriaci Anconitani*,  Ita 4 D egli Ab ati O livieri,  op. cit. cit .  17-18. 5 Bibliotec a Classense, R ave nna , Ms- 468, f. l f.  Precu rsorii e propu pr opugna gnatori tori del de l Rinascimen Rin ascimento to, 94-95. 6 Miintz,  Precursor fth aeii Bossi Boss i Veronensis Veron ensis .  . . diversarum divers arum rerion epistola epi stolaee, (B on on iac , 1494) 7 Ma fthae 1494) f. c6v . B os si’s is ta letter to M arcanova accom panying the gift is is assigned assigned to 1466 1466-67 -67 in in G. Soranzo,  IJ U m an ista  canon  canonico ico regolare lateranense lateranense M atte at teo o Bosso Bosso d i V'eron V'erona a ( 7 4 2 7 - 1 5 0 2 ) i  (Padova, 1965) 229. 8 Sig hino lfi, T a biblioteca biblioteca di Giovanni Marcanova, 198. iq u ar iu s, 199. 9 M itche ll,  Felice Feliciano A nt iqu 10 G. D egli A gos tini, ‘N ‘N otizie istorich e spetta nti alia alia vita e agli scritti scritti di Batista Eg naz io sacerdote viniziano’,  Raccol 1745 45)) 115. 115.  Rac colta ta d'opusco d'op uscoli li scientifici e filologi filol ogiciy ciy X X X III (Venezia, 17 11 Supra, n.3 ”  Ibid.   169.

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in one of the letters1of Giovanni Filoteo Achillini was aimed at such enthusiasts as these. It is scarcely surprising in view of the prevailing enthusiasm, that the discovery of a hoard of ancient coins aroused con siderable siderable interest. interest. W e have alread already y seen seen the reactions reactions o f Pope Paul II in 1468 when he heard that one had been unearthed at Pienza.2 I t was therefo ther efore re only natural natu ral that tha t having havin g learnt lear nt in 1494 1494 that a peasant had unearthed some Roman coins near Reggio Emilia, Matteo Maria Boiardo should have hastened to inform his master, the D uk ukee of o f Ferrara.3 Ferra ra.3 N o r is is it surprising to find find Caprioli recording in his history of Brescia the finding of an except exceptio ional nally ly large large hoard ho ard o f Roman imperial imperial coin coinss and o f other minor hoards in the Brescia countryside about the very end of the fifteenth century.4 During the year 1455 the collecting mania had reached such  prr o p o r tio  p ti o n s in R om omee th thaa t it h a d cr cree ate at e d a v e rita ri tabl blee fa fam m in inee o f such pieces pieces.. Carlo de’ de ’ Medici complained o f this to his br broo th ther er Giovanni, and attributed the scarcity to the collecting activity of Cardinal Pietro Barbo, who had just tricked him out of some silver coins found in Pisanello’s studio at the artist’s death, which Carlo Carlo had just purchased purchased from one o f the assis assista tant ntss o f the deceased.5 Such a scarcity scarcity still still prevailed preva iled in in Rome Ro me h alf a century centur y later. later. This we learn learn from a letter of Giorgio Giorg io da N egro egropon ponte te sent from Rome on 19 May 1507 to Isabella d’Este, the wife of Francesco Gonzaga, Gonzaga , Marquis o f Mantua, in which wh ich he emphasized emphasized the di diff ffiicult culty in securing ancient ancient Rom an coins coins ow o w ing to the great demand for them.8 The coins left in Pisanello’s study at his death bring home to f. Bi.v Bi.v Several coins, d ou btles s an cien t, 1 Hpistole di Gioanne Philotheo Acbillino , (S.L .N. A.) f. were also collected by Fra Franccschino da Cesena, cf. A. Domcniconi, ‘Un inventario relativo a un custode della Biblioteca .Malatesriana: Frate Franccschino da Cesena (1489)’, Studi Romagnoli, XVI (1965) 179-81. 2 Supra, 168. 3 Matteo Maria Boiardo, Open volgari, ed. P. V. Mengaldo, (Bari, 1962) 275. cit . f. A6r . Th e discovery o f a po t full 4 Ca preo lus,  op. cit. full o f silver silver denarii of the R epublican  pe  p e r i o d n e a r C e s e n a ti c o in 1505 15 05 a n d o f a n o t h e r p o t f u ll o f s il v e r c o in s a t V e r r u c c h i o i n 1507 15 07 are recorded in 'Cans 'Cans'' Cro Cron nachc achc Cesena Cesenati ti del Sec. Sec. W di Ginli Ginlian ano o Fa nta gu ^i, 226, 274. I t is interesting interesting to note abou t find findss of ancient coins, that G irolamo Bologni pointed ou t that ‘illud idem dicemus de numismatis quorum copia in Italia maxima est, et quotidie ab agriculis . . . de Roma ipsa taceo ubi perenni vena scaturiunt*, Biblioteca Marciana, Venice, Ms. Lat. XIV. 168 (4571) ff. 2v-3*. 5 Weiss, Un umanista Vene%iano\ Papa Paolo II , 27-28. This scarcity is also em phasized in another letter of Carlo Carlo to G iovann i written from Rom e on 13 March 14 1455 55,, cf. cf. Archivio di Stato, Firenze, M.A.P., fil. 9, 135. 6A rchivio di Stato, Stato, M antova, Archivio G onzaga , seri seriee E. X X V. 3, busta 857 857.. Fo r the collections of Isabella d’Este see A. Magnaguti, ‘La piu illustre collezionisfa del Rinasci m en to’, Riv  R iv ista is ta Italia Ita liana na d i N um ism is m atic at ica a, XXVI (1913) 388-94.

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us the use of them by this great grea t artist. artist. In fact hi hiss image of Caesar, Caesar, which he presented to Leonello d’Este, Marquis of Ferrara, and which is now lost,1 doubtless had a coin as as its its ieonographical ieonographical source. source. O n the other othe r hand, the main inspiration of o f hi hiss medals medals came from the late medieval medallions of Constantine and Heraclius, and only to a lesser extent from the classical coinage.2 A no nothe therr painter who was also also no nott w ithout ithou t interest in in such pi piece ecess was Jacopo Bellini, the father of Giovanni and Gentile as well as Mantegna’s father in law, whose book of drawings now at the Louvre shows the recto and verso of a coin of the Emperor D om itian .3 It would be too too long to record here the the various  pain  pa inte ters rs o f th thee fift fi ftee eent nth h a n d sixte six teen enth th c e n tu tury ry w h o s o u g h t th thee aid of o f ancient coins.4 Th e same applies applies to sculptors, starting star ting with Lorenzo Ghiberti, who not only copied but, if Vasari is to  bee be  b belie lieve ved, d, e ve venn c o u n ter te r fe feit itee d G re reee k a nd R om oman an c oi oins ns.5 .5 Another sculptor who sought their aid was Filarete, while he was engaged on the bronze doors o f St. St. Peter’ Pe ter’ss, Rome. Here He re in the panels with the martyrdoms of Saints Peter and Paul, the iconography of Nero derives from a coin, just as it does in the scene showing Saint Peter before this F'mperor in the tabernacle o f Sixt Sixtuus IV now in the Gro tte Vatic Vaticane. ane.66 The very borders of of Filarete’s bronze doors show several small medallions with heads in profile, some of which are clearly derived from Roman imperial coins. Such an employment of coins as sources of decoration  prr o v e d ve  p very ry p o p u lar, la r, p a rtic rt icu u larl la rly y in n o r th Ita It a ly d u rin ri n g th thee second half of the fifteenth and the first quarter of the sixteenth century. Enlarged Enla rged versions o f Roman Rom an coi coins ns were often carved carved on doorways doorw ays or o r the fronts o f churches or palace palacess during du ring thi hiss period. The marble medallions on the front of the Cappella Colleoni at Bergamo and the Certosa of Pavia, those executed in 1502 on the doorw ay o f Palazz Palazzo o Thiene (now occupied by by the Banc Bancaa Popolare) at Vicenza, are typical examples of this fashion, to which belong too the three marble medallions of Quattrocento Lombard art 1 M. Salmi, ‘La ‘La “ divi Julii effigies” effigies” del Pis ane llo’, llo’, Commcntari, V ilf (19 (1957 57)) 91-95. 2 Weiss, Visanelld's Medallion o f the Tln/per Tln/peror or John John V I I I Palaeol Palaeologus ogus , 12. 3 C. Ricci,  Jacopo Belli  — 1.  II Be llini ni e i suoi lih li h ri d i disegni —   I I IJbrG IJb rG del Lou vre, vre ,   (Firenze-, 1908) pi. 50. 4 One may just mention in this connexion the ‘adlocutio’ frescoed by Ghirlandaio on one side side of the tom b o f Francesco Sassett Sassettii in in Santa Santa T rinita at Florence, which is taken from the reverse of a coin of the th e E m peror G ordian, cf. cf. A. W arburg,  L a rinasc rin ascita ita del paganesimo antico , (Firerrze, 1966) fig. 71 a-b. 5 See Vasari, op. cit.  IT, 223. 6 P. G iorda ni, ‘Studii sulfa sulfa scu ltura Rom ana del Q ua ttroc en to— 1 bassoriiievi del tabe rna colo di Sisto IV ’, U A r l e ,   X (1907) 271.

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with Galba, Vespasian, and Alexander Severus, now at Milan1 and originally on buildings. The use of ancient coins as a decorative motive was also taken over by illuminators, especially at Florence during the second half o f the fifteenth fifteenth century. Roma Ro man n imperial imperial coin coinss often appear on the borders of Florentine manuscripts de luxe, even when the text happened to be Philostratus2 Philostratus2 or a book o f hours3 and had therefore nothing to do with them. them. In many ca cases they were, however, howev er, connected with the text. text. T ha hatt the obverse and reverse o f a coin o f Ptolemy III I II Euergetes4 Eue rgetes4 was was illuminated illuminated on on a copy o f Ptolem Ptole m y’ y’ss G eo eogra graph phy y executed exec uted in 1490 1490 no now w at a t Paris,5 Pa ris,5 speaks speaks fo forr itse itself lf.. A nd similarl similarly y obv obvious ious is the presence of ‘re repr pro o ductions’ of Roman imperial coins on copies of the  Histo  Hi storia ria Politian’s Latin La tin translation o f Herodia He rodian,7o n,7orr Suetonius,8  Augu  Au gusta sta , 6 Politian’s their scope here being to show the effigies of personages men tioned tione d in in the text. text. O n the other othe r hand the medalli medallists sts often often copied and even oftener ‘paraphrased’ in their own reverses those of antique coins, which had particularly appealed to them.9Suffice it 1 M useo del Castello Castello Sforzesco, nn. 948-49 , 12 1214 14.. O ne may also recall recall here that th e m arble arbl e medallions medall ions of Rom an E m perors by A gostino di di Duccio in the Malatest Malatestaa Tem ple at Rimini were based on Roman coins. 2 See A. De Hevcsy,  L a Bibliotheque du Ro i M a tthi tt hia a s Cortnn, (Paris, 1923) pi. XXXI. 3 See See for instance the page o f the G iraldi-Guicciardi iraldi-Guicciardini ni Book o f Ho urs rep roduce d o n the frontispiece frontispiece o f catalogue no. 90 o f Ma rtin rtin Breslauer, Breslauer, (Lond on, 19 1958 58). ). * A C at al og # o f the Greek coin coinss in the British Museu Museum. m. The The Ptolemies Kings Kings of \ip yp ty ( L o n d o n , 1883) 55, no.' 89,' 89,' pL X II . 1. manoscrit to di 'l'olom 'l'olomeo eo fa t lo p e r An drea dr ea M atte at teo o Acqu Ac quav aviv iva a e Isabel Isa bella la & T . D e M ar a r i n i s , L n manoscritto  Piccolomini  Picco lomini , (Veron a, 19 1956 56)) pi. III. It is is intere intere sting to no te tha t the med allion on the child’s child’s neck in the Virgin and Child   by Agostino di Duccio in the Victoria and Albert M useum The Virg in and Child by reproduces the reverse of a Greek coin, cf. cf. J. P ope-Ilenne ssy, The  Agos  Ag ostin tino o d l Duccio,  (London, 1952) 10, pi. 2-3. 6 Cf. Cf. for instance Biblioteca Vitto rio E m anu ele II, R om e, Ms 10 1004 04,, on which see M. Salmi, ‘Aspetti della cuimra figurativa di Padova e di Firenze’,  A r t e \'en \' en etay et ay VIII (1954) •fig. 144,  Mos  M os tra tr a Storic Sto rica a N a tio ti o n a ls della dell a M iniat ini atnr nra a  . . . Catalogo , (Firenze, 1953) 427-28, pi. LXXX1V, and Biblioteca Nazionalc, Turin, Ms. E. ill. 19, on which see Meroni,  op. c it . 28, pi. pi. 84-87. It is is intere sting to sec sec Cardinal Francesco G onz aga w riting to his father from Rom e on 15 Octo ber 14 1466 66 in in order to b orro w this this Ms, so that an illum illum inator could copy the Ti lclf lfo o e I'umanesimo alia al ia corte dei  p o r t r a i t s o f th e e m p e r o r s in it , cf. cf . L u z i o a n d R e n ie r ,  I Tilc Gonzaga > 137, n. 7 See See for instance instance the prese ntation copy to Pope Innoc ent V III, now in the Bibliotec Bibliotecaa  M os tra tr a del  Vittorio Emanuele II, Rome, Ms. 1005, PI. XV, for which see A. Perosa,  Mos  Poli^iano  Poli^ia no nella Biblioteca Bibliot eca Medicea Lauren Lau renzja zjana na . . . Catalogo, (Firenze, 1955) 89-90, pi. V, A. Campana, ‘Osservazioni sui manoscritti della versione di Erodiano’, ll Polis(iano e il suo 1957) 333. I t  tempo.  tem po. A t t i del de l I V Co Conve nvegn gno o Interna Inte rnation tionale ale di stu di sul su l Rinascimen Rinas cimento to, (Fire nze , 1957) seems fairly certain that Politian selected the coins illuminated on the title page. 8 Sec Sec the copy o f the 14 147 71 Ven etian edition o f Suetonius in the Biblioteca Biblioteca T rivulziana, Milan, inc. 13.87, on which cf. M. Bonicatti, ‘Contribute marginali alia pittura veneta della Rinascita’,  Riv  R ivis ista ta d sllT sl lT stit st itut uto o Ka Ka^io ^io nale na le d'archeologia e storia sto ria deW de W arte ar te, N.S. VII (1948) 254, figg. 8-9. Ma gazin zinee y X V I I I 9 See G. F. H ill, ‘Class ‘Classical ical Influence on the Italian M eda l’, l’,  Burlington Maga (1911) 259-69.

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to remem ber in this this connexion connexion a couple o f medal medalss of Pope Paul I P , Cristofo Cr istoforo ro Gerem Ge remia’ ia’ss medallion med allion of o f Constantine Co nstantine made in 14 1469 69,2 ,2 and Bertoldo’s medalet of Lorenzo de’ Medici executed in 1478 immediately after the Pazzi Pazzi conspiracy conspiracy,, the reverse o f which wh ich was taken from that of a coin of Trajan.3 P etra et rarc rch’ h’ss use o f coins as pieces pieces o f historica histo ricall evidence evid ence4 4 was continued con tinued by fift fifteenth eenth century humanists. Niccolo Niccoli is know kn ow n to have relied on coins as as well we ll as inscriptions, in his his now no w lost tract on Latin orthogra ortho graph phy.5 y.5 As for the origins o f Rom an coinage, these these were investigated by by some some humanists. H ere the source was of course Pliny’s  Na  N a tur tu r a l Histo Hi story ry , 6 which is clearly  bee h in  b ind d th thee sho sh o r t a c c o u nt o f it i t in P o g g io io’s ’s  De avaritia avar itia 7(1427-28), as well as the longer one in Biondo’s  Roma instaurata, 8 and that included in the  De Orthograpbia Orthograpbia  of Giovanni Tortelli under the entry ‘Nu ‘Num m m us’.9 us’.9 Also Also of some some numis numismati maticc interes interestt is the the entry ‘Talentum’ in the same work,10 where besides following Priscian in showing the relationship between the Greek and Roman talent and stating that a denarius was one third of a drachma, Tortelli tried to equate Greek and Roman coins and give the value of the latter, though not in terms of modern money. To Tortelli rtelli is also also kn know ow n to have used used Roma Ro man n coin coinss as as evidence. evidence. Th Thus, us, for instance instance,, w e fin find d him identifying identifying a great  bro  b ron n z e h e a d ne near ar th thee L a tera te ran n as th thaa t o f th t h e E m p e r o r C om omm m o d us  beca  be caus usee o f its re rese sem m bl blan ance ce to th thee effigy o n th thee coins coin s o f th this is ruler.1 rule r.11 1 O th ther er hum humanists anists too, to o, such as as fo forr instance A nto ntonio nio Costanzi,1 Co stanzi,188 Berna Be rnardo rdo Rucellai,1 Ruce llai,13 and And A ndre reaa Fulvio Fu lvio,1 ,14 4 are kn know ow n to have relied relied on the evidence evidence of coins. coins. I t was left left to Politian, P olitian, whose interest in ancient coins is also indicated by his notes on some seen while in Bologna in 1491,15 to show in the  Misce  Miscella llane nea a 1 Hill,  A Corpus Cor pus o f Italia Ital ian n Meda Me dals ls o f the Renaissance Renaissance before Ce llini lli ni, nr). 778, 785. 2 Ibid. n o . 755. 3  Ibid.  Ibid .  no. 916. 4 Sfpra,   37-38. 5 Xipjx-I,  op. cit. cit . 47. 6 C. Vlinii Na tural/s IIistoriaey IIistoriaey XXXlJi. xiii. rs orii e propug pro pugnato natori ri del de l Rinascimento Rinascim ento, 90, n. 4. O n 7 Th e pa ssage is given in \1u ntx,  Pn cn rsor av ariti itia a  see  E.   Walser,  Poggius  Poggius l'lorenti l'lo rentinus, nus,  (Leipzig-Berlin, 1914) 126-34. t h e  De avar 8 Supra , 70 70.. A noth er account of Rom an m onetation was given by Biondo in his his  D e  Roma  Ro ma (riumphat (rium phatite ite , where he also emphasized the impossibility of assessing the true value of the Roman coinage, cf. Blondus, Opera, De Roma triumpbante , 111. 9 T o rf e ’lius, ’lius,  op. cit.   1. i6r. 10 Ibid. f .s .4 r_v. 11 Supra , 72. Eano o nei nei Rinas Rinascim ciment ento, o,  353. 12 Weiss, l A l r r o di Augusta a Ean 13 Supra , 8 0 . 14 P ui v iiis ii is ,  Ant  A ntiq iq uita ui tate tess V rb isy is y pa s si m . suo tempo. tempo. A t t i del  15A. Campaivd, ‘C o nt rib ui : alia bib lio te ca del P ol iz ia no 5, 11 P olk fa m e il su  I V Congresso Congresso Internat Inter nationa ionale le d i st/uli st/u li sul Rinascim ento, (Firenze, 1957) 215.

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what a coi coin n could could reve reveal al to a hu humanist manist o f his calib calibre re.1 .1 N or should one omit to mention that Andrea Alciati’s interpretation of a sum of sesterces in the inscription on the ‘Monumentum Plinianum ’2 led to a correspondence w ith Benedetto B enedetto G iovio, where the value of several Roman monetary units was also discussed.3 In view of the interest taken in Roman coins during the Renaissance, it is not surprising that treatises dealing with some aspects of classical numismatics were not long in making their appearance. appearance . Th This is is a field field in w hich hic h a distinc dist inctio tion n is is necessary necessary  bee twee  b tw een n w h a t w e re w o rk rkss o n m o n e tary ta ry th thee o ry ry,, a nd th thee re refo fore re not on numismatics, and what really were studies of the ancient coinage. T o the first clas classs can can be relegated such works as the Trac Tracta tatu tuss de origine origine et e t jur ju r e necnon et de mutationibus mutationibus monetarnm monetarnm by  Nic  N icola olass O re resm sm e ,4 th thee  De potestate pote state et utilit u tilitate ate monet onetar arnm nm by Gabriel Biel,5 Bie l,5 o r the t he  De Numisma Num ismate te Tractatus \yy  Alfonso of Portugal, Bishop of o f E vo vora ra (d. (d. 15 1522) 22).6 .6 To T o the othe o therr cla class ss belong belo ng various va rious works, the authors of which were naturally humanists. Sums of money were frequently mentioned in ancient writers, particularl particularlyy historians. historians. It was was therefore but bu t natural that tha t humanists soon became anxious to have some idea what such sums meant in terms terms of o f m ode odern rn money. H ere was was a subject subject fraught with difficulties, so that even as accomplished a humanist as Ermolao Barbaro had been unable to go into it very deeply, when wh en dealing with w ith the th e values o f the sesterce sesterce and an d talen ta lent.7 t.7 Similar Similarly ly Politian’ Po litian’ss incursion incu rsion into in to ancient a ncient metro m etrology logy in one o f hi hiss letters8 le tters8 was not a particularly happy one, and, inaccuracies apart, it suggests that he w*as not fully aware of the difficulties involved. The earliest known attempt to determine the relation between 1 1498) f. G 6V. 6V. Also P olitia n’s pu pil Pie tro Opera omnia Angeli Politiam , (V enctiis, 1498)  D e bonesta discipli disc iplina na, XVII. Criniro cliscusscd some aspects of numismatics, cf. P. Crinitus,  De VII, XXL IV. 2Ambrosian Library, Milan, Ms. D. 425 inf., pp. 18-19. 3 Lett 139 —41 41..  L etter er? ? d i Benedetto Giovio pitbbl pitb blica icate te da l sac. Santo Sant o M onti, on ti, (C o m o, 1891) 139— Geldahvertung ungen. en. (D e Mutatione Mutatione Monetarum Tractatus.) Tracta tus.) Herau Herausge sge-4 N, O resm e, T ra k ta t iiber Geldahvert  geben  geben tmd eingeleitet eingel eitet von von hd g a r Scborer, Scbore r,  (Jena, 1937). 5 G. Biel, Tractatus de poiestate et utilitate monetarum, (Op pen hcim , 15 1516 16). ). 6 See See P. B atalha atalha Reis, Reis, ‘O prim eiro tratad o de N um ism atica impresso on Portugal*, Portugal*,  Ku  K u m ism is m a , 111 (1953) 103-11. 7 H . Ba rba ras , Castigationes IHinianae Secundac, (Romae, 1493) ff. f6v, g3v. 8 Opera omnia Ange'i Politiani, ff. 0 i r-0 2 r. The various various kinds o f Greek and Rom an coins were also considered by Polidoro Vcrgilio, RafFaelc Volaterrano, Celio Rodigino,  D e inventoribus rerum li b r i tres tr es , and Alessandro d’Alessandro, see P. Vergilius,  De (Venetiis, 1499) ff. h2r-h3v, Vokterranus,  op, c it . ff, MM 3V-M 3V-M M 4V, 4V, L, CaeHus Rh od igin us ,  Lectionum  Lect ionum A n tiq ti q u a rw n lib li b ri , (Venetiis, 1516) 254-55,  A le x a n d r i de Alex Al ex andr an dra a D ies ie s Geniale Gen ialess, (Romae, 1522) ff. ii2v-ii4v.

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coins and weights and their value in modern money was a Latin tract by Giovanni Antonio Pandoni, the humanist better known as Porcellio, who prepared it in 1459 for Cicco Simonetta, the all powerful secretary of Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan.1 Porcellio’ Porce llio’ss tract trac t shows him distinguishing, with w ith the assis assista tance nce of of classical texts, between the various kinds of talents and sesterces and giving their approximate approximate wo rth in ducats, ducats, w ithout, ithou t, however, how ever, go ing too deeply deeply into the matter. ma tter. The smal smalll treati treatise, se, no now w lost, lost, by Andrea Santacroce, in which abbreviations and numerals on Roman coins and inscriptions were considered, belongs to a date after 1464, but of course dealt with a different aspect of numismatics,2 numismatics,2 while while it is no t possib possible le to say say what wh at were the actual contents of another lost work, the Commentariolus de  prisc  pr iscis is nummis nummis, which Filippo Redditi was reporting as completed in a letter to Bernardo Bernar do Rucellai Rucellai w ritten no n o t after 149 1492.3 W e must m ust therefore reach the year 1499 in order to find a work dealing with the same aspects of ancient numismatics dealt with by Porcellio, though far more extensively and thoroughly, when the German curial official Jacobus Aurelius Questenberg completed in Rome his  De sestertio sestertio,, talento talento,, num nummis et id genu enus,  in which he explained at much greater length than Porcellio and with the help o f cla classsica sicall source sources, s, both b oth G reek and Latin, the the value o f the talent and the sester sesterce ce in terms o f m od odern ern money.4 m oney.4 QuestenQue sten bee r g ’s litt  b li ttle le trea tr eati tise se was wa s n o t m e a nt f o r p u b lic li c a tio ti o n b u t f o r th thee use of his patron Johann von Dalberg, Bishop of Worms, who was then engaged on a work on ancient Roman coins in three  bo  b o o k s , w h ich ic h has n o t re reac ache hed d u s .5 A n d t o D a lb lbee r g , f o r w h o m he also collected antique coins,6 Questenberg also sent a tract in Italian unknown but for his mention of it, on weights and their relation to modern coinage.7 Much ampler than that of Questenberg is the treatise by Leonardo da Porto of Vicenza edited by the Venetian humanist 1 U . Fri tte lli, Gianna 1900)) 67. Po rc ell io’s Giannanto ntonio nio de9 Pandon Pandonii detto i l iPor cellio\ cell io\ (Fire nze , 1900 w ork was printed, prob ably in in Rom e by Eucharius Silber, Silber, during the last qu arter o f the fifteenth fif teenth cen tury: Opusculum aureum de talento a Porceltopoeta  . . . elucuhratum  . . . (S.L.N.A.). 2 Supra , 165. 3 A. M . B an din i, Colleclio vetentm aliquot monumentorum ad historiam praecipue litterariam  pertin  pe rtin entium ent ium , (Arretii, 1752) 99. 4 Questenberg’s treatise is in the Vatican Library, Ms Vat. lat. 3906, ff. lv-23v, Ms Vat. lat. 5395, ff ff. l r~16v ; pa rt o f it is is in Ms. V at. lat. 3436, ff ff. 243r- 5 2 v. 6 Mercati, Opere minori, IV , 443 443.. O n D albe rg’ rg’ss treatise treatise see see K. M ornew eg,  Jobann von  Dalberg  Dalb erg,, ein deutscher deutscher Hu manis ma nistt und Bischof, Bischof,  (Heidelberg, 1887) 148, 155, n. 255, 280, 304. 6 Mercati, Opere minori, IV, 440.  Ibid . IV, 444, n. 22. 7 Ibid.

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Giovanni Battista Egnazio and printed in Venice some years after 15 1516 16,, and in in al all proba probability bility ab about out 152 520. 0.11 T he  De sestert sestertio io o f Leonardo Leo nardo da Po rto is an investigati investigation on into the Greek G reek and Rom an coinage, together with what he took to be the equivalent value of ancient coins in modern money and their relationship to weights we ights.. I t also also in includ cludes es an attem pt to establish establish the true value value of of stipends and expenditure in ancient times, as well as the system o f measures measures the thenn in use. use. As the same same matters ma tters happened to be treated in Bude’s  De ass ssee et partibus par tibus eiu eius,  published in Paris in 1515 15..2 it m ight well be asked whether wh ether Leon L eonardo ardo had not n ot perhaps p erhaps  plag  pl agia iariz rized ed th this is w o rk rk.. The precedence of Da Porto’s work was vigorously upheld  by E g n a z io in his a n n o tati ta tio o n s on S ue ueto toni nius us p r in inte ted d in V en enice ice in 1516. 6.3 3 where wh ere he asserted that the w ork o f Da P or orto to had ha d been written five years before, and later in his editorial preface to the  De sestertio sestertio4 w ithout, itho ut, how ho w ever, eve r, convinc co nvincing ing Era Erassmus.® us.® W ha hatt seems to have been the truth is this: that Leonardo’s work was completed before that by Bude, while the latter’s was the first to appear in print. W hichever hiche ver o f the tw o was the first first,, it is undeniable tha t Bude’s Bude’s  De ass assee et parti pa rtibu buss eius ius was  was the greatest study study o f the kind produc produced ed  by th thee Rena Re naissa issanc nce. e. I n th this is w o r k , w h ich ic h it is n o t ex exag agge gera rate ted d to call the philological masterpiece of the early Cinquecento, Bude succeeded better than any of his humanist predecessors in establishing the exact meanings of the monetary terminology of Greek and Roman antiquity, as well as the actual value not only of Roman, but also of Greek coins in relation to those of his own time. time. Th Thee fir first st book o f the  De as asse se  deals with the various  part  pa rtss o f th thee caes’ aes ’ a nd th thee ir re resp spec ectiv tivee va valu lues es,, to togg e th thee r w ith an investigation into the various meanings meanings of o f ‘sestertius’ sestertius’.. Th Thee determinati determ ination on o f the value value o f bo both th Greek and R oman oma n coins coins is carried out in Book Two, and here Bude broke new ground in his field of studies, by relying not only on literary sources, but also also by actu actuall allyy w eighing various antique coin coins. s. T he gold g old coinage of Antiquity is particularly studied in Book Three, the 1 jLeonardi de Portis iurisconsulti Vicentini de sextertio pecuniis ponderibus et mensaris antiquis libri duo, (S.L.N.A.).  2  For the actual date of Bude’s treatise see L. Delaruelle, Guillaume Bude,  (Paris, 1907) XXIII. 3 C. Sueto Suetonii nii Tranquilli Tranquilli X I I Caemres Caemres .  . . (Venetiis, 1516) f. 17r-v. 4 Leonar  Leo nard! d! de P o rtis rt is . . . de sext se xter ertio tio pecuniis . , . , f. A ii r . Suetoniii Tranqu illi X I I Ca Caesa esares res  . . . (V ene tiis, 1521), ff 5 C. Suetoni ff. Ei v- E 2 r, Opus TLpistolarum  D e s .  Era  E ra sm i Ko Koter terod odam amii, cd. P. S. Allen, VII, (Oxonii, 1928) 93.

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ratio between gold and silver being also scrutinized and estab lished lished her here. e. Book Fou F ourr consists consists mostly of o f digressions digressions on various subjects connected with classical scholarship, while the fifth and last book bo ok deals deals with th e ancient system system o f measu measures res.. The tremendous scholarly powers of Bude appear at their highest in the  De  D e A ss sse. e. Besides Besides displaying hi hiss immense learn learning ing in Greek and Latin literature, Bude showed here a most uncommon ingenuity in employing all the means at his disposal in order to prov p rovee his his points, with w ith an acumen acumen and an imagination imagination unseen unsee n in philological philolog ical studies since since the death de ath o f Politian in 1494. O f course he may occasiona occasionall lly y have been wrong wr ong,, as he was for instance in Book One, where he believed there was some corres  po  p o n d e n c e be betw twee eenn th thee G r e e k a nd R om a n m o n e tary ta ry system syst ems. s. On the other hand, there are few aspects of classical philology which are not given some new light here—suffice it to say that more than one problem in the text of Pliny’s  Na  N a tur tu r a l Histo Hi story ry is here supplied supplied with a solution. A fter Bude’s Bude’s, no great grea t con contri tri  bu  b u tio ti o n to th thee pr proo bl blee m s o f a nc ncie ient nt nu num m ism is m atic at icss a pp ppea eare red d fo f o r some so me time, the  De  D e re numma nummaria ria antiq antiquo uoru rum m ad rec recentia entia tempora tempora reda redact cta a  com  compe pen ndios diosa a ratioci ratiocinat natio io  by Andrea Alciati being a brief essay showing the the modern m odern value value of ancie ancient nt coi coins ns.1 .1 Their The ir equiv equivalen alentt value in Nuremberg money was instead shown in an equally sho rt tract trac t by the hum anist Willibal Willibald d Pirckheimer,2 Pirckheimer,2 now chi hieefly fly remembered as Diirer’s great friend. Despite the interest taken in numismatics by the humanists, it was only in 1517 that a collection of reproductions of ancient coins appeared appea red in pr prin intt for the first first time. time. This was the  Illustrium imagines commonly com monly attribute attrib uted d to Andrea A ndrea Fulvio.3 ‘Re ‘Repro produc ductions’ tions’ is perhaps not the exact word; for although the effigies on coins were exactly reproduced, the same cannot be said of their inscriptions. inscriptions. A prob problem lem connected w ith this w ork is: is: w ho was was the real real author auth or of o f it? Th Thee probable answer is that although various humanists contributed to its compilation, Fulvio was doubtless responsible for the gathering and editing of the assembled materials. 1 Pr inte d in F. A rge lati,  De monetis Ita 1750)) A pp en dix , 23-8 . Alc iati It a liae li ae , III , (Alediolani, 1750 also composed in Milan Milan during the period 15221522-27 27 a Ubellus de ponderibus et mensuris printed at Hagenau in 1530, and in which coins were also discussed.  Bi libal aldi di PirckJjeim Pirck Jjeimeri eri Oper Op era a, (Fra nco forti, 1610 2 Bilib 1610)) 223-28. Some inform ation on stud en ts o f ancient num ismatics in Germ any d urin g the early sixteenth sixteenth century may be gathered from a letter letter of Joh an n F luttich luttich w ritten in July 1517, 1517, cf Collec Collectan tanea ea An tiq uit atu m in Urbe ac  agro Moguntino repert rep ertar arum um , f. Aiv. 3 Illus 1517). ). A rep rodu ction o f this this edition edition was pub lished in  Ill ustri trium um imagines, (Rom ae, 1517 Rome in 1967.

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The real aim of the  Illustrium imag imagin ines es  was to provide an iconograph icono graphic ic repertory reper tory of o f the famous Romans. Rom ans. Here was a fiel fieldd in which this this volum e was the first first of o f its its kind. But Bu t not entirely entirely so, for it had been preceded in some way by the  Prisc  Priscor orum um he hero rou um  stemmata   by the Dominican Thomas Ochsenbrunner, published in Rome in 1494 and again in 1510, Fulvio being perhaps the ‘Andreas Praenestinus’ who contributed a Latin epigram in  pra  p rais isee o f it.1 it .1 P er erha haps ps i t was wa s th thee series serie s o f en entir tiree ly fa fanc ncifu ifull p o r  traits of some great Romans in Ochsenbrunner’s work that suggested a work of the same type, but in accordance with the most up-to-date antiquarian science and with the iconography  baa sed  b se d o n th thee co coin inag agee o f an anci ciee nt R om ome. e. In the  Illustrium imag imagin ines es  each person has a medallion with hiss o r her hi h er portrait po rtrait taken whenever when ever possi possible ble from a coin and a few  bio  bi o g ra rap p h ica ic a l lines line s u n d e r n e a th th,, th thee series serie s s tar ta r tin ti n g w ith it h th thee G o d Janus Janu s and ending with the medieva medievall Em pero perorr Conrad I. I. Need less to say most of the portraits in the republican and medieval sections sections are imaginary. imaginary. N o t so those o f the imperial imperial period, which wh ich were actu actuall ally y derived from contem co ntemporary porary co coin ins. s. The  Illustrium imag imagin ines es  naturally natura lly enjoyed en joyed a E ur urop opea ean n success success.2 .2 Reprinted at Lyons in 1524, they were imitated one year later in the  Imperatorum  Imperatorum Roman omanor orum um lJbell lJb ellus us una cum cum imag imagin inib ibus us ad vivam effigiem expressis,  by Johann Huttich, which was reprinted more than once. once. In a way the  Illustrium imag imagin ines es marks the end of the first stage of Renaissance numismatics, though it also marks the  bee g in  b inn n in ingg o f the th e lo lonn g series serie s o f ico ic o n og ogra rapp hi hicc r e p e rto rt o rie ri e s ba base sed d on coins. coins. A ltogether the new numismat numismatics ics of o f the second ha half lf o f the sixteenth century would scarcely have been possible without the earlier earlier attempts. Here He re also also the humanists were behind the new and more modern efforts. 1  Weiss,  An d re a Fulvio Fulv io A nt iq na rio ri o Romano,   3, 16,  Ibid .  40-41. 2 Ibid.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

THE COLLECTIONS OF ANTIQUITIES

During the Renaissance the relics of classical antiquity were collected collected for a variety variety of reasons. reasons. Some people were attracted a ttracted  by th thee ir a p pe peaa ra ranc nce; e; by som so m e th thee y w er eree seen see n as th thee re rem m ains ai ns o f a great age ag e ; some people people liked liked to be surrounde surrou nded d by them in ord order er to study them more thoroughly, or because they were needed as models and source sourcess o f aesthetic aesthetic inspiration. inspiration. A nd there was also also the fact that the ownership of choice antique pieces, whether marbles, bronzes, pottery, or engraved gems, endowed one with a particular status and prestige and emphasized one’s wealth, which was important in an age when ostentation was accepted and even praised as tangible evidence of magnificence and the  po  p o w e r th thaa t w e n t w ith it h it. T h o u g h n o t u n k n o w n d u rin ri n g th thee fourteenth, it was only during the fifteenth century that the collecting of classical antiquities really began on a large scale. Here was a field where artists and humanists were probably the first and certainly among the first. Artists were moved to gather pieces of ancient sculptures not in order to turn their ‘botteghe’ into museums, nor because they wanted to impress their patrons, friends and acquaintances. Their Th eir aim was actual actually ly m ore utilitarian. utilitarian. Admittedly Adm ittedly they felt felt an aesthetic attraction for ancient statuary and carvings; but what was above all instrumental in making them secure all the pieces of ancient sculpture they could acquire, whether broken or intact, was a desire desire to have ha ve alongside w ith their the ir pattern patte rn boo b ooks ks1 1a selecti selection on o f models which they could copy, adapt, or paraphrase paraph rase whenever the necessity arose. Already Already during the first first quarter o f the Q uattrocento, uattroce nto, the great sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti had succeeded in assembling in his studio in Florence a very rema remarkable rkable group gro up o f antique sculptures. These included a large marble vase allegedly brought from G reece,2 reec e,2 a life lifesiz sizee leg in bron br onze ze,3 ,3 as well as many ma ny busts, vases, 1W hat is is left left o f one such boo k p ut toge ther by Pisanello, Pisanello, now at M ilan ilan in the A m bro Dise gni del de l Pisanello e di siana, includes several drawings from the antique, cf. A. Schmitt,  Disegni  mae  m aestr str i del s h o  tem po , (Ven ezia, 196 de l Pisanello 1966) 6) passim. Cf. also also M . Foss i T od or ow ,  I disegni del e della sua cerchiay (Firenze, 1%6) passim. 2 J. v. Sch losse r, lichen und Meinangen des florentinischen Bildners Lorenzo Ghiberti , (Basel, 1941) 123, n. 50, 3 B i d .   123, n. 49.

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and fragments of o f statue statues. s.1 1 But the gem o f hi hiss collec collecti tion on was was the so-called ‘Letto di Policleto’, this being a marble relief with a male and a female female figure on a bed, alleged allegedly ly Venus and Vulcanus, V ulcanus, which was then believed to be the work of Polycletus and of which several versions were known during the Renaissance.2 Just as fascinated by Antiquity as Ghiberti was Donatello, w ho besides besides sedulously sedulously studying studyin g the ruins ru ins o f Rom e,3 made a thorou tho rou gh study o f ancient ancient sculptur sculpture. e. There The re is is n ot much evidence evidence that he assembled a collection of his own, though it seems that some pieces of ancient sculpture were actually to be seen in his studio.4 stud io.4 O n the othe o therr hand, if i f the late late witness witness o f Vasari is to be accepted, it was actually Donatello who aroused in Cosimo de’ Medici the Elder Eld er a desire desire to collect collect antiquities, antiquities, and was responsible for the restoration of some pieces in the Medici collection.5 Away from Florence the study of Antiquity was pursued by Francesco Squarcione, an indifferent painter whose main title to fame rests on his having been the teacher of Andrea Mantegna. Squarcione’s journey to Greece, to acquire ancient sculptures, m ust now be dismis dismisse sed d as as a groundless groundless legend.6 legend.6 W hat is is instea insteadd certain is that although his museum never existed in reality,7he nevertheless gathered some fragments of ancient statues and carvings together with plaster casts of them, which he made or caused hi hiss pupils to make for him.8 Little Little wonde w onderr then, that tha t although Squarcione failed to show any of his antiquarian interests interests in his his own ow n paintings, he was nonetheless nonetheless able to transm it them to the greatest of his pupils, Andrea Mantegna. O f all all Renais Renaissan sance ce painters painters M antegna was doubtless the one who felt the impact of classical antiquity more than any other. So strongly did he assimilate the spirit of the antique that his  paa in  p inti tin n gs ar aree really rea lly p e o p led le d by R om a n stat st atue ues, s, ev even en w h e n th thee  picc tu  pi ture ress h av avee n o th thin ing g to d o w ith it h A nt ntiq iquu ity it y . H is p o r tra tr a it o f Cardinal Ludovico Trevisan at Berlin is really a Roman bust in  Ibi d. 123, n. 50. 1 Ibid. 2 Ibid.  Ibid . 123 Lo ren zo 123-140. 140. A handlist o f antiques know n to Ghib erti is is in R. R. Kra utheim er,  Loren Ghiberti, (Princeton, 1956) 337-52. 3 Supra, 62-63. Me dicis is au X V e siecle, 4. The sculptor Jac opo della 4 M iintz, iintz ,  Fe s collections des Medic della Quercia also appears to have own ed some antique pieces. pieces. Such were in all all probab ility ‘una ‘una testa di vecchio di metallo; due ignudi di metallo’ belonging to him, cf. G. Milanesi,  Document  Docu mentii  p e r la stor st oria ia delVart delV artee senes senesee, II, (Siena, 1854) 189. en t le Magnifique Magnif ique, (Paris, 5A. Chastel,  A r t et Humanism e a Florence an temp s de Faur ent (Pa ris, 195 1959) 9) 31. del la 6 G. Fiocco, ‘II muse o ima ginario di Francesc o Squ arcione ’,  A t t i e memorie della  Ac cade ca demi mia a Patav Pa tav ina d i science letiere leti ere ed ar a r ti, ti , L X X I, 3 ((19581958-59) 59) 62-63 62-63.. » Ibid.  Ibi d. 59-72.  9 Ibid Ib id.. 59-61.

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the attire of a fifteenth century prelate, while the scenes painted  by hi him m ar aree ve very ry m u c h m or oree like lik e an anci ciee nt ston st onee c ar arvi ving ngss th thaa n an any y thing thin g else else.. M antegna ante gna’’s passion for fo r clas classi sica call antiquity is witnessed  by  b y v ar ario ious us sour so urce ces, s,1 1 a n d it is q u ite it e clear cle ar th thaa t a nc ncie ient nt m o nu num m e n ts were we re seen seen by him as themes themes capabl capablee o f any number num ber o f variations. variations. It is therefore scarcely surprising to learn that he sedulously collected ancient piec pieces es of sculpture. sculpture . In his case case,, however, howe ver, there was no t only the anxiety anxiety of o f the artist eager to g ather athe r useful useful models, but also the enthusiasm of the humanist only happy w hen surro su rroun unde dedd by by relics relics o f class classic ical al antiquity. A marble ma rble head o f the Empress Em press Faustina Fau stina was the ‘gem’ gem ’ o f M antegna’ antegn a’ss collect collection ion.. T ha t he was very pro p roud ud o f such a possession is is quite clear,2 clear,2 so that the sale of it to Isabella d’Este shortly before his death in 1506, 15 06,3 3 was one on e o f those ve very ry painfu pa infull sacri sacrifi fices ces which whi ch can only be caused by economic necessity. The artists so far mentioned were only a few of those who collecte collected d antiquit antiquities. ies. Th Thee influe influence nce of ancient art on so many of of them during the Renaissance makes it obvious that antique  pieces  pie ces m u st ha have ve be been en c o n sta st a n tly tl y u n d e r th thee ir eyes. O f c ou ours rsee such piec pieces es were we re even then the n by no means inexpensive. inexpensive. Still Still in many cases fragments which would be despised by wealthy collecto collectors rs were appreciated appreciated and found useful. useful. T he fragments o f marble and terra cotta statues gathered by the painter Giovanni A nto ntonio nio Bazzi Bazzi better bette r know kn ow n as T1 T1 Sodom Sod oma’ a’,, were typical of o f such ‘working collections’; but the bronze Apollo he owned was certainly not.4 Even more enthusiastic as collectors of antiquities were the humanists, huma nists, which is scarc scarcel ely y surprising in view o f their outlook. o utlook. Among them the greatest collector was undoubtedly Niccolo  Nic  N icco coli li,, w h o se an anxie xiety ty to secu se cure re an antiq tique uess was wa s on only ly m a tche tc hed d by the enthusiasm with which he gathered manuscripts for his  pri  p riv v a te libra lib rary ry.. Besides Beside s th thee ampl am plee m eans ea ns pl plac acee d a t Ids dispo dis posa sall  by  b y C osim os imoo d e ’ M ed edic ici,5 i,5N N icco ic coli li s o u g h t e ar arnn esd es d y th thee assis as sistan tance ce o f friends and acquaintances to provide him with choice antique 1 Supra.  164. Also Mantegna’s brother-in-law Gentile Bellini gathered some ancient  pieces  pie ces.. H is will wi ll m ade ad e in 1494 inc i nclu lud d es a to t o rs o o f Ve n us an d a b u s t o f Pla P la to , as well we ll as som so m e Kunstlerfamili e Bellini, (Bielefeld u. drawings of Roman antiquities, cf. G. Gronau,  Die Kunstlerfamilie Leipzig, 1909) 51. rt i e degli degli arte ar tefid fid di Mantova. N o t ic e ,  XI, (Mantova, 1857) 61-62. 2 C. D’Arco,  Delle a rti 3 Ibid , loc. loc. cit. and 10 100. 0. Th e b ust o f Fa ustin a is still in in the Duc al Palace at Mantua . Hellenic Studies , XXVI (1906) 4 G. F. Mill, ‘Sodorna’s Collection of Antiques’,  Journal o f Hellenic 288 89. uomini illustri illustr i del del secolo X V ,  ed. P. D ’Aneon a and E. Aeschlimann, 6 V. Da Bisticci, Bist icci, Vit e di uomini Aeschlimann, (Milano, 1951) 436.

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 pieces.  piec es. A m o n g th thes esee th thee r e was wa s A m b ro rogg io T r a v e rsa rs a ri.1 ri .1 O th thee r s included Leonardo Bruni, who is known to have sent to him a  jasp  ja spee r in inta tagg lio li o f o u n d at O stia st ia re repp r e sen se n tin ti n g N a rc rcis issu sus, s,2 2 a nd A nd ndreo reolo lo Giustiniani.3 G iustiniani.3 As a collector he was certainly certainly lucky, as is shown by his discovery of the famous intaglio, then believed to be by Polycl Polycletus etus,, which he first first saw saw hanging from the neck of of a boy casually met in a street and which he purchased from the father for five florins and later ceded to Ludovico Trevisan, Patriarch o f Aquileia, Aquileia, for tw tw o hund hu ndre red d ducats.4 T he collectio collections ns of Niccoli included bronzes, cups, coins, cameos, and engraved gems, as as well as statues. A nd such was his enthusiasm enthus iasm for Anti A nti  quity, that to him the objects so sedulously collected became an indispensabl indispensablee part par t of o f hi hiss own ow n way o f life life.. F o r besides besides having them constantly under his eyes, the precious vessels and cups on his dining table from which he ate and drank dran k were w ere genuine genu ine rel relics ics o f the the clas classi sica call world w orld.5 .5 A m ong othe o therr humanists in Florence who w ho collected collected antiquit antiquities ies in Niccoli’s time, there was Carlo Marsuppini, whose ancient statues statues and coins coins were we re noticed w ith interest by Ciriaco Ciriaco d’ d ’A nco ncona.6 na.6 But next to Niccoli the Florentine humanist who proved the most enthusiastic collector was Poggio Bracciolini, who appears to have been particularly particularly interested interested in ancient ancient statuary. statuary. I t is is quite clear from Poggio’s correspondence that he tried every thing in his his pow er to secure secure antique antique marb marbles les.. W e know, for instance, that he was very active in this direction during the years he spent at the Roman Curia, 1403-1418,1423-1453,7one of the aims behind his collecting being to adorn the garden of his own ow n cou country ntry house in the Valdarno Va ldarno w ith statues8 as the ancient Romans used to do. In order to acquire statues, Poggio did not hesitate to beg them from other collectors, even when they happened to be complete complete stranger strangers. s. W e thus fin find d him writi w riting ng from Rome Rom e in in 1431 or o r thereabo there abouts uts to a resident resid ent o f Rhodes Rh odes called called Suffretu Suffretus, s, who was a collector collector o f such objects, objects, asking for the th e gift o f some piece piece  xA  xA m bros br osii ii Traversarii Trave rsarii   . . . Tatinae TLpistolae, 412-22, etc.  L cs colle collecti ction onss des Medicis an X V e siecle siecle, 6. 2 M iintz, iin tz,  Lcs  Inf ra , 184. 3 Infra 4 Da Bisticci, op. cit,,  438. 5 Ibid.  442-43. collecti ction onss des Medicis au X V e siecl siecle, e, 4. 6 Miintz,  L.es colle 1 On Poggio at the Papal court see Walser, op. cit.  18-70, 83-281.  L e s colle collecti ction onss des Medicis au X V e siecle siecle, 8. 8 Miintz,  Le

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fr om his collection,1 an applica from a pplication tion which wh ich was no n o t unsuccessful.2 unsucce ssful.2 U pon learning learn ing about ab out 1430 that tha t the Franciscan F riar Francesco da Pistoia Pistoia was to visit Greece, he commission com missioned ed him to secure secure what he could co uld on his behalf.3 behalf.3 O ne can therefore there fore easily easily guess his his delight deligh t when he was able to acquire during a visit to the Abbey of Montecassino in 1429 the marble bust of a woman unearthed durin during g the digging o f the foundations of o f a house.4 U nfortu nately Francesco da Pistoia did not prove as reliable as Poggio had ha d hoped. I t is is true true that th at he secured secured for him some some marble heads heads o f deities deities,5 ,5 b ut neither these heads heads nor n or a complete statue for fo r which Poggio had ppai aid, d, ever reach reached ed him,6 him ,6 no norr did some some engraved gems which Andreolo Giustiniani had handed to Francesco Francesco for deliv delivery ery to P og oggio.7 gio.7 All the same same Poggio achieved achieved his desire to fill his garden with antiques, and the fact that he never succeeded in acquiring any really outstanding pieces is to  be a ttr tt r ib ibuu ted te d m ainl ai nly y to his financia fina nciall p o s itio it ionn , w h ich ic h m ad adee it impossible for him to disburse exceptionally high sums in order to enrich his collections. A m ong those who w ho helped Poggio P oggio in his his quest of o f antiqu antiquit ities, ies, Andreolo Giustiniani is certainly well worth remembering here. For this Genoese noble settled in Chios was an enthusiastic collector of statues, coins, and gems, and a very generous one at that. Besi Besides des Poggio, Pog gio, who w ho also made use o f him as an inter mediary for fo r the th e purchase p urchase o f statues,8 statues,8Niccolo Nicco lo Niccoli N iccoli and Cosi C osimo mo de’ Medici the Elder were also among the beneficiaries of his generosity.9 gene rosity.9 It is therefore no n o t surprising in view view o f hi hiss reputa repu ta tion to find a fellow citizen of his, the humanist Giacomo Bracelli, writing to him from Genoa on July 2nd, 1440, asking him fo forr a statue, by Pheidias Pheidias or Praxiteles Praxiteles if possible.10 possible.10 O f another Genoese collecto collector, r, Eliano E liano Spinola Spinola,, we know k now that tha t he had impo im ported rted several notable antiques from fro m Greece G reece and Asia Minor,1 M inor,111 and also that he was in touch with that great collector Pope Paul 1 Poggii Hpistolae,  I, 347-49. 2 Ibid. II, 175. 3 Ibid.  1, 348.  I Ibid.  I, 284. 6 Ib id .   1, 330. 6 Ibid. II, 175. 7 Ibid.  loc. cit. 8 Ibid.  I, 323. s  Ibid.  loc. cit.

10

G. Mercati, Mercati, ‘Lettera inedita di Giovanni A rgirop ulo ad An dreolo Giustiniani', Uilang Uil anges es d ’arche rcheol olog ogie ie et e t d ’histoire,  XXXIX (1921-22) 157. II Miintz,  L e s a rt s  A la cour des Papes, II, 132, n.

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II.1 Am ong the fri frien ends ds o f Andreolo Giust Giustin inia iani ni there there wa was Ciriaco d’Ancona who, thanks to his long travels in Greece and Asia Minor, had also been able to assemble a remarkable collec tion o f small small antiquities. A pa part rt from coins, Ciriaco Ciriaco seem seemss to have specialized in engraved gems and small pieces of sculpture. Thus Th us we hear o f a head of Medusa Medusa owned ow ned by him.2 A nd an outstanding item in his collection was an engraved gem with Scyl Scylla la,, which wh ich was so admired ad mired by his his friends that tha t in either 14 1442 42 or 144-3 he gave lead casts casts o f it to t o T h e o d o r Gaza,3 Gaza ,3 and in 14 1444 44 to Angelo Grassi, Bishop of Ariano, who has left us some lines in Latin verse about this gift.4 It w ould be hardly possi possible ble to m ention all all the humanists humanists who gathered antique object objectss during durin g the Renais Renaissan sance. ce. But among them one might perhaps mention Pandolfo Collenuccio, whose house at Pesaro was full of antiquities, including two exception ally ally fine fine m arble bus b usts,5 ts,5 and one migh m ightt also also mentio m ention n Fausto Fa usto Andrelini on account of his painted Greek vase with mytho logical logical scene sceness which w hich was broke bro ken n by his his lady lady lov love,6 e,6 and Sigi Sigissmondo Tizio, whose collection of pottery and other antiques mainly consisted of Etruscan objects, though it also included natural natural curios curiosit ities ies.7 .7 N or perh perhaps aps should should one omit Nicolo Nicolo Tegrimi of Lucca (1447-1527), the humanist biographer of Castruccio Castracani, whom we know to have been the owner of a marble statu statuee of o f a triton unearthed unea rthed at Luni. Luni. Before Before belonging to him this statue statue had had a somewhat somew hat chequered history. history. F or after  bee in  b ing g p r e sen se n ted te d in 1510 by th thee Sarza Sa rzana na to tow w n co coun unci cill to th thee French governor of Genoa it was placed at a later date in the cathedral at Sarzana, from which it was stolen, only to reappear in Tegrimi’s collection.8 A town where several collectors of classical antiquities were already to be found during the first half of the fifteenth century was Venic Venice. e. D ur uring ing one of o f hi hiss journeys journeys thro ug h Crete in 141 1415—  18, Cristoforo Buondelmonti was particularly impressed by the ancient Greek statues in the garden of the country house of  1 Ibid.  loc. cit. 2 Be rtalot an d C amp ana, op. cit.  368. 3 Ibid. loc. cit. 4 Ibid.  loc. cit. 5 Zie barth, ba rth,  antiquis  anti quissim simis is inscriptionu inscri ptionum m syllogis syllog is, 231, n. 1. 6 Saxl, op. cit. 39. ci t. 138. 7 Piccolom Picc olom ini,  op. cit. 8 Supra, 11 114. 4. Fra gm ents of ancient statuary were also owned by Fra Franceschino da Cesena (d. 1489), cf. Domeniconi,  op. cit. ci t. 185.

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 Nic  N ico o lo C o rn rnee r, a V e n e tia ti a n n o b le sett se ttle led d o n th thee isla is land nd.1 .1 A n o th thee r Venetian noble, Giovann Giov annii Dolfin, D olfin, owned owne d an impressive impressive collect collection ion which was much admired by Ciriaco d’Ancona, who inspected it one night in November 1445 while at sea off Crete on Dolfin’s ship.2 ship.2 O f Dolfin’s Dolfin’s treas treasures ures one particularl particularly y aroused Ciriaco’ Ciriaco’ss enthusiasm; it was a rock crystal carving with the head of Athena, Athen a, no now w in Berlin,3 Berlin,3 and then believed to represent repre sent Alexander the Great Gr eat.4 .4 Othe O the r Venetian Ven etian collectors collectors were Benedetto Bene detto D and andolo, olo, w ho was well well know kno w n to Niccoli N iccoli and acquainted acqua inted with Travers Tra versari,5 ari,5 and Francesco Contarini, who died between 1460 and 1475; he included inscriptions inscriptions amo a mong ng the antiquiti antiquities es he h e gathered, gathered , and was also also a man o f letters.6 letters.6 But the greatest greatest Venetian Venetian collect collector or o f the age was Pietro Barbo, the nephew of Pope Eugenius IV who ruled the Church as Paul II from 1464 to 1471. Even before Paul II some collecting of antiquities was not altogether unknown in Rome. As a collector, all we know of Stefano Stefano Porcari, Porc ari, the Rom R oman an noble hanged han ged in 1453 fo forr conspiring con spiring against Pope Nicholas V, is that he owned at least one ancient  brr o n z e sta  b st a tu tuee 7 a n d th t h a t wh w h ile in B o lo logn gnaa a b o u t 1433 he p re rese senn ted te d a ring w ith an ancie ancient nt cameo cameo to Am brog brogio io Traversari, who w ho gave it to Pope Eugenius Eu genius IV .8 T ha hatt Cardinal Cardinal Prospero Pro spero Colonna, the  paa tro  p tr o n o f B io ionn d o w h o d ied ie d in 1463, fe felt lt th thee ap appe peal al o f an anci cien entt statues statues is confirmed confirmed by his own o wnership ership o f a torso tors o o f Hercules9 Hercu les9 an andd  pee rh  p rhaa p s o f th thee cele ce lebr brat ated ed g r o u p o f th thee th thrr e e G ra race cess n o w at Siena.1 Siena.100 O n the other oth er han hand, d, Ludovic Ludo vico o Tr Trev evisan isan’’s purchase purcha se o f the famous intaglio owned ow ned by Niccoli11 does not no t mean that tha t this very wealthy prelate was a keen collector of antiquities, for he defin definit itely ely was no not. t. I t seem seemss therefore no t inaccurate inaccurate to say in the light of our present knowledge that it was only with Cardinal P ietro Barbo B arbo that tha t the collecti collecting ng o f antiquities antiquities on a large scale did begin in Rome. Pietro Barbo had already started collecting antiques in his I W eiss,

i tr umanista antiquario,

114.

C.yria iatt o f Ancona, 39. 2A vhrnolc vhrn olc,, C.yr 3 Reproduced ibid.  pi. XlVa. * Ibid. 39. Th is was probab probab ly the ‘cbrystalli ‘cbrystallinam nam Alexandri I imaginem ’ which Trav ersari  A m b rosi ro siii Tr aver av ersa sarii rii.. . . iMtinae iMti nae Episto E pistolae lae,, ha d been unab le to see wh ile in Venice in 1433, cf. cf.  Am 417. 6 Ibid.  loc. cit. Tasricolo II,   72*. 6 Mercati, Ultimi contriluti alia storia degli umanisti —   — Tasricolo 7 M iintz, iin tz,  I i j arts a la cour des Papes,   II, 200. deglii scavi scavi di Roma, Rom a,  I, 115. 8 Lanciani, Storia degl •  Ibid.  I. 107. 10 Ibid.  loc. cit.

II Supra,  183.

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yo uth1 youth 1 and subsequently subsequently he had done all all he could to incr ncreas easee and impr im prov ovee his collections. As a result res ult by 14 1457 57 he already already owne ow nedd forty-seven antique bronzes,2 and two hun h undre dred d and a nd twenty-seven twe nty-seven cameos,3 as wel welll as a very respectable num be berr o f ancient engra en graved ved gems and an d coins. coins. l ie was als also o the owner ow ner o f some late late antique and early Christian ivories, among which was the famous ‘dittico quer qu erini inian ano’ o’44 no now w at Brescia Brescia and a nd still still in the beautiful be autiful silver silver gilt frame he had made m ade for it.5 His cameos cameos and intaglios, which included pieces with the portraits of Philip of Macedon and several Roman emperors, were as a rule set on silver gilt tablets w ith the cardinal’s cardinal’s arms and some lines lines of o f Latin La tin verse proc proclaim laiming ing hiss ownership.6 hi ow nership.6 But they were also also m oun ounted ted individuall individually, y, as as was was the case with an amethyst ‘Abundance’, now at Paris, which he had set as a seal with his arms right under the stone.7 The collections of Pietro Barbo were sedulously studied by their owner. His fame as an antiquary was not inconsiderable.8A typical story about him. as such is related by the humanist Giovanni Tortelli, who tells us that once while dining with the Cardinal the conversation had turned to whether ‘ave’ should be written with an initial b; whereupon the host had produced an engraved gem from his collection with ‘have’ engraved upon it.9 O nc ncee Pope, Pope , Paul II continu co ntinued ed to increase increase hi hiss collecti collections. ons. As a cardinal cardinal he had profited pro fited much m uch from fr om the assis assistan tance ce o f hi hiss fellow fellow citizen, citizen, Arch A rchbish bishop op Maff Maffeo eo Vallaresso, Vallaresso, who w ho in 1450-60 1450-60 was busy supplying supp lying him with w ith small antiquities, antiqu ities, coins and an d engrav engr aved ed gems.1 gem s.100 W he hen n he came to increase increase his his collection he could occasional occasionally ly be w ithou ith outt many scruples.1 scru ples.11 1 Yet Y et he was always always firm in n o t accepting acc epting gifts, insisting instead on paying payin g a fair price.1 price .12 2 H e was already Pope when, w hen, learning learning that the city city of To Toulouse ulouse owned an ancient ancient 1Miinr/,  I J’s J’s arts ar ts  a la cour des Papes , II, 129. 2 ibid.  II, 139.  Ibid.  Ib id.   (I, 140.

4 W hich he pr ob ab ly acqu ired be tw een 1451 1451 and 1457 1457,, cf. Weiss, Un umanista >'ene%iano: 83. Po t the diptyc h see ibid.  83-87. O ne ot the earl earlyy ivories ivories ow ned by Paul Paul Papa Paolo 11, 83. II appears in the inventory of A.ndrea Oddoni’s collection made on June 23, 1555, cf. G. G ron au, ‘Beitrage ?. ?.um An onym us M orellianus’, orellianus’,  Italienische Forschungcn, Forschungcn,   IV (1911) 56. 5 Sec Sec G . Panazz a, ‘L ’inco rnic iatura del d ittico querin iano '',  Miscellanea Q uerini uer iniana ana in rirordo del I I renten rentenar ario io della m&rt m&rtee del cardi cardinal nalee Ang A ngelo elo M aria ari a Querini , (Brescia, 1961) 249-53. a rtss a la cotir des des Papes Pap es , II, 223-226. 6 M iint z,  I .es art 7 PI. PI. X V I. 1., j. Pop e-H enn cssy , 'Renaissance  Bronzes  Bronzes fr  f r o m the Sa/vn Sa /vnel el II . Cress Collection, Collec tion, (L on do n, 196 1965) 5) 77, no . 265, 265, fig fig.. 59. 59. T he ston e is is no lon ge r in in its its fifteenth cen tury se tting. s Weiss, Un umanista veneriano — Papa Paolo II, 24 24.. 9  Ibid.   29, il 2. 30 Ibid.  Ibi d. 2 8 . 11 Supra , 171. a rtss a la cour cour des Pap P apes es , II, 133. 12 M iin tz ,  L.es art

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cameo of outstanding beauty, he offered, beside a large sum and some privileges for their Basilica of St. Saturnin to build them a  brr id  b idg g e , in ex exch chan ange ge fo forr it.1 After the death of Pope Paul II in 1471 his collections were quickly dispersed by hi hiss successor Sixtu Sixtuss IV. A considerable c onsiderable  paa r t o f th  p thee m was wa s th thee n a c qu quir ired ed by L o re renn z o d e ’ M ed edic ici,2 i,2 w h o was continuing with great keenness the collecting traditions of hiss father and grandfather. hi grandfather. W hether or not n ot it was was Donatell Do natello o who had fir first st induced Cosimo Cosimo de’ de ’ Medici Medici the Elder E lder to collect collect antiqu a ntiqui i ties,3 it is is certain th thaa t he very muc m uch h felt their the ir appeal. As a result ancient statues sent to him from Rome soon crowded the courty co urtyard ard o f hi hiss palace palace.. A m on ong g these, if Vasari is is to be believed,4 there was the marble statue of Marsyas which was later restored  by  b y V e rroc rr occh chio io.. Came Ca meos, os, in inta tagl glio ioss a n d ge gems ms w e re also sedu se dul l ously gathered by him, am ong which w hich there was a cameo with the head o f N er ero,5 o,5 and the famous fam ous cornelian with w ith Apollo A pollo and Marsy Marsyas as which Ghiberti mounted in gold for him.6 Cosimo’s tastes were inherited by his sons and especially his eldest son Piero, who was particularly interested in small antiquities, such as cameos, intaglios, and coins rather than in statuary.7 Stat Statue uess appear, appear, on the other othe r hand hand,, to have particul particularly arly appealed appealed to his br broth other er G iovanni.8 iova nni.8 But the heyday heyday of the Medici collections was under Piero’s son, Lorenzo the Magnifi cent (1449 (1449-1492 -1492). ). As heir to the family family collections collections Loren Lo renzo zo strove stro ve to increase increase them the m by all all possible means. His agents in Rome were busy sending to him what they could of the finds at Ostia and Grottaferrata, despite the difficulties placed against their export by Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere, the future Julius Juliu s I I .9 The Th e of offic ficial ials go gove vernin rning g Floren Flo rentine tine territories were also also eager eager to pleas pleasee him by procuring proc uring antiquiti antiquities es for him. him. In fact those governing Sarzana were asked by him to buy pieces found at Luni, a task in which they were greatly assisted by the 2. Th is cam eo can be 1 Ibid. 133, n. 4, Weiss, Vn umanista vene^iano — Papa Papa Paolo 11, 27, n. 2. identi identifi fied ed w ith the ‘Gemm a A ugu stea’, stea’, which rem ained at Toulou se until 1533 1533 and is now at Vienna. Vienna. O n its history see see  \ ;ilaretes'l cd. W. vo n O ettingen, (W (W ien, ilare tes'l'racta 'ractatt fiber die die Baukunst, cd. 1890) 659 and P. Eichler und 12. Kris,  Die Kameen Kameen h i Kunsthisto Kunsthistoriscb riscben en Museum, (Wien, 1927) 53.  Infra , 189. 2 Infra, 3 Supra, 181. 4 M iintz,  Le s colle collecti ction onss des Medicis au X \ ' re siec siecle, le, 5. 5 Ibid. loc. cit. ®A. Morassi,  II teso tesoro ro dei Medici, (Milano, 1963) 9, n. 4, Schlosser, op. cit. 160-64. 7 Miintz,  Le  L e s colle collecti ction onss des Medicis au X V e siecl sieclee, 16-17, 38-39. 8 Gaye, op. cit. I, 164. 8 Ibid. I, 285-86.

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locall humanist A ntonio Ivani,1 who also loca also personal personally ly helped helped Lorenzo Lorenz o to increa increase se hi hiss collect collection ions. s.22 A t the death of Cardin Cardinal al Francesco Gonzaga in 1483 part of his treasures was bought by Lorenz Lo renzo,3 o,3 w ho thus enriched his his alread already y extraordinarily extraordinarily valuabl valuablee collection of engraved gems. Unlike Pope Paul II, Lorenzo de’ Medici was only too willing to receiv receivee presents presents of antique obj object ects. s. Thus he returned returne d from his journey to Rome in 1471, where he had gone for the corona tion of Pope Sixtus IV, with marble heads of Augustus and A grip grippa pa which w hich the th e Pope Po pe had ha d presented prese nted to him h im,4 ,4 as well as as a choice selection of the treasures collected by Pope Paul II, w hich hic h he had h ad pur purcha chased,5 sed,5 these mainly being bein g cameos, intaglios, intaglios, and an d vase vasess and cups cups in in semi-precious semi-precious stones. stones. N o r was was he un un  interested in ancient pottery. potter y. W e thus find him in 1490 acknow  ledging with pleasure the present of some ‘vasi fictili’, on which the dono donorr had had engraved his his own arms in order to be remem  bee re  b red d .6 D u r i n g th thee fo foll llow owin ing g ye year ar he was wa s th thee d e lig li g h ted te d re recc ip ipie ienn t of a large Greek vase sent to him from Venice as a present by Zaccaria Barbaro, the father of the more famous Ermolao, the dispatching of it having been seen to by Politian, who then happened to be there.7 there.7 We also also hear how some some other vas vases es unearthed at Arezzo, doubtless Arretine ware, were given by the finder, Giorgio Vasari, the painter’s grandfather, to Lorenzo during a vi visi sitt to to that town.8 O n his his return to Flore Florence nce from a visit to Naples, Naples, Bacci Baccio o Valori, Valori, w ho later later w rote the biography biograp hy o f Lorenzo, brought back as presents for him various antiquities, am ong which there were w ere busts busts o f Faustina Faustina and Scipi Scipio o Africanus.9 But Bu t doubtless few gifts gifts can have given him greater pleasure than the bust of Plato, allegedly found in the very ruins of the Academy Ac ademy,, presente pres ented d to him by Girolam Giro lamo o Rossi o f Pistoia.10 Pistoia.10 A t 1 Sforz Sf orz a, Gli studi archeologici sulla Lunigiana ,  85-86. 3 Ibid.  Ibi d.   loc. cit. 3 M iintz ,  Les arts ar ts a la cour cour des des Papes, ITT, 45. 4 Ibid. II, 156, n. 2. 5 Ibid. loc. cit. 6 Gave, op. cit. I, 304-05. 7Miintz,  Les 57.. Some G reek vases were introduced  L es collec collectio tions ns des des Medicis au X V e siecl siecle, e, 57  by  b y C a rp a c c io i n h is p a i n t i n g o f St. Augustine in bis study in San Giorgio degli Schiavoni at Ven ice. Th e alleged alleged influence influence o f ancient vase paintin g on A nto nio P ollaiuolo, cf. cf. F. R. Shapley, ‘A ‘A Student o f A ncient Ceramics, A nton io Pollaiu olo’ olo’,,  A r t bulletin, (1919) 78-8 6, bulle tin, II (1919) is not convincing. 8 M ora ssi, op. cit. 244, V asa ri, op. cit. II, 558. 558. Fo r some discoveri discoveries es o f A rretine pottery m ade in 14 1492 92 just just outside Arezzo see Go rius, op. cit. II, 320, Fabroni, op. cit. 16-17. 9 M iin tz,  Les  L es colle collecti ction onss des des Medicis au X V e siec siecle le, 57. 10 Ibid. loc. cit.

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the same time his gift of the well known bronze head of a horse to Diomede Diom ede Caraf Carafaa in 147 1471 1,1 shows how he was was also also prepared to  paa r t w ith  p it h a ch choic oicee m aster as terpi piec ece. e. T h e co colle llecti ction onss asse as semb mbled led by Lorenz Lo renzoo included al all sort of o f treasure treasures. s. There The re were bronze and marble statues, cups and vases in semi-precious stones, and count less less speci specimens mens of the glyptir gly ptir art of o f the ancient ancient world. According Ac cording to the tastes tastes of o f the time time his his vases ases and cups cups had been m oun ounted ted for him in silver gilt,2 G iusto da Firenze being b eing one o f the silver silver smiths employed by him for such a task.3 M oreo oreover, ver, thou th ough gh it may appear somewhat shocking to us, he had LAV. R. MED. engrave eng ravedd on o n these cups and vases4 and even on hi hiss larger larg er intaglios5so that there should be no mistake as to their owner ship. At the death of Lorenzo in 1492 his collection was the richest ever eve r assembled in Renais Renaissance sance Italy. Italy. His marble m arble statuary was mostly placed in the gardens of his palace, where he was alleged to have struck a new note by opening them to young promising artists, so that they could study at first hand the masterpieces assemble assembled d there.6 Th Thee end o f Medici Medici rule rule in 149 1494 was was also also the end of the Medici collect collection ions. s. Confisca Confiscated ted by the new gove go vern rn ment, me nt, the th e treasures of o f Lorenzo Loren zo were w ere quickly quickly dispersed, dispersed, the prices asked for them being so high that the goldsmith Caradosso, who had been sent by the Duke of Milan to purchase what he could, left left Florence Florence empty-handed.7 Some o f the statu statues es ended in the O rti rt i Oricellari.8 O n the other oth er hand, ha nd, Piero de’ Medici was was able able to take away w ith him many o f the cameos cameos and intaglios, intaglios, including those onc oncee belonging belonging to Cardin Cardinal al France Francesc sco o Gonzaga.9 G onzaga.9 O ther o f the Medici treasures also remained in the hands of the family, while while more m ore were recovered when Flore F lorence nce came came once once more mo re under un der Medici rule in 1512. 1512. T hu huss the palace palace o f Cardinal G iovann iova nnii de’ Medici (later Pope Leo X) in Rome, now Palazzo Madama, could displ display ay a considerable considerable num be berr o f ancient statues statues,, including one of a satyr which was singled out for special praise by Francesco Albertini.10 But to return to Lorenzo, even if his  Inf ra , 195. 1 Infra 2 M ora ssi , op. f i t . 12, pi. 3-18. 3 Ibid.  Ib id. 12. 4 Ibid. 3--18. 8.  Ib id.  pi. 3--1 5 PI. XVJ. 2, Miintz, Precursor} e propngnatori del Rinascimento, 144, n. 5. 6 See, h ow ev er , A. Chaste), Chaste), ‘Vasari ‘Vasari et la la iegende M edicecn nc: L ’ecole du jardin de Saint Marc’, Studi I 'asar asaria iani ni, (Firenze, 1952) 159-67. 7 Infr  In fra, a, 200. 8 Miintz,  I-.es  I-.es collections des Media's Medi a's an  X. l e siecley 107. 9 Ib id . 105 06. 10Albertinus, op. fit. f. 7.2V.

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making the statuary in his gardens available to artists were true, this would have been only partly an innovation, for the idea of making ancient masterpieces available to the public had already occurred occur red to Pope Sixt Sixtus us IV. Thu Thuss the very pontiff w ho dispersed the collections gathered by his predecessor was also instrumental in the foundation of what might be called the first modern museum. Sixtus IV had only been a few months on the papal throne, when he presented to the ‘Conservatori’, that is to say the municipal rulers of Rome, a collectio collection n of o f bronze statues statues.. These statues, which were formerly at the Lateran, were placed in the  palac  pal acee o f th thee C on onse serv rvaa to tori ri,, a b u ild il d in ing g e re rect cted ed o n th thee C ap apit itol ol in the time time o f Pope Nicholas Nicholas V (14 (1447 47-1 -145 455) 5).. They The y were tha thatt o f the She-Wolf, which was placed at the entrance, the colossal head of the Emperor Constantius II, then believed to represent Commodus, and a hand holding a globe, from the same bronze colossus, both of which were placed under a porch, and the ‘Spinariu Sp inarius’ s’ and the th e so-called ‘Cam ‘Camillus’ illus’,, th then en believed to re repre prese sent nt a gi gips psy, y, room for which which was was found in an upper chamber.1 These statues were eventually joined joined by others. T he bronz bro nzee Hercul Hercules, es,,, found under Sixtus IV ‘apud scholam Graecam sub Aventino’, was was placed placed in the courtyard,2 cou rtyard,2 Under Un der Innoc In nocen entt V III (14 (1484—92) the head and some of the limbs of a marble colossus found near the so-ca so-call lled ed ‘Tem plum Paris’ P aris’,,3 were added to the collection, while in 1515 Leo X gave to the ‘Museum’ the three reliefs with episodes from the life of Marcus Aurelius, which had been up to then the n in the chu church rch o f Santa Santa Martina M artina al Foro Fo ro ;4 apart from f rom these, several several other piece pieces, s, a Pan tied to a tree tree trunk tru nk among am ong them , could co uld  be seen see n th thee re b e fo fore re 1527.5 T h e p u r p o s e in g a th thee r in ing g all th thee se statues on the Capitol was not strictly artistic or archaeological. The aim was rather to assemble some tangible witnesses of Roman magnificence in the very seat of the city’s municipal government, so that visitors could be impressed by such relics of what Rome had been, almost, one might say, by a museum of former Roman splendour. lA. Michaelis, ‘Storia della collezione capitolina di antichita fine all’ inaugurazione del des Kaiserlich Kaiserlich deut deutsch schen en archa rchaeo eolo logi gisc schc hcn n Instituts Insti tuts.. Roemischer  Roemischer  Musco (1738)’,  Mittheilungen des  Ab  A b th e ilm il m g , VI (189 (1891) 1) 12-15. O n the gift o f Sixtus IV see no w W. S. Hecksche r, Sixtus IIII   Aeneas  Aen eas insignes insignes Stataa Sta taass Romano Populo Populo Restitnendas Censuit , (S.-Grav enha ge, s.a ). F or the ‘Co mm odus’ hhead ead be ing really really that o f Constan tius II cf. ibid. 46. collectone capitolina di antichita, 15-16. 2 Michaelis, Storia della collectone 3An inscription erected under Innocent VIII and stiil in the courtyard of rbe Palazzo dei Conservatori commemorates their being placed there. 4 Ibid. 24 -25 . 5 Ibid. 25.

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Despite his role in the foundation of the Capitol ‘Museum’, Sixtus IV did not no t real really ly have any antiquarian interest interests. s. Th Thee same same c a nn nnot ot be said said of o f some o f his relatives. relatives. Cardinal Car dinal Ra RafFa fFaele Riario, Riar io, for instance, gathered several ancient statues in his Palazzo della -Cancellem, -Cancellem, among am ong which there the re was a M inerva.1 A nd it may be worth recalling that this Cardinal was the purchaser of Michael Angelo’s Cupid, which he bou b ough ghtt in the belief that it was was antique.2 Just as fascinated by ancient sculpture was another relative of Sixtus IV, Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere who became Pope Juliu Ju liuss II I I in 15 1503 03.. As a cardinal, cardinal, besides besides doing do ing all he could to  prr e v e n t th  p t h e e x p o r t o f anci an cien entt mast m aster erpie piece cess fro fr o m R om omee ,3 G iu iulia liano no della Rovere had striven to preserve them from ruin. It was he he who was responsible for the rescue of the well known marble relief with an eagle, which he placed in the church of the Santi A postoli not no t later than tha n 1480,4 1480,4 where wh ere it can can stil stilll be b e seen seen today. toda y. Moreover he was able to secure for himself and place in his gardens at San Pietro in Vincoli the  Ap  A p o llo ll o o f Be Belve lvedere  shortly after afte r it its discovery.5 It I t is is no t surprising then that th at as as Pope he  prr o v id  p idee d in th thee V atic at ican an a bu b u ild il d in ing g to h o u se m ar arbl blee statu sta tues es,, ju just st as the Capitol Capitol was used for those o f bron bronze. ze. The first collection of sculptures in a place specially planned for that purpose, the statues court of the Vatican Belvedere, showed a new conception in the display of ancient masterpieces. Already nearing completion by March 1506, when the  Laoc  Laocoo oon n was bro b rouu g h t to it almost almo st imm immediately ediately after its discovery,6 it was soo n ready to be peopled by other important imp ortant stat statue ues. s. By the end of 1509 the group of Hercules and Anteus, the Venus  Fe  F e lix li x ,  and the Commodm ha  had d been placed placed in it,7t it,7to o be b e followed in 1511 by the installation ins tallation o f the famous fa mous  Ap  A p o llo ll o .8 The statue statue of o f th thee Tiber was placed there in 1512 immediately after its discovery,9 the so-called Cleopatra  also also being prob probably ably installed then .10 1Lanciani, Storia degli scavi di Roma, I, 94. 2 Ibid.  loc. cit. Riario also encouragcd artists to study the antiquities in his palace, cf. E. Wind, Pagan Mysteries in the Renaissance, (London, 1958) 147. 3 Cf. for instance Gaye, op. cit.  I, 285. 285. Already in 147 1471 a b rie f o f Sixtus IV co m m and ed the governor of the castle at Ostia to forbid the export of statues and pillars, cf. Miintz,  Le s arts &la cour cour des des Papes, III, 168. The Medals Medals of Pop Pope S ixt us J V ,  36, n.3. 4 Weiss, The 5 Michaelis, Gescbichte des Statuenhofes im vaticanischen Belvedere, 10-11. 6 J. S. Ackerman, The Cortile del Belvedere, (Citta del Vaticano, 1954) 42. 7 Ibid. 43. 8 Ibid. 45. 9 Ibid.  45, n. 3. 10 Ibid.  46, n. 1.

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Such an assembly of pagan characters in the abode of the head of the Christian Church could scarcely meet with universal approval. approva l. A puritan and devotee o f Savonarola like like Gianfrancesco cesco Pico could cou ld only be shocke sho cked d by it. B ut Pico was also a. a. humanist. hum anist. As might m ight be expected expected he chose chose to air hi hiss views views on the subject in a Latin poem completed in August 1512 and printed in Rome Rom e in in 1513 1513.1 .1 Needles Ne edlesss to say say, the poem did not no t make the th e slightest diffe differen rence. ce. O n the contrary contrar y the collection was increased under Leo X, when the statue of the Nile and two of Antinous were added to it,2 and unde u nderr Clement VII, VI I, w ho had h ad the famous famous Belvedere ‘torso’ placed there.3 By the time of Julius II collections of antiquities in Rome had become very numerous indeed, so numerous that it is no exaggeration to say that there was hardly a house or garden  belo  be lon n g in ingg to a w ealth ea lthy y p e rso rs o n o r a h u m a n ist is t w hi hicc h d id n o t display statues, sarcophagi, reliefs, or at least some ancient inscriptions inscr iptions.4 .4 Needless Needless to say, say, cardinals cardinals were in the forefro fore front. nt. Furthermore by May 1500 Cardinal Giuliano Cesarini struck a new note by throwing open his gardens full of antique statues to serious student stud ents.5 s.5 A no nothe therr cardinal, cardinal, Francesco Fran cesco Piccolomini, Piccolom ini, who was Pope for a few weeks in 1503 as Pius III, was the owner of the famous group of the Three Graces now at Siena* and formerly almost certainly possessed by Cardinal Prospero Colonna.7 A ntique statu statues es were als also o owned by other cardi cardinal nals, s, such as Fazio Santoro, Livio Podocataro, and Andrea della Valle Valle.. But Bu t the greatest gre atest collector in the college college of o f cardinals was the Venetian D om omenico enico Grim G rimani ani (1461-1523). (1461-1523).8 8 The Th e interest in antiques of this prelate, who was equally enthusiastic about contemporary contem porary paintings,9 and who w ho is mainly mainly remem bered as the owner of the famous breviary now in the Marciana Library Libra ry at Venice,1 Ve nice,100 had prob probably ably been initiated by the consider1

 Journa l o f the Warburg and Courtauld  Court auld  On it it sec E. H. H. Gombric Gombrich, h, ‘Hypnero Hypne roto tomach machia iana’ na’,,  Journal  Institutes,  Institute s,  XIV (1951) 122-24. Stor ia degli degli scav scavii di Roma, Ro ma,  1,155. 2Ackerman, op. cit. 54, n. 1, Lanciani, Storia 3 Ibid.  loc. cit. 4 See ibid.  I, passim. passim. Some of the art mo num ents in Roman houses and churchcs were described in 1514 by Claude de Bellievre of Lyons, cf. C.I.L.   VI.1, XLV-VI.  Monumentorum Italiae  . . . 5 Lanciani, Storia degli scavi di Roma,  1, 133, L. Schraderus,  Monumentorum  LJ briQ br iQua uatu tuor or,,  (Helmaestadii, 1592) f. 217v. 6 Lanciani, Storia degli scavi di Roma, I, 114. 1 Supra, 186.  Domenic nico o Grimani Grima ni , Cardinale di S. Marco8A biographic study of him is P. Paschini,  Dome (+ 15 23 ), (Roma, 19 1943 43)).  De r Anonim Ano nim o Morelliano, ed. T. Frimmel, (Wien, 1888) 100-104. 9 Der 10 O n whic w hic h see especially especially G. Co ggio la, UBreviario Grimani, (Leiden, 191 1910) 0),, T . Ga spa rrini Breviario Grimani Grim ani , (Milano, 1957). Leporace,  II Breviario

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able num ber of stat statues ues and other o ther antiquit antiquities ies come to light ligh t during thee digging o f the foundations o f the palace th palace he was having built in his ‘vig ‘vigna na’’.1 Th This is garde ga rden, n, situated near nea r to what wh at is is no now w Piazz Piazzaa Barberini, Barbe rini, stood sto od on o n the site site of o f some ancient baths,2 baths ,2 which wh ich o f course expla explain inss the num numerous erous fin finds ds made there. These were already important enough in 1505 to be shown by him to the Pope Po pe and the the Venetian Vene tian ambassadors.3 But Bu t what wh at was being discovered in his his gardens was was not no t enough eno ugh for Grimani, who wh o also also  pu  p u r c h a sed se d ex exten tensiv sively ely.. W h e th thee r it was wa s h e o r his ne neph phew ewss w h o acquired the colossal statues of Augustus and Agrippa from the Panthe Pa ntheon on is now uncertain ;4 on the oth other er han hand d it is certain that thee famous bust th b ust o f Vitell Vitellius ius was was owned ow ned by him.5 him .5 G rimani’ rim ani’ss collections also included bronzes, ancient coins, cameos, and intag in tagli lios. os. These he left left to his nephew M arino,6 hi hiss marbl marbles es  bee in  b ing g in inst stea eadd b e q u eath ea thee d by h im t o th thee R ep epub ubli licc o f V e ni nicc e .7 Some outstanding collections were also owned outside the cardinal card inal circl circles es.. Already Alread y du durin ring g the the fifteenth fifteenth century the curial ■official Agostino MafFei (d. 1496) had assembled a considerable num nu m be berr o f coins, coins, sculptures, and oth other er antiques.8 But hi hiss collections were far surpassed by those assembled in Rome by some private persons during the early sixteenth century; which is not surprising, as such collectors included the enormously wealthy banker Agostino Chigi, whose magnificent gardens, the ‘Suburbanum’ wete exalted in Latin verse by Blosio Palladio.9 But it would be hardly possible to give an account of all the collections of antiquities in Rome during the period 1500-1527, so num erou erouss were they. Th Thee statues statues o f Caes Caesar ar,, Brutus, and Seneca Seneca in the palace o f th thee Massimi,10 Massimi,10 the many statues du dug g up in the garden of the curial official Ulisse Lanciarini da Fano and  pla  p lacc e d by hi him m in hi hiss m ag agni nific ficen entt m a n sio si o n ;1 ;111 th thee bu bust sts, s, in inta tagl glio ios, s, 1Gallo, op. cit. 36. 2 Ibid.  35-36. 3 1 Diarii di Marin Sanudo, VI, (Venezia, 1881) 172-73. 4 Gallo, op. cit . 36. 5 Ibid.  loc. cit. ia riii di Marin Ma rin Sanudo Sanudo, XXXIV, 401. 6 I D iari 7A list of his bequest is printed in Levi, op. cit.  II, 3-4. Grim ani’s ani’s bequest was com   J-e colle^ioni colle^ioni arch archeo eolo log giche iche dei mem orated by a La tin inscription by Pietro Bem bo, cf. cf. Paschini,  J-e  pre lati lat i Grima Gr imani ni nel CAnquece uecen nto, 15 157. 7. O n the bequ est see see also B. B. Forla ti Tam aro, Uorigine della raccolta Grimani, (Venezia, s.a.) 8. 8 MafFei, op. cit.  II, 142-43. Suburbanum um Augus Au gustini tini C hisii per pe r Blosium Blosium Palladium, (Romae, 151 9 Suburban 512) 2).. An oth er panegyrist of gu stin inii Chisii Chisi i  was printed in Rome in this ‘Villa’ was Egidio Gallo, whose  De viridario Au gust 1511. 10 Lanciani, Storia degli scavi di Roma,  I, 172. 11 Ibid.  I, 170.

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and vases owned by Marcantonio Altieri,1are enough to give an idea of the enormous antiquarian wealth of these private collections; as for that of Angelo Colocci, it is now uncertain which of his antiques were kept in his house in Parione and which wh ich in his ‘Villa’ ‘Villa’ at the A cqua Vergine.2 V ergine.2 W e know kno w on o n the other hand that Colocci owned coins, cameos, and intaglios3 as well as marbles. A m on ong g his statues there ther e was one o f Socrates Socrates embracing Alcib Alcibia iade des, s, one of o f Zeus Am mon, one of o f Proteus, one o f Esculapius, etc.4 But Bu t the most mo st im po porta rtant nt piec pieces es in his his collect collection ion were the the epigraphi epigraphicc monuments. monum ents. Although among the three thre e hun h undre dredd or so inscriptions inscriptions he ow ned ned5 5there were several several forg rger erie ies, s,® ® there the re were we re also amon am ong g them the m such su ch supremely im po porta rtant nt  pieces  piec es as t h e m o n u m e n t o f C o ssu ss u tiu ti u s, c o m m o n ly k n o w n as th the ‘piede Colotiano’7and the ‘Fasti Consolari Colotiani’.8 Rome and Florence were the centres of Italian collecting. O ther the r pl places aces in Italy Italy were not, however, much muc h behind them. A t  Nap  N aple less K in ingg A lfo lf o n so V h a d o w n e d stat st atue ues, s, co coin ins, s, a nd o th thee r antiques,9 antiques,9 while while the heir o f K ing Ferrante I, Alfonso, Alfonso, D uk ukee o f Calabria Calabria,, was the ow o w ner o f an epigraphic calendar found ‘in agro venusino’10 and, if it ever reached him, of the famous intaglio with the effigy of Julius Caesar, formerly belonging to Cardinal Francesco G onzaga, onza ga, w ho had left it to him in his will.1 will.11 1 Collectin Collectingg in Naples was was not, however, howeve r, the monopoly monopo ly of roy royalt alty. y. A lthough lthoug h we can perhaps discount the statement of a seventeenth century writer, according to which Diomede Carafa, the trusted coun sellor o f Alfonso V and Ferrante Fe rrante I, had spent 17,0 ,0000 scudi scudi on on his co collect llections ions,1 ,122 it is certai ce rtain n th thaa t his palace in Napl N aples es was w as filled w ith ancient statues,13 among am ong which w hich the t here re was the famous bronze bro nze head o f a horse presented prese nted to him by Lorenzo Lore nzo de’ d e’ Medici Medici in in 14 1471 and now in the Naples Museum.14 Museum.14 M oreover, the houses o f such 1 Ibid. I, 101. 2 V. Fan elli, ‘As ‘As petti della Rom a cinqu ecen tesca—Le case case e le raccolte archeo logich e del Colocci’, Studi Romani , X (1962) 394. 3 Ibid . 399. Stor ia degli degli sca scavi vi di Roma, Rom a,  I, 203. 4 Lanciani, Storia  p e tt i della Roma cinq cinque uece cent ntes esca ca, 399. 5 Fanelli,  A s pe 6 Ibid.   400. 7 C.I.L.   VI. 3, 16534. Rom a cinq cinque uece cent ntes esca ca, 399, n. 36, C.I.L. I, 466. 8 On which see Fanelli,  A s p e tt i della Roma illu stribus liber , ed. L. Mehus, (Florentiae, 1745) 78. 9 B. Facius,  De viris illustribus  Infr a,   197. 10 C.I.L. I, 4 67 67-7 -71. 1. 11 Infra,  His toria a gene geneal alog ogic ica a della fami fa migli glia a Carafa Cara fa, II, (Napoli, 1691) 74. 12 B. Aldimari,  Histori  N a p oli ol i Nobi N obiliss lissima ima,, I I 13 G. Ceci, ‘II palazzo dei Carafa di Maddaloni poi di Colubrano’,  Na <1893) 150-51. 14 On which see A. De Rinaldis, *Di un’ antica testa di cavallo in bronzo attribuita a  Bollettino d ’arte del Ministero della Pubblica Istru^ione Istru^ ione, V (191 Donatello’,  Bollettino (1 911) 1) 241 241— —60.

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leading humanists as Pontano and Sannazzaro could also display several antique pieces besides inscriptions.1 In north Italy, Leonello d’Este, Marquis of Ferrara, had assembled a collection collection of engrave eng raved d gems.2 B ut after Leonello the only really enthusiastic collector of antiquities in the Este family was Isabella, the daughter of Duke Ercole I of Ferrara, w ho became the wife wife o f Francesco Gonzaga, G onzaga, M arquis arquis o f Mantua. Isabella d’Este was not the first collector of antiquities in her husba hu sband nd’’s family. family. Ciriaco Ciriaco d ’Ancona Anco na mention me ntioned ed w ith admiration adm iration the collection of Roman coins assembled by Gian Lucido Gonzaga.3 Gonzaga.3 N or is it surprisi surprising ng to fin find d that M antegna’ antegna’ss and Alberti’s patron, the Marquis Ludovico, was not indifferent to antiquities. antiquities. Th Thus us we fin find d him in 14 1462 62 receiving w ith evident e vident  plea  pl easu sure re fro fr o m th thee g o ld ldsm sm ith it h C rist ri stoo fo foro ro G er erem emia ia,, w h o was th thee n in Rome, four fo ur antique heads heads together toge ther with w ith the offe offerr to send more antiquities if the Marquis liked such things, an offer which was  prr o m p tly  p tl y acce ac cept pted ed.4 .4 L u d o v ico ic o m u st also h av avee be been en in inte tere rest stee d in cameo cameos. s. F o r one year earlier earlier Cristoforo Geremia had warned wa rned him through Bartolomeo Bonatti to be careful if anyone tried to sell some to him, as there was someone in Rome who was very able able at counterfeiting counterfe iting them .5 W hich reminds us tha thatt one o f Ludovico’s sons, the Cardinal Francesco Gonzaga who died in 1483, was an enthusiastic collector of such things. Like Pope Paul II, this Cardinal, whose features have been transmitted to us by one of Mantegna’s frescoes in the ‘Camera degli Sposi’ at Mantua and a medal by Sperandio,® was a very enthusiastic collector of bronzes, vases, cameos, and intaglios. Perhaps it was this Pope’s example that had set him on the path of collecting, just as it seems probable that it was from him that he derived the idea of having his gems and cameos set on silver tabl tablet etss bearing his his own arms.7 a rms.7 T hat he liked liked to show and a nd disc discus usss hiss treasures hi treasures there is no doub d oubt. t. Th Thus us in 147 1472 2 just before going from Rome to Bologna for a few days, he wrote to his father asking asking him to send send Mantegna the painter to meet him in Bologna, Giovanni ni Pon Ponta tano no,, (Na poli, 19 1 Sec Sec G. Percopo, V it a d i Giovan 1938 38)) 301-02 ; Nico lini, op. cit. 41, 60. 2 Dc cem brius , op. cit.  500-01, 504 504.. Cameos and engrav ed gems appe ar in the 1494 1494 inventory of the Este ‘guardaroba’, cf. Campori, op. cit.  25-27. 25-27. On the other hand about 1517 Alfonso I, Duke of Ferrara, was trying to secure a piece of ancient sculpture not dis similar from the ‘Letto di Policleto’ owned by Ghiberti, cf. Schlosser, op. cit.  124, n. 53. 3 Supra, 168, n.4. hiv io storico storico dell9 de ll9arte, I (1888) 409. 4 U. Rossi, ‘Cristoforo Geremia’,  Arc hivio 6 Ibid. 411. Itali an Medals o f the Renaissa Renaissance nce befor beforee Cellini, Ce llini,  no. 390. 6 H ill,  A Corpus o f Italian  L e s colle collecti ction onss des des Media’ Med ia’s au X V e siecl sieclee, 105-06. 7 M iintz, iin tz,  Le

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as he was anxious to show and discuss with him his cameos,  bro  b ronz nzee s, a n d o th thee r ob obje ject ctss f r o m hi hiss o w n c ol olle lect ctio ion, n, w hi hicc h he was was going to bring with with him for the the occas occasio ion. n.11 Th That at some some cameos and engraved gems, which the goldsmith Giuliano di Scipione had ceded to Pope Paul II, were in the hands of the Cardinal on o n Nov N ovem em be berr 30th, 1471 1471,2 ,2 suggests tha t he had possibly approp app ropriated riated them at the death o f this this Pope P ope a few few months m onths earli earlier. er. And in view of his taste for the antique there can be no doubt that tha t he received received with pleasure the gift g ift of o f a marble ma rble head of o f Portia, the wife of Brutus, from the humanist Giovanni Antonio Pando Pa ndoni, ni, common com monly ly know kno w n as as Porcellio.3 A t his death in in 148 1483 the Cardinal bequeathed his bronzes to his elder brother, the M arqu arquis is Federico. Federico . His cameos and intaglios as well as his vases vases of crystal and other jewels were, on the other hand, to be sold in order to satisfy his creditors, the only exception here being his large cornelian with the head of Caesar, which he left to the Duke Du ke o f Calabr Calabria ia.4 .4 As we already alread y saw,5 saw ,5 the Cardinal’ Car dinal’ss gems and an d cameos were w ere eventually b ou gh t by Lo Lorenz renzo o de de’’ Medici. Medici. In later la ter years years this this m ust have been a matter o f regret regre t to Isabe Isabell llaa d’ d ’Este, w ho would w ould doubtless very much have liked such such objec objects ts for f or her collect collection ions. s. Her husband Francesco Gonzaga was actually not indifferent to antiquiti antiquities.6 es.6 His interest interest in in them was, was, however, pra pract ctic ical ally ly non non  existent existent compared with that o f Isab Isabel ella la.. For Fo r up to hher er death Isabella sedulously employed all the means at her disposal to secure as as many antique pieces pieces as as she could. As a collector her interests ranged from marble statues to intaglios, from bronzes to coins and she never hesitated to ask the assistance of anyone she tho ug ht migh m ightt pro prove ve useful useful to her. Already in 149 1492 she had received received some some piec pieces es of o f Rom an sculpture from the prothon p rothonotary otary Ludovico Agnelli, later Archbishop of Cosenza, and was asking him to let her have any antique intaglios which came his way.7  Revue Arch Ar chio io-1E. Miintz, ‘Essai sur l’histoire des collections italiennes d’antiquites’,  Revue logique, XXXVII (1879) 91.  L es arts art s a la cour cour des des Papes, II, 117-18. 2 M iintz, iin tz,  Les 3 Va tican tica n Libra L ibra ry, Ms M s Vat. Va t. lat. 1670 1670,, f. 77r~ 77r~v. v. cour des des Papes, III, 298. 4 M iintz ,  Le s arts a la cour 298. This inta glio was still rem em bere d in the early X V I centu ry: ‘El C ardinale ardinale de de Man toa ali ali no stri giorni ave uno Camo ino antichissimo antichissimo do ue era scritta la imm agine di Cesare belissimo belissimo Valea. 10. milia du cati5, cati5, Biblioteca Classensc, Classensc, Ravenna, Ms. Ms. 468 468,, f. f. l l r . 5 Supra y 189. 6A. Bertolotti, ‘Artisti in relazione coi Gonzaga signori di Mantova’,  A t t i e memorit  delle Deputa^io De puta^ioni ni di storia patri pat ria a per le Provincie Provincie Modenesi Modenesi e Parmensi, ser. 3, III, II I, 1 (I8H5) (I8H5) 67 fiH,  JSHuova A ntol nt olos osia ia , ser. -1, I.NIV 7A. Luz L uz io and R. Renier, Renie r, ‘‘II II lusso di Isabella Isabe lla d ’E ste ’,  JS (1896) 319.

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Among those whom she asked to help her in securing ancient objects obj ects there the re was he herr brothe bro ther, r, Cardin C ardinal al Ipp Ippolito olito d’ d’Este, Este, A riosto’ rios to’ss unsatisfactory unsa tisfactory pa patron tron.. T o him Isabella Isabella was appealing appealing in 150 1502 to send send her some anti antiques ques from Rome Rom e as he had promised prom ised he would wou ld do,1and during the same year she was asking him to help her in getting from Caesar Borgia a small marble Venus and a Cupid oncee belongi onc belonging ng to Guidobaldo, Duke Duk e o f U rbino, rbino,22 who had ju just st  bee en o u s ted  b te d f r o m his du ducc h y by th thee B o rg rgia ia ar arms ms.. O n e ye year ar late la terr she was writing to her agent Lorenzo da Pavia to find her some antique antiqu e statues. statues. Intaglios Intag lios to be used as as se seals als were being bein g asked asked forr in 150 fo 1505 from G irolamo irolam o Casio Casio,3 ,3 the po poet et w ho alternated the writing of indifferent verse with a flourishing trade in jewels,  just  ju st as in i n 1506 we w e find f ind h e r a pp ppea ealin ling g t o P ietr ie troo B embo em bo t o he help lp he herr w ith his his autho au thority rity to acquire a cquire an agate vase.4 Needless to say, say, searches for definite objects were often made on her behalf. Already in 1492, for instance, Florimante Brugnoli was searching Rome Ro me for f or cameos cameos and intaglios for f or Isabella5 while during du ring the years 1505-08 she was having the isles of Rhodes, Naxos, and Cos Cos searched fo forr antiques.6 antique s.6 Nor N or,, naturally enough eno ugh,, were offe offers rs o f rare pie pieces ces to her he r quite uncomm uncom m on occurrences. occurrences. In 15 15003 she she was being told from Rome that Piero de’ Medici had pawned a very fine cameo ring for two hundred gold ducats and that she could have it at that tha t price.7 price.7 As we saw saw in 150 1506 the aged Mantegna  just  ju st a b o u t to die was off offer ering ing to h e r his c he heri rish shed ed b u s t o f th thee Empress Em press Faustina,8 Faus tina,8 w hich she she eventually bo boug ught. ht. Stazio Stazio Gadio Ga dio was therefore sure to send welcome news when he wrote to her in 1511 in order to tell her about some antiquities then for sale in Rome.9 T hr hro o u g h o ut he herr life life Isabell Isabellaa bo boug ught ht quite lavis lavishl hly. y. Some  bro  b ronz nzee s, b o t h he head adss a n d stat st atue uette ttess w e re b o u g h t by h e r in 149 14988 from the Venetian goldsm ith Giovanni Giova nni Andrea Andre a di Fiore.1 Fior e.10 0 Some 1 Ibid.  321. Urbino,, 2 Gaye, op. cit.  II, 53-54. O n it see also A. Luzio and R. Renier,  Mantova e Urbino (Torino-Roma, 1893) 170. hisso di d i Isabella Isabella d ’Este, Est e,   301. 3 Lu zio-Re zio -Re nie r,  II hisso 4 Cian, Un decennio della vita di m. Pietro Bembo  (1521-1531), 108. Isabell a d’ d ’E ste, st e,   320. 5 Luzio-Renier, 11 lasso di Isabella 6 E. M iintz , ‘Les collection colle ctionss d ’antiqu an tiqu it^s formees forme es par p ar les Medici aux X V Ie siecle’, siecle’,  Memoires de V A.cademte A.cademte des des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres,  X X V. 2 (189 (1895) 5) 86 86,, n .l . lusso d i Isabella d E s t e y  321. 7 Lu Luzio zio-R -Reni enier, er,  II lusso 8 Supra, 182. 9 D ’A rco , op. cit.  77-78.  I I luss lusso o di Isabella Isabella d'E d' E ste, st e,   321 10 Luzio-Renier,  II 321.. W hen Fio re died in 15 1503 03 Isabella asked Lorenzo da Pavia to secure some busts owned by him for her collection, but he replied that they were not wo rth m uch, cf. cf. ibid.  310-11.

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stone statuettes, which later proved to be forgeries, were pur chased by her in 1514 from Maestro Raffaello d’Urbino,1not to  bee c on  b onfu fuse sedd w ith it h his fa fam m ou ouss na nam m esake esa ke.. A n d ev even en in 1527 o n her way back from Rome, where she had witnessed the horrors o f th thee sack and lost lo st many ma ny cherished possessions,2 possessions,2 she yet yet found fo und  bo  b o th th thee tim ti m e a nd in incc lin li n a tion ti on t o m ak akee som so m e pu purc rcha hase ses.3 s.3 D e spit sp itee the ample means at her disposal, Isabella often refused to accept the price asked for an object which had particularly appealed to her. Cardinal Cardinal A nto ntonio niotto tto Pallavicino Pallavicino was in fact bargaining on her behalf in Rome in 1504 for a statue of Cupid, which was eventually bought for her at the end of the following year by Ludovico Ludo vico Brugnoli.4 B rugnoli.4 Isabell Isabellaa bough bou ghtt rig right ht and left, left, but bu t her collections collections were also also increased by gifts. gifts. I t was fro from m Caesar Caesar Borgia that she received Michael Angelo’s Cupid and an antique antique Venus as a present pres ent in 15 1502 02,5 ,5 while a marble m arble relief re lief w ith the Rape o f Proserpine Pro serpine was given to her by Hadrian Ha drian V I in 15236—the Pope whose attitude towards antiquities is summarized by his words on being shown the luiocoon  and other statues in the Vatican Belvedere: ‘sunt idola antiquorum’!7 As a result of her ceaseless activity as a collector, Isabella d’Este assembled an imposing collection, which included statues, bronzes, and needless to say, small antiquities, ranging from engraved gems to coi coins ns.. N o wonder w onder then that that Giangiorgio Trissino wrote with rapture about her apartments filled with so many many wonderful things.8 things.8 Her He r tast tastee aass a collect collector or w was as obviously catholic, catholic, her he r keenness keenness to secure secure a pa painting inting or statue by a modern artist being by no means inferior to that with which she w en entt after antique pieces pieces.. H er outloo ou tlook k was was above all all aesthetic aesthetic and ‘romantic’. For antiques appealed to her not only because they were ancient but also because, in many cases, of the splend our of the material of which they were made, their associations, and above abo ve all all because they appealed to her he r eye. eye. H er aim was was not no t to create a museum, but to ennoble her apartments by filling them with beauty. Urbino,,  284, Gayc, op. cit.  II, 1Luzio-Rcnier,  Mantova e Urbino II , 192—93, 195-9 19 5-96, 6, 20 2-05 2- 05 , 207. 2Ibid.  IE, 178-79. A . Luzio,  Isabella  Isabella d ’E-ste -ste e ilsacco ilsacco di Roma, R oma,  (Milano, 1908) 90. 3 Magnaguti,  L a p iu il lustre colle^ionista del Rinascimento, 392. 4 Bertolotti, op. cit.  168-70. 5 Lu/.io -Re nicr, nic r,  Mantova e Urbino, 170-71. 6 Gaye, op. cit.  II, 155.  Memori? delV I. R. 7E. A. Cicogna, ‘Intorno la vita c le opere di Marcantonio Michiel’,  Memori?  Jstitnto Vencto di scien science ce,, lettere lettere ed a rti rt i, IX (1860) 381, n. 4. 8 I R itratti del Trissino, (Rom a, 1524 1524)) f. f. Diir . T he in ven tory o f Isabella’ Isabella’ss ‘G ‘G ro tt a ’  Isabella d ’Este Es te e il sac sacco di Roma Rom a, 162-73. dra w n up in 1542 1542 is is in Luzio,  Isabella

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Of other Italian princes, the Sforza at Milan were not excep tionally tionally interested intere sted in in antiquities. antiquities. T ru ruee Galeazzo Maria Sforza Sforza was making enquiries in Rome in 1472 through the Bishop of  No  N o v a r a as t o w h e th thee r th thee P o pe h a d ‘Fias Fi asch chi, i, bo boch chal alii e vasi vas i de cristallo o de calcedonio o de simile materia’ formerly belonging to his predecessor Paul Paul II II,, and an d whethe w hetherr they they would wo uld be expensive. expensive.11 But what can be gathered from this is that he was looking for showy pieces with which to ennoble his tables and sideboards rather rath er than tha n antiques antiques.. As for Ludovico Ludov ico Maria Sfor Sforza, za, be better tter know kn ow n as II Moro, Moro , he does no t appear to have been indiffer indifferent ent to  beau  be auti tifu full th thin ingg s. I t may, ma y, o n th thee o th thee r h a n d , be aske as ked d w h e th thee r in his case collecting was not prompted by a desire to do what was expect expected ed from a person o f hi hiss rank ran k rather ra ther than tha n by a genuine interest intere st in antique objects. As soon soo n as as it was was learnt lea rnt in 149 1495 5 that tha t the Medi M edici ci treasures treasures were up u p for f or sale sale in Florence, he hastened to send Caradosso there to acquire some of the Medici works of art.2 The pric prices es aske asked d for them them were, however, however, so high that in disgust he left for Rome, where he was able to secure some statues including a Leda for his employer, which he sent off by sea despite the prohibition to export antiquities.3 In the collecting of antiquities fifteenth century Venice had certainly been in in the forefront. forefr ont. This applied also also to Venice during the Cinquecento. Thanks to Marcantonio Michiel, the so-called ‘Anonimo Morelliano’, we know of many statues, vases, vases, and othe ot herr antiques in the houses o f Francesco Franc esco Z io io,4 ,4 Marco A nton ntonio io Foscarini,5 Foscarini,5 o f that Andrea O ddo ddoni,6 ni,6 whose portrait portr ait by Lotto, who represented him surrounded by statuary, is now at H am pton Court, and others. others. A nd it it should no t be forg forgotten otten that in 1523-28 there arrived in Venice the statues and other marbles which Cardinal Domenico Grimani had bequeathed to the Republic Republic in in his his will.7 will.7 In neighbouring neighb ouring Padua the coll collect ection ion  pu  p u t to tog g e th thee r b y th thee h u m a n ist is t Leon Le onic ico o T o m e o c o u ld b o a st w h e n it was seen by Marcantonio Michiel a marble relief, ten marble  bust  bu sts, s, some so me b ro ronn z e stat st atue uette ttes, s, p o tte tt e ry ry,, co coins ins an and d cam ca m eo eos.8 s.8 B u t  by  b y fa farr th thee m o st o u tsta ts tan n d in ing g co colle llect ctio ion n in th e V e n etia et ian n ter te r r ito it o r y ,  L es arts art s a la cour cour des des Papes, III, 239, n. 1. 1 M un tz,  Les 2 Lancia La ncia ni, Storia degli scavi di Roma, I, 127. 3 Ibid.  loc. cit.  De r Anonim An onimo o Morelliano, 94-96. 4 Der 5 Ibid.  90-93. 6 Ibid.  82-86. 7 Supra,  194.  D er Anonim Ano nimo o Morelliano Morelliano, 16-18. 8 Der

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in fact the best private collection in Italy, was that which Pietro Bembo kept in his house in Padua. Such was the passion of Pietro Pie tro Bembo Bem bo for anything connected co nnected with classical antiquity, that ancient sculpture and coins were topics which whic h he delighted to discus discusss w ith visitors visitors to his house in Padua.1 Padua.1 His ‘studio’ ‘studio’,, which was was kept there was was famou famouss thro th roug ugh h outt Italy. ou Italy. Here, He re, according to a contemporary, contem porary, all all kinds o f antiqui ties ties were to t o be seen, seen, such as as marble ma rble statues, statues, bronzes, bron zes, and o f course countless countless coins.2 M arcantonio arca ntonio Michi M ichiel el no noticed ticed in it also also some some ancient glass and pottery, engraved gems set on rings, and several marble busts of Emperors as well as one of Brutus, a  bro  b ron n z e he head ad o f A n to ton n in inu u s Pius Pi us,, a n d a m a rb rble le cu cupi pid d asleep,3 asle ep,3  pro  pr o ba babl blyy n o t dissim dis simila ilarr f r o m t h a t o w n e d b y Isab Is abella ella d ’E s te.4 te .4 But the gem of Bembo’s collection was the famed ‘Tabula Isiaca’ (now at Turin), a magnificent imitation of Egyptian art made in the age of the A ntonines,5 ntonin es,5 which wh ich must m ust have been bee n acquired by him late in life as it was not in his ‘Studio’ when Michiel visited it. Like his friend Isabella d’Este he thought any means were good go od for fo r increasing his treasures. Besides Besides purc purchase hase,6 ,6 he therefore there fore did not hesitate to beg for objects which had caught his fancy from friends and was displeased displeased when wh en they did no n o t accede accede to hi hiss demands, as he was for instance with Giangiorgio Trissino, when wh en he refused refused to let him have a coin with a head which looked lik ikee a woman he knew.7 Encouraged in doing so by Raph Raphae ael, l, we find him writing in 1515 to Cardinal Bibbiena, asking for the  pre  p rese sen n t o f a small sm all m a rb rble le V en enus us,, sayin sa ying g t h a t he w o u ld ha have ve be been en very happy to place place it in his his study between betwee n Jupite Ju piterr and M ercury.8 A small bronze Diana belonging to Bibbiena had also caught his eye, and accordingly he did not hesitate to send a sonnet to the ow ner in which he begged beg ged for f or it as as a gif gift.9 t.9 In this case case he had, however, to wait until the end of 1520, when the dying Bibbiena left it to him in his will.10 1Cian, Un decennio della vita di m. Pietro Bembo  (1521-1531), 105. 2 E. Zorzi, ‘Un antiquario pad ovan o del sec sec.. XV I-Alc ssan dro M aggi da da Bassano’, Bassano’,  Bollettino  Bollettino del Museo Museo Civico Civico di Pado Padova, va,  LI (1962) 55.  De r Anonimo Ano nimo Morelliano, 22-24. 3 Der 4 Supra , 199.  JLa ' Mens a Isiaca’ del Regio Museo di Antichita a Torino,  (Roma, 1949). 5 E. Scamuzzt,  JL  Ar chiv io della Societa Societa Romana di Storia 6A. Ferrajoli, ‘II ‘II Ru olo della co rte di Leone X \  Archiv Patria, XXXVII (1914) 362-63. 7 Ibid. 313. 31 3. 8 Golzio, op. cit. 44. 9 Ferraj Fe rrajoli oli,, op. cit . 312. 10 Ibid.  313-14.

202

THE COLLECTIONS OF ANTIQUITIES

Pietro Bembo personified in a way the Renaissance collector at his best. T ho houg ugh h physical physically ly separated from his collections collections during du ring much muc h o f hi hiss lif life, e, he sti still ll saw saw to it all all the time tim e that th at they were w ere safel safely y look looked ed after. A letter lette r w ritten ritte n by him in 153 1539 to his secre tary Flaminio Flaminio Tomarozzi, Tom arozzi,1 1 in which he asked asked him to bring b ring over ov er to Rome some pieces which he particularly desired to see again and have near him, show how h ow even in his his old age his passion passion for the antique antique had no t abate abated. d. In a way way w ith Bembo ended that stage stage in the history histor y o f collecting collecting which had had h ad its beginnings in Florence Florenc e and Venice Venice du during ring the early early fifteenth fifteenth century. A nd it was perhaps fitting fitting that it should have ended with someone w ho had seen the Florence of Lorenzo de’ Medici, been part of the Urbino of Castiglione’s courtier, and lived long enough to see the Renaissance give way to the Counter-Reformation. 1 Let  L ette ter* r* d i M . Piet Pi etro ro Bembo cardina ca rdinale, le,  III, (Milano, 1810) 333-35.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CONCLUSION A rchaeology rchae ology was was a creation crea tion o f the Renaiss Renaissance. ance. Reverence forr the antique fo antiqu e has alwa always ys,, or o r nearly alwa always, ys, exis existed ted.. But Bu t one w ould search search the clas classsical ical w orld or the Middle Ages in vain for a systematic systematic study o f Antiquity. An tiquity. Undeniably Un deniably some antiquities antiquities were we re kno know w n and treasured during durin g the medieval centurie centuries. s. But, on the whole, they were generally appreciated for the wrong reasons. reasons. They w ere not no t cherished cherished becaus becausee of their the ir associ associati ations ons o r the th e inform ation they could co uld yi yield eld,, but bu t because because o f their pleasing appearance or o r the rarity o f their materials materials,, and only very seldom  beca  be caus usee of o f th thee ir lin li n k w ith it h a g re reaa t man m an o r a fam fa m ou ouss e ve vent nt.. O n th the whole when they were valued, this was because they were  pree c io  pr iouu s o r be beca caus usee th thee y w e re usefu use ful, l, n o t be beca caus usee th they ey w er eree ol old. d. One is therefore left wondering whether the antique objects acquired acq uired by the E m pe peror ror Frederick II were collect collected ed by by him him only on account of their age. Medieval men could hardly have been more indifferent to ancient ruins. ruins. T o them such ruins were only only usef useful ul stone quarries. O r, if they were exceptionally exceptionally well preserved, preserv ed, they could be turne d into churches, churches, as as happened to to the Pantheon and the Parthenon, or into fortresses, as was the case with Hadrian’s mausoleum. mausoleum. But Bu t they never neve r struck anyone as w orthy o f preserv prese rv ation for their own sake, unless they happened to be outstanding m onum onuments ents which had become part o f the city’ city’ss heritage, as as was was the case case for instance instance w ith Trajan’ Traja n’ss column. A n antique sarco  ph  p h a g u s was wa s seen see n as a p ot otee n tia ti a l to tom m b . As f o r stat st atue ues, s, th they ey w er eree  bu  b u t pa paga gann i d o ls; ls ; an a n d i f the th e y h a p pe penn e d to be p a rtic rt icul ular arly ly pl plea easi sing ng they were seen as the images of particularly dangerous demons. Thee medieva Th medievall legend legend about a statu statuee o f Venus,1 which inspir inspired ed Merimee’s Venus cVllle  and D ’A nnu nnunzio nzio’’s Visanelle  is typical of the fascination and fear of medieval men when confronted with something som ething which it was beyon beyond d their powers powe rs to crea create te.. T he very fear which in 1357 made the Sienese authorities remove the statue of Venus which they had placed on the Fonte Gaia and which had aroused the admiration of the painter Ambrogio  Rom a nella memoria memoria e nell nellee legge leggend ndee del medio medio evo evoyy II, (Torino, 1883) 388-402. 1 A. Graf,  Roma

204

CONCLUSION

Lorenzetti, Lorenzetti,11 was ty typi pical cal o f the time. time. N ot for nothing had Petrarch, for all his enlightened outlook, not hesitated to echo the Psalmist by writing in the margins of the Latin translation o f the Ilia  which he owned, ‘omnes dei gentium demonia’ dem onia’ ;2 and  I liad  d  which when wh en saying saying so so he had the Middle Ages behind him! Simila Similarr views were being expressed some one hundred and sixty years later later by Pope H adrian VI when w hen shown the cou c ourt rt of o f statu statues es in the the Vatican Belved Belvedere. ere.3 3 Yet during du ring the interval of o f time between Petrarch and Hadrian H adrian VI the outlook ou tlook had chang cha nged: ed: the opinions opinions of the Flemish puritan who succeeded Leo X may have been those of the schools of Louvain: they were not those of Italian humanism. humanism. Fo r much had indeed indeed occurred occurred during those one hundred and sixty years. During the thirteenth century the only ones who really unders und erstoo toodd the th e spirit of o f clas classi sica call antiquity had been a few few artists artists like Nicola Pisano and the sculptors who worked at Capua for Frederick II. But in in general general imitation imitation of o f the antique antique had not gone beyond the letter. letter. E ve ven n the earl early y Paduan Pa duan humanists saw saw clas classi sica call antiquity thr thro o ug h a G othic mist. mist. Th There ere were two tw o main obstacles to be b e overcom ov ercomee before befo re a clear clear picture could be secured : lack lack of o f critici criticism sm and lack lack of o f historical historical perspective. perspective. But Bu t there was to be no serious attempt at overcoming them—with the  pos  p ossi sibl blee ex exce cept ptio ionn o f B en enzo zo d ’A less le ssan andr dria ia—b —bef efor oree P e tra tr a rc rchh . Petrarch when facing ancient monuments could, it is true, show unusual critical powers, but even he could also be extremely naive. naive. All the same he was far far ahead tha than n his his contemporary contem porary Cola di Rienzo, who could only view ancient Rome and its monuments with romantic eyes. Modern archaeology really began when the  Mirabil  Mir abilia ia   ceased to be taken take n seriou seriousl sly. y. F or their the ir rejection rejection was reall really y the assertion assertion o f a new new approach to history, a ref refusal usal to put p ut up any longer with w ith tales tales n o t backed backe d by reliable reliable evidence. evidence. M ore o r les less contem por porary ary w ith this new attitude attitude were the beginnings o f a study study o f ancient ancient remains rema ins on line liness which wh ich were w ere accurate a ccurate as well as novel. Before G iovanni D on ondi di the scrutinizi scrutinizing ng o f ancient ancient ruins ruins from a schola scholarl rlyy angle had been very excepti exceptional onal.. Ev Even en if some ancient ancient Roma Ro mann  bu  b u ild il d in ingg s h a d be been en v e ry oc occa casio siona nally lly m e asur as ured ed,, th this is h a d simply sim ply  bee e n d o n e f r o m c ur  b urio iosi sity ty a n d w ith it h o u t any u lte lt e r io iorr m ot otiv ive. e. N o 1 Supra, 50. 2 Ibid.   loc. cit. 8 Supra,  199.

CONCLUSION

205

one tried to see what they had originally looked like, and even during the first half of the Quattrocento Ciriaco’s reconstruction o f H adrian’ adria n’ss Mausoleum1 shows more fancy fancy than real realit ity. y. Here was was a fiel fieldd where wh ere Dona D onatello tello and Brunell B runelleschi eschi on one side side and Leon Le on Battis Battista ta Alberti on another an other proved pro ved to be pioneer pioneers. s. A fter Alberti this aspect o f antiquarian antiqua rian study developed develope d very quickly. quickly. I t is is  pre  p ress e n t in th thee pa page gess o f Bio B iond ndo o a nd his fo follo llow w er ers, s, an and d also als o in th thee numerous sketches of Roman ruins, where these remains are not regarded as exceptional objects, but rather as pieces of evidence capable of revealing all kinds of valuable information to the intelligent seeker. Thee new archaeol Th archaeology ogy was was founded durin during g the first first half o f the Quattrocento, its greatest achievement being perhaps the mastery mastery of the ancient ancient building building techniques. techniques. Th Thee second second half o f the century saw the consolidation of what the first half had achieved. achieved. Th Thee princi principles ples laid laid down by A lberti and Biondo were enthusiastically followed and a new methodology established. The critical approach introduced into philological studies by Lorenzo Lorenz o Valla Valla had a counterpart coun terpart in the methods used by Poggio and Biondo when consideri considering ng what wha t remained remained o f Roman anti antiquit quity. y. With these two scholars a new sentiment can also be found. Petrarch Pe trarch may have bewail bewailed ed the ruin o f ancient Rome and dreamt drea mt of a return to the ancient glory, with himself as the new Virgil and the new Livy. Livy. Biondo and Poggio Po ggio never entertained entertained such such illus illusions ions for one moment. Instead thanks to them a new need  bee g a n t o b e fe  b felt, lt, th thee impe im peri riou ouss ne nece cess ssity ity o f re resc scui uing ng,, o r at an anyy rate rec r ecord ording ing as much as possible possible of o f w ha hatt was stil stilll left left of o f ancient Rom e before before it should should vanis vanish h for ever. ever. In the work wo rk o f rescue rescue the worst enemies were not the ravages of time, but the contem  por  p orar arie iess o f B io iond ndo. o. I n fact, fac t, iron ir onic ic as it may ma y seem, seem , th thee R en enai ais s sance brought more destruction on the Roman ruins than any other age: the new Rome of the Renaissance meant the annihila tion o f the old. old. N or were the protests of humanists humanists from Petrarch to Andrea Fulvio any more successful than the entreaties of  prea  pr each cher erss to lo lovv e o n e ’s n e ig igh h b o u r. B u t th thee n it m u st be re real aliz ized ed that th at even when w hen the th e Renais R enaissance sance was at its its highest, its its ideals ideals were only intelligible intelligible to and a nd cherished by a very small small minority. minor ity. T he very fact that Sweynheim and Pannartz, the two Germans who  brr o u g h t p r in  b intt in ingg to Ital It aly y in 1465 a nd to R o m e tw o years yea rs late la ter, r, went bankrupt in 1471 simply because there was no market for  Cyriac o f Ancona,  pi. XII-XIII. 1Ashmole, Cyriac

206

CONCLUSION

their editions of the Latin classics, the very fact that in 1487 Alessandro Farnese, the future Pope Paul III, had to move from Rome to Florence in order to find satisfactory tuition in Greek,1 are indicati indicative ve of o f the real real situat situation ion.. Even Eve n the Florence Florence o f Lorenzo Lorenz o de’ Medici was hardly an exception; for the swiftness and depth of the reaction brought about by the preaching of Savonarola, suggest that even the foundations of the Medicean Renaissance cannot have been very solid. During the fifteenth and the first quarter of the sixteenth century—what happened later is outside the terms of reference of our survey—wherever humanism flourished antiquarian studies flourished also. also. B ut despite the labours o f Ciriaco d’Ancona, Renaissance archaeology was simply Roman archae ology. olog y. As for Etruscology and and Egyptology, neither neither of them was approached really seriously, but they were mainly left to the charlatanry of Annio da Viterbo and the erudite phantasies of Pierio Valeriano. Valeriano. O n the other othe r hand, besid besides es the actual actual anti quiti qui ties es of Rome, Rom e, Roman R oman remain remainss in other parts pa rts o f Italy Italy were also also studied and illustrated. illustrated. A fter Biondo’ Bion do’ss  Italia  Ita lia illustrata illus trata   investi gations into the early history and topography of a town and its countryside became a frequent pursuit among humanists. Sylloges of local Roman inscriptions began to be put together,  plaa yi  pl ying ng th thee rol roles es o f doc do c u m en enta tary ry co coro rolla llarie riess to t o such su ch di diss sser erta tatio tions ns.. A t the same same time time the new historiography historiograph y as developed developed by Bruni and Biondo B iondo had broade b roadened ned the range ra nge o f material materialss essent essentia iall to the historian. Th Thee testimony testimony which could be extracted extracted from ancient ruins, from statues and mosaics, but particularly from coins and inscriptions, was now fully appreciated, and any serious historian who dispensed with it, obviously did so at his personal risk. The development of the study of classical epigraphy during the fifteenth century was also conditioned by the new require ments of o f hi hist stori orical cal writing. writing. W ithout ithou t the help help o f epigraphy epigraphy the history of Milan by Alciati or that of Ferrara by Pellegrino Prisciani—but two among the many examples—would have been quite differe different nt.. Th Thee requirements re quirements o f history were also also at least least  paa r tly  p tl y re resp spon onsi sibl blee f o r th thee d e v elop el opm m en entt o f th thee stud st udy y o f an anci cien entt numismatics. F or the evidence prov provided ided by coins coins was was as valuable valuable to the historian as as it was was to the philologist. philologist. I f one was was to interpret interp ret accurately the many passages in the ancient authors where sums sums o f money were mentioned, a knowledge know ledge o f the values values of o f the 1 Carteggio umanistico di Alessandro Farnese,  ed. A. Frugoni, (Firenze, 1950) 32.

CONCLUSION

207 207

monetary denominations of classical antiquity was obviously essent essentia ial. l. It was becaus becausee of o f this that the metrologi me trological cal sid sidee of of numismatics was approached before the actual classification and descrip de scription tion of o f ancient coinages was ever eve r attempted. attem pted. Bude’ Bu de’ss  De  D e  Ass  A ssee  was not n ot only the philological masterpie masterpiece ce o f hi hiss age, bu t also the culmination of the numismatic studies of the humanists. T he age stretching from 1300 to 1527 saw saw the beginnings and early early developm ent of archaeological archaeological sci science. ence. Separated from and yet linked with philology (a word used here in its widest meaning and not as ‘linguistics’) archaeology became more and more an important part o f the the study of Anti A ntiquit quity, y, an aspec aspectt of it which no student could could any longer overlook. To Togeth gether er w ith  phi  p hilo lolo logy gy i t was wa s in inss tru tr u m e n tal ta l w h e n still stil l in its fir first st stage sta gess in revealing a fairl fairly y accurate accurate picture of o f R om oman an antiquity. antiquity. Needless Needless to say, today the handbooks of Biondo and Fulvio are no more essenti essential al reading re ading to the archaeologist, archaeologist, than the histori historical cal w orks o f Cluverius and Perizonius are to the beginner groping his way thro thr o ug h Rom an history. Y et much muc h as scholarly scholarly standards have improved since 1527, these works are still important and their legacy remains as valuable as as ever. T he reason rea son for this is that tha t in in countless countless instanc instances, es, and a nd this applies applies also to the works wo rks of o f Poggio, Pogg io, Leto, Albertini, and many others, they are the sole authority for a wealth of information about ancient remains which have now disappeared. Similarl Similarly y the massive massive volumes o f the Corpus  Insc  Inscrip riptio tionu num m 'Latin 'Latinaru arum m  would be certainly thinner without the many epigraphic texts transmitted to us solely by the sylloges of the humanists, just as the volumes of the Teubner collection of Greek and Roman writers would have been fewer without the discoveries and the rescue work which went on during the Renaissance. The Renaissance antiquarians were the Descartes of archaeo logy. log y. A new methodology was was introduced introduce d by them into their fiel field d of o f study, which wh ich was was really really the new m ethodology ethod ology pursue pu rsued d in the various provi provinces nces o f humanist huma nist learni learning. ng. They were the very m ethods which w hich also also led to the rise of m ode odern rn scienc sciencee which, more mo re than by its medieval heritage, was really brought about by the new understanding of classical science made possible by the humanists’ knowledge of Greek and their rescue of many an essent essentia iall text. Know Kn owledge ledge o f Greek Gre ek and the hum humanist anist id ideal ealss are are ultimately responsible for the utilitarian squalors of our tech nological age.

ADDENDA P. 1, n. 2:

See also R. Chevallier, Chevallier, ‘A ‘A propos prop os du “ R egiso eg isole” le” ’, Felix  Ravenna,  Ravenna, ser. 3, fasc. 46 (1968) 21-25.

P. 15, n. 1:

Late medieval representations of ancient monuments gave them a Go thic appe appear aranc ance. e. Thus in the (G iotto ?) Assisi As sisi fresco show ing the young youn g St. Franc Francis is receiving the simpleton’s simp leton’s homage in the main square of Assisi, the local temple of  Minerva Minerva is is made to loo k like a building in the style style o f Arnolfo Ar nolfo di Cambio. Cambio. It also has has only five five instead o f six six columns.

P. 16, n. 2:

According to Guido da Pisa’s commentary on the  Inferno o f Dante Dante (completed c. 1330), the statue of Mars on the Ponte Vecchio was annually festooned with wreaths on the last day of March, cf. L. Jenaro-McLennan, ‘The Dating of Guido da  Inferno’, Italian Ital ian Studies ,  XXIII Pisa’s Commentary on the  Inferno’, (1968) 42.

P. 24, n. 7:

What seems more probable probable is is that Benzo cop ied, or had had copied for him, some sections of the Ausonius manuscript which he found at Verona. Verona. This problem is being discussed by me in a paper I am preparing on the knowledge of Ausonius during the fourteenth century.

P. 37, n. 2:

Petrarc Petrarch h actua actually lly compose com posed d tw t w o inscriptions for his grandson. On these and the original stones see A. Petrucci,  L a scrittura scrittur a di Francesco Petrarca, (Citta del Vaticano, 1967) 68-69, pi. XX.

1- 2 . P. 82, n. 5:

See also C. Dionisotti, Gli umanisti e il volgare fra Quattro e Cinquecento, (Firenze, 1968) 39-41, 47-52.

P. 96, n. 3:

Molza’s canzone is entitled ‘in Morte Raph. Vrbin. pict. et archit. ad Le. X. P.M.’, starts ‘O beato et dal Cel diletto Padre’, ends ‘Haurebber nei primer stato rimessa’, and occupi occ upies es ff ff'. 46v46v- 4 9 r o f the manuscript. manu script.

P. 103, n. 2:

On the discovery of the ‘Domus Aurea’ and the graffiti written on its walls by Renaissance visitors, these including the painters Ghirlandaio and Pinturicchio, see especially N. Dacos, ‘Graffiti de la Domus Aurea’, bulletin de I'Institut   Beig  Beigee de Rome, fasc. XXXVIII (1967) 145-74, pi. I-XXXVI, ecouvert vertee de la Domus A ur urea ea et la form fo rmati ation on and N. Dacos,  L a deco des grotesques a la Renaissance, (London-Leiden, 1969), which the author’s courtesy enabled me to see in proof.

209

ADDENDA

P. 107, n. 2:

On early early visitors o f Hadrian’s Hadrian’s Villa, these the se including includin g Raphael Raphael and Pietro Bembo, see N. Dacos, Da cos, ‘Visitatori di di Villa Adriana’ Adriana’,,  Palatino  Pala tino,,  IX (1965) 9-12.

P. 123, n. 7:

Some of the Roman remains of Florence of course found mention in early historians and humanists, cf. N. Rubinstein,  H isto toria ria F lorentinorum’, Studi di biblio‘Bartolomeo Scala’s  His  grafia  gra fia e di storia sto ria in onor onoree d i Tammaro Tam maro de Marin Ma rinis, is,   IV, (Verona, 1964) 54-59.

P. 146, n. 1:

A short account of epigraphic studies during the Renaissance  Ep igrafi afia a L a tin a ,   (Milanois available in I. Calabi Limentani,  Epigr Varese, 1968) 42-51.

P. 150, n. 4:

A Latin epigram of Francesco Patrizi addressed to Fra  E pigr gram am-G ioco nd ndo o is print printed ed in L. F. Smith, Smith, ‘A ‘A N otice o f the Epi  matica  matic a   of Francesco Patrizi, Bishop of Gaeta’, Studies in the  Renaissa  Renaissance, nce,  X V (1968) 120. 120. It is interesting to know kn ow that Fra Fra Giocondo’s edition of Caesar, printed by Aldus in Venice in 1513, includes a map of Gaul, the plans of several towns, and pictures of the famous bridge on the Rhine.

P. 152, n. 4:

A second edition of Peutinger’s sylloge of Augsburg inscrip tions appeared in Mainz in 1520.

 a . 4 : P. 153,  a.

An account of Benedetto Giovio is in L. Rovelli, Gli storia locali comaschi, (Como, 1955).

P. 156, n. 6:

No copies of the 1519 edition or of the edition of the Italian version, issued in Parm Parma a in 1523, are are now no w known. kno wn. A trans trans cript of the 1523 edition made by V. Armanni is in Archivio di Stato, G ub ubbio bio,, Ms. II.C.4. See also P. Cenci, Cenci, ‘La ‘La Vita  Beati  Be ati Ubald Ub aldii  scritta da Giordano di Citta di Castello’,  Arc  A rch h ivio iv io  storic  sto ricop oper er la l a storia sto ria eccles ecclesiast iastica ica dell’IJmbria, de ll’IJmbria,  IV (1917-19) 70-136.

P. 158, 2:

Also in that of Felice Feliciano, cf. Biblioteca Marciana, Venice, Ms. Lat. XL 96 (3766), ff. 50', 53', 63*.

P. 160, n. 5:

For the inscriptions composed by Pontano and set up in his ‘tempietto’ and Egidio da Viterbo see V. Cilento, ‘Glosse di Egidio da Viterbo alia traduzione ficiniana delle Enneadi in un incunabulo del 1492’, Studi di bibliografia e di storia in onore  di  d i Tammaro Tamm aro de Mar M arin inis, is,   I (Verona, 1964) 282.

P. 161, n. 2:

A lapidary alphabet already occurs at f. 11v of the ninth century century Ms. Ms. 250 o f the Burgherbibliothek, Burgherbibliothek, Bern. Bern. Th Thee page is is ro sse-W -Wer erk k und Wirkun Wir kung, g,   (Aachen, reproduced in  K a r l der G rosse 1965) pi. 36.

ADDENDA

P. 162, n. 5:

210 210

scrittur tura a del  See also on the subject E. Casamassima, T ra ttati d i scrit Cinquecento italiano , (Milano, 1966). 1966). In his last last will Aldus left instructions for a new capital alphabet to be made by Giulio Manuce e t I'Hellenisme I'Helleni sme Campagnola, cf. A. Firmin Didot,  A i d e Manuce  a Venise,   (Paris, 1875) 490.

P. 163, n. 10 : A lso in Greek and and Latin is is the epitaph epitaph o f the humanist Uberto Decembrio, printed in V. Forcella,  Iscri^ioni delle  chie  chiese se ed alt a ltrr i edifici di Milan Mil ano o , III, (Milano, 1890) 231. P. 167, n. 1:

Another account is in R. Weiss, ‘The Study of Ancient  N u m is Numismatics during the Renaissance (1313-1517)’,  Nu  matic  ma tic Chronicle Chronicle,,  ser. 7, VIII (1968) 177-87.

P. 169, n. 6:

P oliph phili, ili,  ed. G. Poz 2i & See also F. Colonna,  Hypnerotomachia Poli L. A. Ciapponi, II, (Padova, 1964) 91-93.

P. 175, n. 8:

Ancient coinage was also considered, though solely from literary sources, in the commentary on Suetonius by Filippo Beroaldo the Elder, cf. Suetonius, Vitae,  (Mediolani, 1494)  ff.  a3r, b7r, d5r, m4v.

P. 195, n. 2:

See also V. Fanelli, ‘Le raccolte archeologiche dei Colocci’, Studi di bibliografia e di storia in onore di Tammaro de Marinis, II, II , (Verona, 1964) 281-88.

P. 197, n. 3:

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 M itte teil ilu u n g en des Eiche, Eiche, S. ‘O n th e dispersal dispersal of C ardinal B em bo 's Collections’,  Mit 1983, pp . 35 3533 -5 9 . Kunsthistorischen Institutes in Florenz, Florenz, XX VII, 3, 1983, Fav aretto, I. ‘A p p u n ti sulla sulla collezione collezione rinascim entale di Niccolo Leonico T om ei’,  Bo  B o llet ll etti tino no d e lM u seo se o Civico di Padova, Padova , 68, 19 1979 79,, pp . 1 5 -2 9 . Favaretto, I. ‘ “ U na trib u na ricca icca di m arm i . . A pp u nti per un a storia storia delle  A q u ile il e ia Nostr N ostra, a, LXV, 1984, collezioni dei G rim an i di Santa Maria Form osa’, Aq  p p . 2 0 6 - 3 9 . Fletcher, Fletcher, J. M. ‘Isabel ‘Isabella la d'E ste, pa tron an d collector’, collector’, in D. C ham bers a n d j. Splendours o f the Gonzaga Gonzaga (exhibition catalogue, Victoria Martineau (eds), Splendours and Albert Alber t M useum use um London), London ), London, 19 1981 81,, pp. 5 1 -6 3 . Fryde, E. B.  Hu  H u m a n ism is m a n d Renaissance Renais sance H isto is torio riogr grap aphy hy, London, 1983 pp. 143-57. [On Lorenzo dei Medici’s Patronage; financial background.] 11 tesoro di Lorenzo il Magnifico (catalogue Florence, 1972), 2 vols, vol. 1:  Le gemme,  N. Vast, D .  N . D a c o s , A . G i u l i a n o , a n d U . P a n n u t i (e d s ), v o l. 2:  I Vast, H eikam p an d A. A. G rote (ed s), Florenc Florence, e, 1973, 19 1974 74.. Perry, Perry, M M.. ‘C ardinal D om enico G rim an i’s i’s lega legacy cy o f ancien t art art toV em c € , Journa Journall o f the Warb Warbur urg g an d Courtauld Courtauld Institutes, Institutes,  XLI, 1978, pp. 215-44. Memo rie d i Perry, Perry, M. ‘Th ‘Th e statuario statuario pu bb lico of the V enetian R epu blic’, Saggi e Memorie stor storia ia dell'arte, 8,V\oK 8,V \oK nce, nce , 1972, pp. 75- 150; plates 221 -53. Schmitt, A. ‘Romische Antikensammlungen lm Spiegel eines Musterbuchs der Renaissance’,  Miin  M iinch chne nerJ rJah ah rb rbu u ch der de r b ild il d en d en K u n s t, ser. 3, XXI, 1970,  p p . 9 9 - 12 128. 8. Schweikhart, G. ‘Roma quanto fuit ipsa ruina docet. {Colloquium in der Bibliotheca Hertziana, Rom, 15-17 April 1986’, Kunstchronik, 40, 1987,  p p . 4 1 - 7 .

INDEX OF MANUSCRIPTS Bern, Biirgerbibiiothek B 42: 148 Eton College 141: 140 Florence, Archivio di Stato M.A.P., fil. 9, 135: 171 ------ Biblioteca Laurenziana Ashburnham 259: 169 Ashburnham 1657: 102 Plut. XXVIII. 15: 140 Plut. LXIX. 27: 155 ------ Biblioteca Moreniana Pecci 11: 123 Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale II, II. 327: 46 Magi. XXVIII. 5: 151| Holkham Hall, Norfolk 496: 159 London, British Museum Add. 34, 758: 52 Royal 12.B.XXII: 11 ------ Lambeth Palace 35: 55-56 Mantua, Archivio di Stato Archivio Archivio Gonzaga ser serie iess E .X X V .3, Busta 857: 103, 171 Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana D.420 inf.: 153, 156, 166 D.42 D. 425 5 in f. : 152, 175 175 Trotti 353: 152-153 Trotti 373: 147, 160 ------ Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense AG. IX. 35: 105 ------ Biblioteca Trivulziana 2154: 155 Modena, Biblioteca Estense Alpha L 5, 15: 148 Gamma Z 3, 2: 126 Munich, Bayer. Staatsbibliothek Ital. 216: 95 Naples, Biblioteca Biblioteca Nazionale VE 5: 156 New York, H.P. Kraus Miscellaneous Ms. of Italian Re naissance poetry: 96 Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale Lat. 6128: 156 Lat. 14360: 53

Ravenna, Biblioteca Classense 406:123 468: 170, 197 Rome, Biblioteca Vittorio Emanuele II

112:122 1004: 173 1005: 173, pi. 15 Turin, Biblioteca Nazionale E.III. 19: 173 Udine, Biblioteca Comunale Joppi 66: 122-123 Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana Barber, lat. 139: 72 Barber, lat. 1952: 146 Chig. F.V. 110, pi. 11 Chig. G.I. 31: 120, 123 Chig. I.VI. 204: 146 Chig. I.VII. 259: 22-23 Ottob. lat. 1208: 72 Ottob. lat. 1653: 95 Ottob. lat. 1863: 72 Ottob. lat. 2773: 130 Urb. lat. 1125: 152 Vat. lat. 1670: 197 Vat. lat. 3436: 169, 176 Vat. lat. 3450: 81 Vat. lat. 3750: 72 Vat. lat. 3851: 146 Vat. lat. 3898: 155 Vat. lat. 3906: 169, 176 Vat. lat. 5108: 117 Vat. lat. 5236: 165 Vat. lat. 5238: 158 Vat. lat. 5243: 149, 158 Vat. lat. 5395: 169, 176 Vat. lat. 5835: 124, 165 Vat. lat. 5836: 124 Vat. lat. 6263: 126 Vat. lat. 6808: 11 Vat. lat. 6845: 6845 Vat. lat. 8442: 160 Vat. lat. 9152: 147, 165

218

INDEX OF MANUSCRIPTS

Vat. lat. 10687: 146 Venice,BibliotecaNazionaleMarciana Lat. X. 195 (3453): 157 Lat. X. 196 (3766): 149 Lat. X. 197(3612): 152 Lat. XIV. 168 (4571): 154, 166, 171 171

Lat. XIV. 171 (4665): 151 Lat. XIV. 223 (4340): 49, 51 Lat. XIV. 251 (4685): 124 Lat. XIV. 260 (4258): 146 Museo Civico Correr Cicogna 1632: 151 Cicogna 2393: 154, 166

INDE X TO TEXT TEXT

 N o te : in d iv id u a l b u ild il d in g s , m o n u m e n ts a n d som so m e sta st a tues tu es are in d e x e d u n d e r th t h e place pla cess where where they they are are fou fou nd , e.g. the P arthenon is indexed und er Athens.

Aachen, 3 Acciauoli, Donato, 78 Accursio, Mariangelo, 81, 153, 156, 158-60, 165-6 Achilles, 144 Achillini, Giovanni Filoteo, 171 Acominatus, Michael, 132 Acqedotti, Vitale, 123  Acta  Ac ta Martyrum , 6 5 , 6 7 Agallianos, 140 Agnelli, Ludovico, 150-1, 197 Agnellus, 125 Agrippa, 189, 194 Agrippina, 38 Alatri, 63, 107 Albano, 108, 113 Alberti, Leandro,  Descrittione de tutta tu tta  I ’Italia, Italia,  130 Alberti, Leon Battista, 59-60, 73, 85, 90-2, 95, 106-8, 113-14, 119, 161-2, 196, 205  DeN  D eN ave, av e,   114  De re aedificatoria, 78, 107  Descriptio urbis Romae Roma e , 9 1 - 2 Albertini, Francesco, 60, 84-7, 166,207  Ephit  Ep hithap haphio hiorum rum libellus, libellu s,  1 5 7 - 8

Opusculum Opus culum novae novae et e t veteris veteris Urbi Urbiss  Roma  Ro maee, 85, 86 Alciati, Andea, 124, 152-4, 166, 175, 178, 206

 De re nummar num maria ia antiqu anti quor orum um ad  recentia recentia tempor tem pora a, 178  De Templo Temp lo D. Eustorgii,  85-6, 190 sylioge, 152-4 Alcibiades, see Socrates and Alcibiades Aldus, 127, 155, 162, 169 Alessandria, see Benzo d ’Alessandria Alessand Ale ssand ro, Alessandro d ’, 17 175 Alexander the Great, 170, 186

Alexander III, 6 Alexander VI, 34, 126 Alighieri, Dante, see D ante Alighier Alighierii Alighieri, Francesco, 130  Anti  An tiqu quit itat ates es Valentinae Valenti nae, 130 Almadiani, Agostino, 166 Altieri, Marcantonio, 195 Amalfi, 9 A m m ana nti, Jacopo , 168 Ancona, 146 Trajan’s arch, 138, 146 An cona , Ciriaco Ciriaco d ’, see see Ciriaco d ’Ancona Andrelini, Fausto, 185 Andros, 155 A ng nghiera hiera , Pietro Martire Ma rtire d ’, 11 110 Aniene (river), 107 A njo u, Charles Cha rles I of, K ing o f Sici Sicily ly,, 10 An jou, Charles II II of, K ing o f N aples, 27 An jou, Rob ert I of, K ing o f Naples, 27-8, 32 Annio da Viterbo, Viterbo, G iovanni Nanni called, 85-6, 94, 96, 114, 119-20, 125-6, 154, 164-5, 206  Alexandr  Alex andrina ina lucubratio ,126  Ant  A ntiq iqui uita tate tess, 126  De aure aureo o saeculo, 94  De marmoreis volturrhenis tabulis tabu lis, 154 Antenor, 18-19, 105, 121 Antiochos, 143 Antium, 108 A nton ius Pius, 80, 134 134,, 201 201 Apollo o f Belvedere Belvedere,, 1 0 2 -3 , 192 Apuleius, 43 aqueducts, 77-8, 79, 82, 85, 110, 113, 132, 134,142 Aquileia, 110, 122, 146, 166

220

IN D E X T O TEX T

Aragon, Alfonso of, Du ke o f Caiabfia, Alfonso II o f see see A ragon, Alfonso Aragon, Alfonso II of, King o f Naples, 195, 197 Aragon, Alfonso V, King of, (Alfonso I, King o f Nap les), 195 Aragon, Ferdinand, King of, 110 Aragon, Ferrante I of, of, K ing of Naples, 167, 195 Aragon, Peter IV, King of, 133 Arcimboldi, Giovanni (Bishop (Bishop of  Nov  N ov ara) ar a),, 200 Aretino, Pietro, 94 Aristides, Aelius, 64 Aristotle, 45, 59, 132, 134, 142-3 Arles, 16 Arretine ware, 13-14, 189 Arrighi, Ludovico, 111 Arundel marbles, 131 Ascoli Piceno, ‘Fortuna Redux’ inscription, 160 Astemio, Lorenzo, 158 Atestino, Girolamo, 114, 116 Athens, 131, 132 Acropolis, 133, 134-5, 140, 142 arch arch of H ad rian, 143 churc h o f St Mary Mary (i.e. the Parthenon), 132, 134 Hadrian’s aqueduct, 132, 134, 142 medieval attitude to ruins of, 132-3 m on um en t of Lysicr Lysicrat ates, es, 132 132,, 143 m onu m ent of Philopappos, 143 m on um en t of Thrasyl Thrasyllos los,, 140 Panaghia, church o f the (i.e. (i.e. the Parthenon), 132, 134 Parthenon, 132, 134, 139, 140, 142, 1433 14 Propylaea, 134 Stoa o f Eum enes, 142 tem ple o f Hephaistos, 132 tem ple o f O lymp ian Zeus, 14 142, 2, 143 the atre o f Dionysus, 143 ‘tower of the w ind s’, 139 139,, 142, 143 Attaius I, 103 Augsburg, 152, 158 Augusta, 12 Augustine, St, 2 Civitas Civitas Dei, De i, 2 Augustus, 3, 33, 51, 97, 106, 109, 118, 153, 167, 189, 194

Aurelian, 34, 64 Aurelius, Marcus, 191 equestrian statue of, see under  Rome,  Rome, Lateran Aurispa, Giovanni, 141 Ausonius, 24, 81 Avanzi, Girolamo, Pnapeia, 118 Balbinus, 22 Balduino, Antonelllo, 139 Balue, Je an de la, 93 Bandini, Domenico, 49, 55-6, 75, 119 Bandino, 170 Barbaro, Ermolao, 78, 81, 156, 175, 189 Casligationes Plinianae, 81 Barbaro, Francesco, 112, 122, 163 Barbaro, Giosafatte, 144 Barbaio, Zaccaria, 152, 163, 189 Barbo, Pietro, see see Paul II Bartolo, Taddeo di, 6, 90 Basini, Basinio, 163 Beatrice, Co untess untes s o f Tuscany, Tus cany, 9, 14 Beccari, Niccolo, 48 Bede, 67,86 Bede, Pseudo, 8 Begna, Giorgio, 148 Bellievre, Claude de, 193 Bellini, Gentile, 172, 182 Bellini, Giovanni, 93, 172 Bellini, Bellini, Jacop o, 1 6 3 -4 , 172 Belluno, 127 see Vatican Belvedere, see Bembo, Bernardo, 83 Bembo, Pietro, 169, 194, 198, 201-2 Benevento,109 Benzod’Alessandria, 21, 24-6, 105, 122, 129, 204 Bergamo, 172 Bergomensis, G iacomo Filippo Foresti Foresti called, Supplementum Chronicarum, 93 Berlin, 182 Berlinghieri, Francesco, Geographia, 108, 111-12 Beroaldo, Filippo, the Elder, 85-6 Berry, Berry, Je an , D uk ukee of, 6, 53, 90 Bertoldo, 174 Besozzo, Leonardo da, 6 Bessarion, 79-80 Bibbiena, Bernardo Dovozi da, 201

INDEX TO TEXT TEXT

Biel, Gabriel,  De p o t estate et utilitate monetarum , 175 Biondo, Flavio, 59, 60, 76, 85, 87, 91, 113, 122, 128, 186, 205

 De Roma Rom a trium tr iumph phan ante te (Romae triumphantislibri), 68, 174  De verbis verbis romanae locutionis locuti onis, 6 6 - 8  Italia illustrata, illustrata, 108-9, 110, 111, 119, 130, 206 5,  Roma  Ro ma instaurata, instaurata, 6 8 - 7 0 , 7 1 - 2 , 7 5, 88, 92,174 Bitylon, 140 Blois, Henry of, 9 Boccaccio, Giovanni, 35,43-7,49, 54, 1055 10  De cla claris ris mulierib muli eribus us, 46  Elegy  Elegy fo r Costanza, Costanza, 44 Genologi Genologia a Deorum Deo rum,, 54 Boccardo, Pilade, 123, 146 Boethius, 3 Boiardo, Matteo Maria, 171 Bologna, 17, 59, 174 Bologni, Girolamo, 154, 166, 171  Antiqu  An tiquari arius, us, 154 Bologni, Giulio, 154 Bonatti, Bartoiemeo, 196 Boniface VIII, 15, 19,41 Bonsevin da Riva,  De magnalibus magnal ibus urbis  Roma  Ro maee, 26  bo o k p ro d u c tio ti o n , R en enai aiss ssan ance ce,, 1 5 9 - 6 0 Borgia, Caesar, 198-9 Borgo Borgo S San an Do nn ino , 25 Borgovico, 117 Bosporus, 131 Bossi, Ambrogio, 105 Bossi, Matteo, 170 Bracciolini, Poggio, 17, 34, 55, 59, 76, 85, 91, 165, 166 as collector, 170, 183-4  De avariti avaritia, a, 174  De varieta varietate te fortu fo rtuna nae, e, 63-6, 75 sylloges, 147, 148, 149 Bracelli, Giacomo, 184  De bello hispaniensis, hispaniens is, 111

 Desciptio orae orae ligusticae, ligusticae,   111 Braye, Guillaume de, 14 Brescia, 3, 115, 117, 126-7, 150, 152, 159, 161, 165, 171, 187 Brescia, Arnold of, 10 Brossano, Francesco da, 36 Brugnoli, Florimante, 198

221

Brugnoli, Ludovico, 199 Brunelleschi, Battista di Pietro, 157 Bruni, Leonardo, 54, 105-6, 183, 206 Brutus, 194, 197, 201 Bude, Guillaume, 177, 207  De ass assee et parti pa rtibu buss eius, eius, 177-8, 207 Buondelmonti, Cristoforo, 135-8, 155, 1855 18  Descriptio Insula Cretae, 136  Liber Insularem Archipelagi, Archipelag i, 136, 137 Bussolari Bussolari,, Jaco po, 40 Caesar,Julius, 36, 111, 122, 127, 150, 164, 172, 194-5, 197 Caffarelli, Prospero, 160 Cagli, 51 Calandrini, Filippo, 112 Calchi, Tristano, 130, 166 Calderini, Domizio, 163 C alenda r of 354, 4 calendars, epigraphic, 158, 195 Calfurnio, Giovanni, 163 Caligula, 108 calligraphers, Renaissance, 162 Caloiro, Tomasso, 36 Calvo, Marco Fabio, 95-8

 Antiq  An tiqua uaee Urbis Urbis Romae Roma e cum regionibus simulacrum simula crum, 9 7 - 8 Cambio, Arnolfo di, 14 Campagnola, Girolamo, 127 Campesani, Benvenuto, 22 Canensi, Michele, 168 see O picino de Canistris Canistris, see Canistris Cantacuzenus, George, 140 Capgrave Capgrave,, Jo hn , Sola Solace ce o f Pilgrims, 74-5 Capocci, Giovanni, 157 Capodiferro, Fausto Maddaleni, 100 Capranica, G iovann i Ba ttista, 16 1666 Caprioli, Elia, 115-17, 126, 150, 159, 166,171 Capua, 134, 204 Caradosso, Cristoforo Foppa called, 190, 200 20 0

Carafa, Diomede, 190, 195 Carolingians, 3-4 Carpaccio, Vittore, 189 Carrara, Francesco the Elder da, 38, 53 Carrara, Francesco Novello da, 53 Casio, Girolamo, 198 Cassiodorus, 70-1, 129

222

INDEX TO TEXT TEXT

Castellam are di Stabia, 12 128 8 Castiglione, Baldassare, 95, 202 Castiglione Fiorem ino, R inuccio inuccio da, 13 136 6 Castile, Isabella of, 110 Castracani, Castruccio, 185 Catullus, 1, 22, 24 Cavallini, Giovanni, Polistoria, 4 2 - 3 Cellini, Benvenuto, 14 Ceperana, San Venanzio, 116 Cesariano, Cesare, 95 Cesarini, Guiliano, 193 Cesena, 122, 164 Cesena, Francheschino da, 171 Cestius, 46, 56, 65 Chalcidius, 11 Charlemagne, Emperor, 3, 9, 125 Charles IV, Emperor, 37, 46 Charles V, Emperor, 87, 166 Charles VIII, VIII, K ing o f France, 93 , 15 157 7 Chigi, Agostino, 194 Chios, 137 Chiusi, 115 Chrysoloras, Emanuel, 54, 56, 62, 135 Cicero, 1, 13, 31, 38, 42, 102, 128 Cippico, Pietro, 148 cippuses, 159, 163 Ciriaco Ciriaco d ’An con a, 91, 122, 131, 131, 137-42, 162, 164, 169-70, 183, 186, 196, 206 coins collected by, 170 Commentaria,  109, 147  De Virtutibu Virtu tibus, s,  141 inscripti inscriptions ons coll collecte ectedd by, 1 47 -5 7, 155-6, 166  Itinera  Itin erariu rium m, 109 trave travels ls in Greece, 1 37 -4 0 travels in Italy, 109-10, 117, 118 Cirrha, Andronicus of, 139 C itta di Castello, 55 Cividale, 156 Civita Castellana, 111 Civitali, Matteo, 114 Classe, 6, 116 Basili Basilica ca o f S an t’A t’A pollinare, pollin are, 123 see also Ravenna Claudius, 125 Clement VII, 193 Cleopatra, 103 Clodius, 106 Cluverius, Philip, 207 coins, ancient

cop ied by Renaissance Renaissance medallists, 173-4 Etruscan, 170 Greek, 170 Renaissance Renaissance collect collectors ors of, 16 7 -7 1 Renaissance Renaissance iconograp iconograp hies based on , 179 Renaissance Renaissance pictorial reprod uctions of, 178-9 used used by by humanists, humanists, 3 7 -8 , 85, 85, 17 4-5 used by Renaissance artists, 171-3 Collenuccio, Pandolfo, 160, 185 Colloci, Angelo, 81, 169, 185 Colonna, Francesco, 123, 163 Colonna, Giovanni, 32-5, 51 Colonna, Prospero, 108, 113, 186, 193 Commenali, Osberto, 12 Commodus, 72, 174, 191-2 Como, 117, 129, 153 Conrad I, Emperor, 179 Constance, 63, 64 Constantina, sarcophagus of, 100, 104 Constantine, 3, 6, 41, 54, 65-6, 88, 102, 172,174 Constantinius II, 191 Constantinople, 9, 131, 132 ‘Agulia’, 137 Hagia Sophia, 137, 139, 144 Hippodrome, 137, 144 obelisk, 144 Contarini, Francesco, 186 Corinth, 143 Corner, Niccolo, 186 Corneto, 114, 119 Corpu Corpuss Inscriptionum Inscri ptionum Latinarum, 207 Corsi, Pietro, 111 Cortesi, Alessandro, 102, 150-1 Cos, 198 ‘Cosmati’, 9 Cossutius, 195 Costanzi, Antonio, 174 Cremona, Gugliemo da, 49 Crescentii, Nicolaus, 9 Crescentius, 4 Crete, 135, 136, 185-6 Crinito, Pietro, 79, 175 Crivelli, Giovani, 63 Cronachadi Partenope, 27-8 Cyprus, Jan us , K ing of, of, 141 Cyzicus, Hadrian’s temple, 139

INDEX TO TEXT TEXT

Da lberg, Jo ha nn von, 176 Damascus, St, 67 Dandolo, Benedetto, 186 Dante Alighieri, 21, 132  Divine  Div ine Come Co medy dy , 16, 132  Monarchia, 7 Dei, Benedetto, 144 Delos, 137 Etruria rega regali, li, Dempster, Thomas,  De Etruria 119  Descriptio  Descriptio Later Laterane anensis nsis Eccle Ecclesiae siae, 6 Desiderius, K ing of the Lom bards, 12 126, 6, 151,165 Diaconus, P etrus, see Peter the Deacon Diocletian, 65, 69, 80, 104 Dionysius, 143 dipt diptychs ychs,, Roman 2 -3 D odo na, tem ple of Zeus, 140 Dolfin, Giovanni, 186 Domitian, 65, 67, 172 Dondi, Giovanni, dell’Orologio, 24, 49-53, 57, 105, 204 Du lcinio, lcinio, Stefano, Sirmio, 118 Egnazio, Giovanni Battista, 81, 170, 177 Egypt, 155-6 Einhard, 3 Einsiedeln, 5, 147 Eleusis, 135 England, 74-5 see inscriptions epigraphy, see Erasmus, 111, 127, 177  Adagio  Ada giorum rum Chileades, 111 Erfurt, 157, 158 Ermacora, Ermacora, Fabio Quin tiliano,  De antiquitatibus Carneae, 122 Esculapius, 195 Este, 114-15, 116, 163, 164 Este, Este, Alfonso I d ’, Du ke o f Ferrara, Ferrara, 19 196 6 Este, Este, B o rso d ’, D uk e of Ferrara, Ferrara, 51, 10 108 8 Este, Cardinal Ipp olito d ’, 19 198 Este, Ercole Ercole I d ’, D uk e o f Ferrara, 13 130, 0, 171, 196 Este, Este, Leonello d ’, Marquis of Mod ena, Lord o f Ferrara, Ferra ra, 167, 172, 19 196 6 Este, Niccolo Niccolo III d ’, Marquis of M odena, Lord o f Ferrara, 51 Este Go nza ga ga,, Isabella d ’, 121 121,, 16 167, 7, 171, 17 1, 182,, 1 9 6 -9 , 20 182 201 1 Etruscans, 119-20, 157

223

Eugenius IV, 60, 99, 186 Eumenes, 142 Europa, 46 Eusebius, 31, 34-5 Evander, 10 Ezzelino III III da Ro man o, 20 Fabatus, Calpurnius, 117 Fagianini, Filippo, 155 Falier, Marin, 28 Fano, 109,158 arch o f A ugu stus , 11 118, 8, 153 153 Fano, Ulisse Ulisse Lanciarini da , 19 1944 Fantaguzzi, Giano, 170 Fanti, Francesco Sigismondo, 162 Farnese, Alessandro, see Paul III ‘Fasti Consolari Colotiani’, 195 Faustina, 38, 46, 189, 198 Feliciano, Felice, 98, 145, 148-9, 151, 161-2, 166, 170 Ferentino, 63 Ferrara, 70, 138, 196 Ferrarini, Michele, 127, 149-50, 155, 159, 165 Ferretti, Gian Pietro, 124 Festus, 85 Fiano, Francesco da, 56-7 Fieschi, Guglielmo, 9 Fiesole, 170 Filarete, Filarete, A nton io Averlino called, 68, 172 Filelfo, Francesco, 119 Fiore, Fiore, G iovanni An drea di, 19 1988 Firenze, Giusto da, 190 Firenze, Mariano da, 86 Fiumicino (river), 111 Flora, Joachim of, 39 Florence, 16-17, 25, 84, 155, 161, 167, 168, 170,173 hu m anis ts in, 5 4 - 8 , 180, 180, 182, 182, 18 183 Santa San ta Maria del Fiori, 16 1633 Santa Trinita, 16 1644 seal of, 25 Florus, 77 Fonzio, Bartolomeo, 77-8, 146, 164 Foresti Foresti,, Giacom o Filippo, see see Bergomensis Formula Formula litterarum litte rarum scholasticarum, 19 Forzetta, Oliviero, 28-9 Foscarini, Marco Antonio, 200

224

INDEX TO TEXT TEXT

Frascatoro, Girolamo, 49 Frederick Barbarossa I, Emperor, 3-5 Frederick II, Emperor, 12-13,23. 134, 203-4 Frederick III, Emperor, 5, 73, 75 Fredi, Felice di, 103 Freising, Freising, O tto of, Gesta Fridirtci I   Imperatoris  Imperator is, 4 Friuli, 110, 123 Frondnus, 64, 95 Fulvio, Andrea, 60, 86-9, 96, 99, 159, 166, 174, 178-9, 205, 207  Antiqu  Ant iquaria aria Urbis, 87  Antiq  An tiquia uiatat tates es Urbi Urbis, s, 8 7 - 9

 Illustri  Illu strium um imagines ima gines,, 178-9 Furni, 137

Gades, 141, 148, 164 Gadio, Stazio, 198 lap ygiae,, Galateo, Antonio,  De situ lapygiae 115, 117, 123,156 Galba, 54, 173 Gallo, Egidio, 194 Garda, Lake, 110, 118, 127, 146, 160, 163 G attam elata, Erasmo Erasmo da Na rni called, called, 163 Gattilusio, Francesco, 141 Gaudiosus, 129 Gaza, Theodor, 185 Gerbert, see Sylvester II Geremia, Cristoforo, 174, 196 Germany in Middle Ages, 4 see also Berlin; Einsiedeln; Erfurt; Mainz; Mainz; Nu remb erg Gherardi, Giacomo, 166 Ghiberti, Lorenzo, 49, 102, 172, 180-1, 188, 196 Ghirlandaio, Domenico, 84, 93, 98, 103, 164,172 Gilles, Pierre, 131 Giocondo, Fra, 80, 146, 150-1, 158-9, 1655 16 Giotto, 15, 73 Giovio, Benedetto, 117, 121, 129-30, 153-4, 166, 175  Historiae  Historiae Patr Patriae iae Libri Duo, Duo , 129 - 30 Giovio, Paolo, 49, 117, 130 Giusti, Giusto dei, 117

Giustinian, Bernardo,  De origine urbis Veneteiarum, 122 Giustiniani, Andreolo, 170, 183-5 Gloucester, Humfrey, Duke of, 75 Gonzaga, Cardinal Francesco, 173, 189-90, 195-7 Gonzag a, Federico Federico,, Marquis Marquis o f Ma ntua, 197 Gonzaga, Francesco, Marquis of Mantua, 121, 171, 196-7 Gonzaga, Gian Lucido, 167, 196 Go nzaga, Ludo Ludovi vico, co, Marquis of Mantua, 164, 173, 196 Gordian, 140, 172 Gordian II, 35 Gortyn labyrinth (Crete), 135, 136, 137 Grapbia Grapbia Aurea Aure a Urbis Urbis Roma Ro mae, e,  8, 25, 33, 42, 43, 67 Grassi, Angelo, 185 Gray, William, 75 see Athens; Chios; Cos; Crete; Greece, see  Nax  N axos os;; R ho hode dess Greek , scholars of, in Italy, 27 - 8 Gregorius, Magister, 7, 8  De mirabilibus mirabi libus urbis Romae, 7 - 8 Gregory the Great, St, 3, 55, 67

 Mor  Morali alia, a, 55 Grimani, Marino, 194 Grottaferrata, 12, 63, 102, 188 Guarino, Battista, 77 Tabulae Iguvinae, Iguvina e,  156 Gubbio, Tabulae Guglielmo, Fra, 14-15 Guiscard, Robert, 8 Gythium, 140 Hadrian, 11, 34, 52, 107-8, 132, 134, 139. 142-3, 203, 205 Hadrian VI, 199, 204 Halicarnassus, Dionysius of, 64, 96 Hawkwood, Sirjohn, 163 Hebrew inscriptions, 156 Helen, St, 102 Heliodorus, 141, 148, 164 H enry VI, Em pero peror, r, 5 Henry VII, Emperor, 25 Heraclius, 54, 172 Herculanum, 128 Hercules, 103 on seal of Florence, 53 Herodotus, 140 hieroglyphs, Egyptian, 155-6

INDEX TO TEXT TEXT

Hildcsh eim, B ernard of, of, 4  Historia Augus Au gusta, ta,  24, 35, 38, 173  Histon  His tona a Bn to n u m , 11 H o m er, er , 31, 137 —8 Homonoea, Claudia, 44, 146 Honnecourt, Villard de, 13, 24 Horace, 1 Horapollo, 155 humanists, 17 antiquities collected by, 182-5 inscripti inscriptions ons collected collected by, 1 4 5- 59 ,

225

Jo hn XX III, III, An tipope, 62 Julius II, 83, 101, 103, 163, 188, 192 Justinian, 137, 141 Juvenal, 1 Katsingri, 139

La Spezia, G u lf of, 111 Lambertenghi, Leone, 25 Landino, Cristoforo, 85 Lando, Vitale, 124 1666 16 Latin, o rthog raph ic studies of, 71 71 inscription made by, 162-4, 165-6 LeoX, 87, 94-5, 101, 158, 190-1, 193, in P ad ad ua ua , 1 7 - 2 1 , 4 8 , 4 9 - 5 0 204 in Rome, 28 28,, 5 9-7 2, 182 -5 Leonardo da Vinci, 84, 94, 115, 162 in Veron Verona, a, 2 1 -4 Leone, Ambrogio, 109 H uttich, uttich, Joha nn, 159, 17 8-9  De Nola, No la,  1 2 7 - 9  Irnperatorum Romano Rom anorum rum libellus Leto, Pomponio, 59, 76-9, 85-9, 96, una cum imaginabus imaginabus ad a d viva vivam m 98, 151, 157, 160, 162, 166, effigiem effig iem expre expressi ssis, s, 179 207  Excerpta  Excerpta 7 6 - 7  Ilias  Ilias Latina,  158  Not  N otiti itia a regionum regio num Urbis Urbis (revision), 76  Illustrium  Illus trium imagin ima gines, es,  1 7 8 - 9 lettering, Renaissance pattern books, Imola, Benvenuto da, 50 161-2 Innocent II, 8 ‘Letto di Policleto’, 181 Innocent IV, 10 Lewi Lewiss IV o f Bavaria, Bavaria, E m pero peror, r, 26, 43 Innocent VIII, 100, 102, 126, 191 Lewis the Pious, Emperor, 23 inscriptions  Lex de Imperio Imperi o (Vespasian), (Vespasian),  12, 19,40 abbreviated, handbooks to, 165 Libanius, 64 early Christian, 157  LiberPo  Lib erPontific ntificalis, alis,  23, 65, 67 forged, 164-6 Liege, Ra therius of, 21 ‘Fortuna Redux’, 160 Limburg Brothers, 90 Greek, Greek, 4 4 -5 Livy, 1, 18, 20-1, 31, 36, 38-9, 42-4, humanist, 162-4, 165-6 48, 70, 96, 121, 205 humanist sylloges of, 145-9 Lolli, Gregorio, 108 in Mainz, 159 Lorenzetti, Ambrogio, 204 medieval, 157 Loschi, Antonio, 63, 91  pre  p re-- R o m a n , 1 5 6 - 7 Lotto, Lorenzo, 200 Renaissance, 161-5 Louis Louis XI, King o f France, 102 Renaissance artists using, 163-4 Lovati, Lovato, 18-20, 49 Roman, Roma n, 2, 11 -12, 3 6 -7 ,4 4 , 45 45 , L uc an ,1 52-3, 55, 78, 79-80, 85, 88, 146 Lucca, 9, 12 ‘Sanctio', 112, 122, 165 Lucretius, 1, 17 Isidore Isidore o f Sevil Seville le,, 2 2 -3 Luni (Luna), 55, 111, 112, 114, 116, itineraries, pilgrims’, 5, 74-6 185,188 Ivani, Antonio, 111, 116, 189 Lunigiana, 111 Lupiae, 117 Jennaro, Pietrojacopo de, 167 Lysicrates, 132, 140, 143 Jerome, St, 31 Lysimachus, 169 Job, Leonardo, 72 Lysippusjunior, 162 Jo hn XXII, 26 26

226

INDEX TO TEXT

Macrobius, 36, 121-2 Maffei, Agostino, 72, 194 Maffei, Mario, 83, 158 Maffei, Raffaele, see Volaterrano Mainz, 159 Malatesta, Carlo, 51, 120 Malatesta, D om enico called called N ovello,148 ovello,148 M aliabechi aliabechianus, anus, Anonym us, Tractatus

de rebus antiquis antiqu is et situ Urb rbis is  Roma  Ro maee, 60

Medici, Carlo di Cosimo de, 161, 171 Medici, Cosimo di Giovanni de’, the Elder, 168, 181-2, 184, 188 Medici, Giovanni di Cosimo de’, 171, 188 Medici, Giovanni di Lorenzo de, see Leo X Medici, Lorenzo di Piero di Cosimo de’, the Magnificent, 78, 80, 150- 1, 168, 174, 188-90, 195, 197, 202, 206 Medici, Medici, Lorenzo di Piero di Lorenzo d e ’,

Mallio, Pietro, 6,11 Malmesbury, William of, 6, 115 Manetti, Antonio, 62-3 101,123 Manili, Lorenzo, 10, 163 Medici, Piero di Cosimo de’, 167-8 Mansionario, Giovanni, 22-4, 37 Medici, Piero di Lorenzo de’, 190, 198 Medusei, Antonio, 116  Historia  Historia Imperialis, 22-3 Mantegna, Andrea, 121, 145, 149, 164, Melanese, see Prospectivo Mendoza, Pedro de, 102 172,, 172 1 8 1 -2 , 196, 19 198 8 Menelaus, 140 M antovano, B attista Spagnoli called, called, Mergellina, 44 160 Merula, Giorgio, 166 Mantua, 120, 161, 167, 196  Antiq  An tiqui uita tates tes Viceco Vic econn nntum tum, 124 manuscripts, Roman, 3-4 metrology, 175-6 Manuzio, Aldo, see see Aldus see also coins Marcanova, Giovanni, 98, 124, 145, Meursius, Jo ha nn es , 131 148-9, 170 Marcellinus, Ammianus, 64 Michael Angelo (Michelangelo), 192, Marcellus, 82 199 Michelozzi, Niccolo, 116 Mariano da Firenze, Fra,  Itinerarium urbis Romae, 86 Michiel, Marcantonio, 96, 130, 200-1 Marius, Caius, 163 Milan, 105, 122, 124, 125, 152, 173, 200 Marliani, Bartolemeo, 68, 88-9, 93 Marschalk, Nicolaus, 157-8 Milo, 106 Marsi, Pietro, 85  Mirabilia  Mirabilia Romae Urbis, 6,7, 33, 35,61, Marsigli, Luigi, 38 62, 66, 73, 84, 85, 100, 204 Marsuppini, Carlo, 183 Mithridates, 8 Marsyas, 188 Mnesicles, 134 Martin V, 6 2 - 4 , 73, 14 146, 6, 160 160 Mocetto, Girolamo, 129 M artoni, artoni, N icolo, Liberperegrinat Modena Cathedral, 10  Liberpe regrinationis ionis Mohammed II, 141 a d Loc Loca a Sancta Sanct a, 133-5 Massaio, Pietro del, 92 Molza, Francesco Maria, 96 Matociis, Giovani de, see Mansionario Monfort, Vincenzo de, 163 Montano, Callisto, 149 Maturanzio, Francesco, 115 Maximian, 117, 127 Montecassino, 64, 184 Maximilian I, Emperor, 152, 155 Monza, 3 Maximus, Fabius, 152, 163 Moravus, Valentinus, 164 Maximus, Valerius, 1, 38, 42 Moyle, Damiano da, 162 Mazzocchi, Jaco Ja co po , 154 154,, 157 Muffel, Nikolaus, 60, 75-6 Miinzer, Hieronymus, 164  Epigrammata Anti An tiqu quae ae Urbis, 154, Mussato Mussato,, Albertino, Albertino, 2 0 -1 , 32 158-9, 160, 165  Ecerinis  Ecerinis, 20 epigraphic calendars, 158 medals, Renaissance, 53-4, 162, 172-3 Mycenae, 139

INDEX TO TEXT  N a n n i, G iov io v a n n i, see A nnio da Viterbo Viterbo  Nap  N ap les le s collectors in, 195-6 tem ple o f Dioscuri, 14 146, 6, 16 167 7 translators of G reek in, 27  N a p les le s , G iov io v a n n i O rsin rs ini, i, A rchb rc hb isho is ho p of, 42  Nax  N axos os,, 198  N e g ro p o n te , G iog io g io d a , 17 171 1  N e m i, Lake La ke,, 10 108, 8, 113  N e n n iu s , 11  Ne  N e ro , 17 172, 2, 188  Ne  N e s tor, to r, 140  Nic  N icco coli, li, N icco ic colo lo,, 63 63,, 106 106,, 1 3 5 - 6 , 155, 169, 174, 182, 184, 186  Nic  N icho hola lass V, 64 64,, 66 66,, 70, 75 75,, 9 8 - 9 , 186, 1911 19  Nic  N icoo p olis ol is,, 140  No  N o la, la , 109 109,, 1 2 7 - 9  Notitia  No titia D igni ig nita tatu tum m, 4  Notit  No titia ia region reg ionum um Urbis Urbis,,  76, 79-80  Notit  No titia ia urbis Constantinop Constant inopolita olitanae nae, 132  No  N o va vara ra,, B isho is hopp o f, see Aicimboldl, Giovanni numismatics, see see coins  N u re m b e rg , 75, 178 Ochsenbrunner, Thomas, 87, 179

Priscorum Heroum Stemmata, 87 Oddoni, Andrea, 187, 200 Odofredus, 12, 19, 40 O lm iitz, Ja n Ocko, Bishop of, of, 37 Op icino de Canistris, Canistris, 26

 Liber de laudibus laudib us civitatis civitatis Ticinens Ticinensis, is, 26-7 Oresme, Nicolas, 175

Tract Tractatu atuss de origine et jure ju re necnon et  de mutationibus monetarum,  175 Orsini, Orso, 128 Ostia, 163, 183, 188 Otho III, III, 3 - 4 , 7, 27 Ovid, 1, 43, 61, 70, 121, 167 Pacificus, Archdeacon, 21 Pacioli, Luca,  De divin di vinap apro ropo port rtion ione, e, 162

Padua, 36,44, 58, 151, 163, 164 colle collect ctors ors in, 2 0 0 -1 c ult ul t o f Livy Livy in, in , 121 hum anis ts in, 17 - 21, 48, 49 - 50 medals produced in, 53 ‘Sala Virorum Illustrium’, 38

227

Santa Giustina, 21 tom b of A nten or, 18 18,, 121 Paestum, 105 Paganini, Alessandro, 160 Paganini, Paganino, 160 Palaeologus, Constantine, 140 Palaeologus, Palaeologus, Jo h n , 14 1400 Palaeologus, Jo h n VIII, Em peror, 54 Palatino, Giovanni Battista, 93 Palermo, 123, 156 Palladio, Blosio, 194 Pallas, 10 Pallavicino, Antoniotto, 199 Pannartz, Arnold, 205 Pantagatus, see see Capranica, Giovanni Battista Panteo, Giovanni Antonio, 116- 18  De laudibus laudi bus Verona Veronae, e,  117 Pardubitz, Ernst von, 41 Parione, 195 Paris, 187 Paris, Matthew, 13 Parma, 36 Cathedral, 121-2 tom b o f Macrobius, 12 1222 Parrassio, Giano, 124 Partenio, Antonio, 118 Partenio, Bartolemeo, 166 Pasti, Matteo de, 161 Pastrengo, Guglielmo da, 24, 48 Patrizi, Francesco,  De origine et  antiquitate Urbis Senae,  123 Paul, 82 Paul II, 100, 102, 104, 168, 171, 174, 184 collections of, 186-8, 196-7, 200 206 6 Paul III, 126, 20 Paulinus, St, 128 Pavia, 1, 25, 26, 37, 59  basi  ba silic licaa o f San S an P ietr ie troo in Ciel Ci el d ’Oro ’O ro,, 27 Certosa, 172 Pelacani, Biagio, 122 Pergola, Paolo della, 141 Perizonius, Jaco b, 20 2077 Persius, 1 Pertinax, 23 Perugia, 156 Pesaro, 147 Peter the Deacon, 159, 165  De notis literarum, 159

228

INDEX TO TEXT

Petrarch, 3, 8, 16, 24, 28, 30-9, 41, 43, 44, 46, 48, 49, 50, 52, 54  Africa,  32, 35, 37, 56 coins studied by, 37-8, 53 coronation of, 28, 32  De remedit rem editss, 34-5  De viris viris Illustr Illu stribu ibuss, 38, 49 inscriptions studied by, 36  Invective in medi m edicu cum, m, 49  Itinerarium Syriacum, Syriacum ,  119 letter to Colonna, 32-4, 51  Rerum  Reru m memo m emoran randoru dorum m libri, lib ri, 37 Peutinger, Konrad, 152, 158 Pheidias, 35, 69, 86, 184 Ph ilip o f M acedonia, 17 170, 0, 18 187 7 Philopappos, 139 Philostratus, 173 Piazzola, Rolando da, 19-20 see Piccolomini, Francesco Todeschini, see Pius II Pico, Gianfrancesco, 193 Pictor, Pseudo Fabius, 94 Pienza, 168  pil  p ilgg rim ri m s ’ g u ides id es , 5, 7 4 - 6 Pinturrich io, 93 Piombino, 111 Piraeus, 143 Pirkheimer, Willibald, 155, 178 Pisa, 9, 14, 15 Baptistery, 14 Cathedral, 15 sarcophagus, 14 Pisanello, Pisanello, A nto nio Pisano called, 54 54,, 163, 171-2, 180 Pisano, Giovanni, 15 Pisano, Nicola, 14, 204 Pisciatello (river), 111, 112 Pistoia, 15, 189 Pistoia, Francesco da, 184 Pius II, 99, 109, 112, 168

Commentarii rerum rerum memorabilium, memorabilium ,

Plutarch, 66, 70, 86 Podager, see Roma no, A nton Lel Lelio Podocataro, Livio, 193 see Bracciolim Poggio, see Pola, 16, 110 Politian, 71, 81, 160, 166, 173-4, 178, 189  Miscellenea  Miscellenea, 81, 166, 174-5 Pollaiullo, Antonio, 189 Polonus, Polonus, Martinus, Martinus, 4 6 - 7 , 52 52,, 62, 62, 67 67 Polycletus, 125, 196 Pompey the Great, 8, 70 Pomposa, 18 Pontano, Gioviano, 78, 121, 130, 156, 160, 166,196  De aspiratione aspira tione, 166 Populonia, 111 Porcari, Stefano, 4,41, 186 Porcellio, Giovani Antono Pandoni called, 176, 197 Porcia, Porcia, Jaco po da,  Dep  D epat atria ria illustrata, illus trata, 123 Portia, 197 Porto Ercole, 106 Porto, Porto, Leonar Leonardo do da, 17 6 -7  De sestertio sesterti o, 177 Portugal, Alfonso of,  De numism num ismate ate tractatus,  175 Prague, 3 Prassede, Abbot of Santa, 2 Praxiteles, 35, 69, 86, 184 Priscian, 174 Prisciani, Pellegrino, 130, 166, 206 Probus, Valerius, 147, 158-9, 165  Notae  Nota e juris ju ris  147, 158-9 Propertius, 1 Prospectivo Melanese,  Antiqu  Ant iquari ariee  prosp  pr ospetic etiche he, 84 Ptolemy, Claudius, 92, 96, 135, 173 Geography,  135, 173 Ptolemy III Euergetes, 173 Pucci, Francesco, 128 Pyl Pylos of Nestor, Nestor, 13 9-4 0 Pythagoras, 46

106-7, 120 Placidia, Galla, 125 Platina , Ba rtolomeo Sacch Sacchii called, 76 76,, 80, 160, 163 Plato, 11, 182, 189 Pletho, Gemisthos, 140 Qu ercia, Jaco po de lla, 181 Pliny the Elder, 22, 70, 82, 96-7, 106, Querfurt, Conrad of, 5 121, 167, 174, 178 Q uestenb erg, jaco bu s Aurelius, 176  Natu  Na tura rall History Hist ory,,  174, 178  De sestertio sestertio,, talento, n u m m i s e t i d  Pliny the Younger, 22, 117, 121, 129,150 genus, 176

INDEX TO TEXT TEXT Ranzani, Pietro, 123, 156 Raphael, 88, 93-6, 99, 101, 160, 201 Raphty, Port, 135 Ravena, 1, 3, 6, 9, 96, 107, 108, 124 inscriptions, 152 Porta Aurea’, 118, 124-5 San Giovanni Evangelista, 123 San Vitale, 125 Sa nt’Apollinare in Classe, Classe, see Classe Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, 116 Redditi, Filippo, 176 Commentaribus de prisca prisca num nu m m is, 176 Reggio Emilia, 171 Reggio, Niccolo Niccolo di De opre pio da , 27  Regionarii, 6 ‘Regisol’ (Pavia), 1, 25, 26, 29, 35, 51, 209 Remus, 46, 56, 65 Rheims, 4 Rhodes, 137, 170 Riario, Raffaele, 192 Rienzo, Coladi, 38-42, 48, 146, 204 Rimini, 36, 51, 80, 105-6, 122 arch o f Au gustus , 11 1188  bri  b ridd g e o f Tib Ti b e riu ri u s , 118 Renaissance inscriptions, 161, 163, 164 Ristoro d ’ Arezz o, 1 3 - 14 14 Riva, see Bonsevin Rodano, Ludovico, 149 Rodigino, Celio, 175 Romano, Anton Lelio, 160 Romano, Ezzelino III da, see see Ezzelino Rome ‘Aerarium’, 70 ‘A m ph iteatru m C astrense’, 80 Antonine Column, 10, 37 arch arch by ch urch o f Saints Saints Celsus Celsus and Julia nu s, 61 arch by Via Lata, 100 arch of Constantine, 11, 52, 88 arch o f G ratia n, Theodosius Theodosius and Valentinian, 99 arch of T itus, 10 1044 Augustan, 97 Avenine, 97 Basil Basilic icaa o f C on stan tine, 65  bri  b ridd g e o f Ho H o ra tiu ti u s C o d e s , 100 Campo dei Fiori, 103 Campo Marzio, 77

229

Capitol, 97, 100, 102, 103, 104 Capitoline Museum, 100, 191 ‘Cappella Francorum’, 102 Carinae, 69 Castel Sant’Angelo, 103, 104 Claudian Claudian aqueduct, 7 7 -8 , 82 82 Coliseum, 5, 8, 53, 90 colle collect ctor orss of antiquities in, 18 6-9 5 described by Dondi, 51-2 described by Fiano, 57-8 described described by Vergeri Vergerio, o, 5 6 -7 destruction destruction of remains remains in Middle Ages, 2-4, 8-9 destruc tion of remains in Renaissance, Renaissance, 50-1, 57-8, 65-6, 67-8, 98-104 Dioscuri Dioscuri (H orsetamers o f the Quirinal), 7, 35, 69, 86, 104 Domus Pinciana, 9 during Great Schism, 60 Esquiline, 69, 97 excavations in Renaissance, 101, 102, 113-15 ‘Forum Boarium’, 100, 102 Hadrian’s mausoleum, 203, 205 humanists in, 28, 59-72, 182-5 inscriptions, 147, 151, 154, 157, 158, 163,166  Laocoon, 83, 103, 192, 199 Lateran, 2, 72, 73, 75, 174, 191; ‘Camillus’, 191; Constantius II, 191; Marcus Aurelius (equestrian statue), 7, 35, 65, 75, 80, 104; ‘Spinarius’ (thornp uller), 7 - 8 ‘Lucus Fagutalis’, 88 medieval descriptions of, 4 - 8 medieval me dieval itineraries of, 5 medieval medieval pictur pictures es of, of, 5 -6 medieval plans of, 90 ‘Meta Romuli’, 100-1  pala  pa lace ce o f th e C o n serv se rvat atoo rii, ri i, 19 1911  pala  pa lace ce o f th e M assim as simi, i, 194 Palazzo della Cance lleria, 192 Palazzo Madama, 190 Palazzo Venezia, 104 Pantheon, 52, 61, 73, 103, 104, 194  plan  pl an s o f, m ed ie v a l, 90  plan  pl an s of, of , fift fi ftee e n th -c e n tu ry , 9 0 - 3  p  pla lann s o f, s ix tee te e n th -ce -c e n tu ry , 9 3 - 8 Ponte Sant’Angelo, 34 ‘Porta Capena’, 89

230

INDEX TO TEXT

‘Porta Fontinalis’, 89 Portico o f Octavio ( ‘T rullo ru llo ’), ’), 99  pyy ra m id o f Ces  p C esti tius us,, 34, 4 6, 56 56,, 65  pyy ra m id ( ‘Meta  p ‘Me ta R o m u li’) li ’) in Borgo Bo rgo  Nu  N u o v o , 34 34,, 1 0 0 - 1 restorations in Renaissance, 103-4 St Jo hn Lateran, 40 St Paul’s, 146 St Peter’s, 6, 11, 52, 73, 172;  p i n e c o n e , 16 San Giacomo al Colosseo, 104 San Gregorio in C elio, 33 San Pietro in Vincoli, 103, 192 San Silvestro Silvestro in Ca pite, pit e, 10 San Sisto, 160 Santa Costanza, 74, 100, 104 Santa Maria Maggiore, 163 Santa Martina al Foro, 191 Santi Apostoli, 192 Septizonium, 33, 34, 35, 61-2 Sistine bridge, 82 Sublicius, 82 Subura, 69 sundia l in Cam po Marzio, Marzio, 77 Tabernola, 69 tem ple by river river Tiber ( ‘tem ple o f Vesta’), 65, 86, 104 tem ple o f Apollo, 97 tem ple o f Cybele (Pa (Pa nth eon ), 34, 35 35 tem ple of D iana, 97 tem ple o f Hercules, He rcules, 100 100,, 102 Templum Pacis, 65, 74, 191 Three Graces, 193 Trajan’s column, 10, 34, 52, 203 Vatican, see Vatican ‘Velabrum’, 69-70 Via Alessan drina, 101 Via Sacra, 69 walls of, 82 Romulus, 34, 94, 97, 101 Rosselli, Cosimo, 92 Rosselli, Francesco, 92-3 Rossi, Girolamo, 189 Rovere, Galeotto della, 85 Rovere, Guiliano della, seeJu liu s II Rubicon, 111-12, 122 Rucellai, Bernardo, 73, 77-82, 88, 166, 174

 De Magistratibus Romano Rom anorum rum veterum commentarius, 81 7 9 -8 -8 1  De urbe Roma,  7 - 8 , 79

Rucellai, Giovanni, 60, 73-5, 78 7.ibaldone Quartsmale,  7 3 - 4 Rucellai, Palla, 79 Rucellai, Pandolfo, 73 Rufus, Caninius, 117 Rufus, Sextus, 68 Rustici, Cencio, 57-8 Sabel Sabelli lico, co, Marco Marco A ntonio, 12 2 -3

Carmen in Utinioriginem, 122  De Venetae Urbis Urbis situ, situ ,  123  De vetustate Aqu A quile ilens nsis ispa patn tnae ae ,123 Salisbury, John of, 11, 16 Policratus, 52 Salutati, Coluccio, 54-5

 De laboribus Herculis, Herculis, 54 Samos Samos,, temple of ju n o , 46 46 San Ciriaco, Abbess of, 10 San Michele, 118 San Vitale, 116, 124 Sanctio inscription, 112, 122, 165 Sann azaro, Jac op o, 156 156,, 19 1966 Santacroce, Andrea, 176

 De noti n otisp spub ublic lica a auctoritate auctoritate approbatis,  165 Santoro, Fazio, 85, 193 Sanudo, Marin, 110, 117, 123, 146, 156  De antiq an tiquit uitati atibus bus Italiae, Italia e,  110  Itinerario,  Itinerario,  110 Sanvito, Bartolemeo, 151 Saraina, Torello,  De origine et  amplitudine civitas Veronae,  130 sarcophagi, 2, 8, 14, 100, 102, 104 Sarzana, 114, 185, 188 ‘Palazzo del Commune’, 112 Sassetti, Francesco, 146, 172 Savelli, Lucca, 9 Savonarola, Girolamo, 193, 206 Scala, Cangrande della, 20- 1 Scala, Cansignorio della, 50 Scalamonti, Francesco, 109 Scaurus, Marcus, 70 Schedel, Hartmann  Liber Cbronicarum, 93

Opus de antiquitatibus cum epitaphiis,  155 Scipio Africanus, 189 Scipione, Giuliano di, 197 Seneca, 1, 38, 194 Seneca, Tommaso, 138 Sesto, Allessandro, 54

INDEX TO TEXT Sesto, Lorenzo, 54 Sesto, Marco, 54 Seta, Seta, Lomardo Lomardo della, della, 4 8 -9 Severus, Alexander, 173 Severus, Septimius, 34, 52, 65, 75 Sforza, Francesco, 176 Sforza, Galeazzo Maria, 200 Sforza, Ludovico Maria, 190, 200 Siena, 6, 50, 90, 120, 157, 170, 186, 193,203 Sigismund, Emperor, 91, 170 Signa, Boncompagno da, 19 Signa, Paolo Gregoria da, 156 Signorili, Nicola, 62, 146-7, 149, 159 Silves Silvestr tri, i, D om enico,  De insulis in sulis, 135 Simonetta, Cicco, 176 Sirmione, ‘Grottedi Catullo’, 118-19 Sixtus IV, 100, 102, 104, 172, 188-9, 191-2, 200 Socrates, 142 Socrates Socrates an d Alcibiad es (statue ), 195 Soderini, Francesco, 124 Sodoma, Giovanni Antonio Bazzi called il, 182 Solinus, 48 Sorrento, G u lf of, 129 Sparta, 143-4 Spello, 51 Sperandio, 196 Spinola, Eliano, 184 Spreti, Desiderio, 109, 116, 124-5, 152, 157

231

Suetonius, 22, 34, 38, 44, 52, 173, 177 Suffretus, 183 Sulmona, 121 Sulmon a, Barbato da, 48 Summonte, Pietro da, 130, 156 Sweynheim, Conrad, 205 Sylvester I, St, 41 Sylvester II, 27 ‘Tabula Isiaca’, 207

Tabulae Tabulae lguvinae, see see Gubbio

Tacitus, 1, 43, 70 Tacquini, Giovanni, 159 Taenarum, 139 Pyl Pylos of Nester, 13 9- 40 Taren tum, 46 Tarquinia, 55-6, 119 Taurus, Statilius, 80 Tegrimi, Nicolo, 185 Telephus, 103 Terence, 1, 4 Theodoric, 6, 9, 30, 107, 116, 125 Theodosius, 61, 137 Theseus, 139 Thrasyllus, 134, 140 Thucidides, 141 Tiber(river), 65, 86, 94, 97, 104 Tiberius, 51, 106, 113, 118 Tiberti, Polidoro, 121 Tifernum, 55 Tignosi, Niccolo, 122  De origine Fulginatum Fulgin atum,,  122 Timaeus  (Plato), 11  De ampl am plitu itudin dine, e, de vastione et de Titus, 70, 104, 169 instauratione urbis Ravennae, Tivoli, 107, 108 124-5 Squarcione, Francesco, 181 Tizio, Sigismondo, 115, 120, 123, 157, Stabia, 128 170, 185 Tobalio, Leonardo, 111 Statius, 1, 17 statuary T olen tino, St Nicholas of, 10 1099 Tomarozzi, Flaminio, 202 collections, Renaissance, 180-201 Greek, 131-2 Tomeo, Leonico, 200 Tornellio, Francesco, 162 medieval medieval prejudi prejudice ce against, against, 5 0 -1 see also also names o f  Torre Annunziata, 128 Roman, 9, 35-6, see statues underBssme, e.g.  Laocoon Torre del Greco, 128 see see also also names names o f persons  persons represented, represented, Tori del Benaco, 163 Tortelli, Giovanni, 70-3, 86, 174, 187 e.g.  Agrippa  De orthographia, orthographia,  70, 71, 72, 166, Strabo, 106, 140 174 Strada, Zanobi da, 43 Strozzi, Alessandro, 92 Tory, Geoffroi, 162 Strozzi, Palla, 54 Toscolano, 127, 160 Sudheim, Ludolfvon, 133 Toulouse, 187-8

232

INDEX TO TEXT TEXT

Tours, H ildebe rt of, of, 4, 7 Tradate, Samuele da, 145 Trajan Tr ajan , 3 - 4 , 16, 34, 52, 109, 109, 113, 113, 138 138,, 143, 146, 166, 170, 174, 203 Trastevere, 8, 36 Traversari, Ambrogio, 169-70, 183, 186 Trebazio, Bernardino, 155 Trento, 163 Trevisan, Ludovico, 113, 181, 183, 186 Treviso, 154 Trissino, Giangiorgio, 199, 201 Trivulzio, Gian Giacomo, 152 Troy, 133 Tulliola, 102 Tullius, Servius, 97 Turin, 201 Tusculum, 106 Uberti, Fazio degli,  Dit  D itta tam m on do , 4 6 - 7 Uccello, Paolo, 163 U dine , Jaco po da, 11 112, 2, 122 Urbino, G uidoba ldo da M ontefelt ontefeltro, ro, Duke of, 198 Urbino, Maestro Raffaellod’, 199 urns, Roman, 2 Uso (river), 111 Utrecht, 4 Valentinian III, 125 Valeriano, Pierio, 1 6 6 , 206

 An  A n tiqu ti quit ita a tem te m Bel B ellun lunens ensium ium sermones quattuor,  129 Urb rbis is patna pa tnaee Genathlicon,  129 Valla, Giorgio, 155 Valla, Lorenzo, 59, 69, 136, 205 Vallaresso, Maffeo, 168, 187 Valle, Andrea della, 169, 193 Valori, Baccio, 189 agro A n m m e n s i, Valturio, Roberto,  De agro 1233 12 Varano, Fabrizio, Bishop of Camerino, 84  De Urbe Urbe Romae Collecta Collectanea nea,,  8 1 - 2 Varano, Rodolfo IV, Lord Lord o f Ca me rino, 81 Varro, 2, 46, 70-1, 77, 83, 88 Vasari, Giorgio, 172, 181, 188 Vasari, Giorgio (grandfather), 189 Vasto, 115, 156

Vatican, 93, 100 Belvedere collection, 192-3, 199, 204 obelisk, 34, 69 Vegio, Maffeo, 72, 158  Astyanax,  Astyana x, 158

 De rebus antiquis antiq uis memor m emorabili abilibus bus  Basil  Basilica icaee Sancti Petri Romae, 72 Venetian scholars, in Athens, 142-4 Venice, 79, 92, 133, 137, 157, 169, 177  b  bro ronn ze ho hors rses es,, 35 colle collect ctor orss of antiqu ities in, 1 8 5 -6 , 200 20 0

lion from Piraeus, 143 medals produced in, 54 St Mark’s, 131 Vergerio, Pier Paolo, 54, 56-7 Vergilio, Polidoro, 175 Verini, Giovanni Battista, 162 Verona, 6, 50, 110, 149, 151, 164 Arena, 105, 109, 116, 117-18 chapter libra library, ry, 2 1 -2 humanists in, 21-4 Verrocchio, Verrocchio, An drea de l, 18 1888 Vespasian, 12, 37, 40, 173 Vicenza, Palazzo Thiene, 172 Victor, Publius, 79, 81, 95 Vienna Anonymous, 142 Villani, Fillippo , 43 Villani, Giovanni, 13, 16 Cronica,  1 6 - 1 7 Viminal, 69 see Leonardo Vinci, Vinci, L eonardo da, see Virgil, 1, 3, 16, 31, 44, 51, 120-1, 135, 138, 160, 205 Virunio, Pontico,  Historiae Britannicae, 112

Vitelli, Lorenzo, 119 VitelSius, 194 Viterbo, 114, 125-6, 165, 166 Vitruvius, 31, 51, 85, 9 5 - 6 , 10 107, 7, 109 109,, 117, 1)8,150 Vitylo, 140 Volaterrano, Raffaele Maffei called, 8 1 - 6 , 112, 115, 115, 120 120,, 17 175 Commentaria Urbana,  82-3, 120  De origine Urbis, Urbis,  130 Volterra, 115. 120 W eyde n, Roger van. 13 1388 W inckelmann, inckelmann, Joh an n Joachim , 132

INDEX TO TEXT Zamorei, Gabrio dei, 36 Zanchi, Giovanni Crisostomo,  De

origine Orobiorum sive Cenomanorum Cenomanorum.. lib l ibn n tres, tres,  130 Zeno,Jacopo, 140 Zio, Francesco, 200 Zorzi, Pietro, 124

 Index  Ind ex by Justy Ju styn n Balinski

233

This is the first paperback edition of Roberto Weiss’s i   _____ _ book, originall originally y published published in 1969. 1969. In a magisterial magisterial surv survey ey Pro Profe fess ssor or Weiss traces the rise of a new attitude to classical antiquity, an attitude attitude which which became noticeable noticeable in the late thirteenth century but whic which h came fully fully of age in the first half half of the fifteenth century with humanist humanistss such as Poggio and and Flavi Flavio o Biodon. Biodon. The book cover cov erss the period 1300 to 1527. It is an unsurpassed introduction to the Renaissance attitude attitude to and use of classical classical antiqu antiquity ity.. ‘This is an outstanding book which is universally recognised to incom incompar parabl ably y the best introducti introduction on in the field and and many many aspe aspect ctss it are absolutely new. ’  Francis H askell 

Rober Ro berto to W eiss was Professor of o f Histo History ry at Univers Universit ity y College College London.

Of related related intere st from from Basil B asil B lackw ell The Dictionary of Classical Mythology  Pierre  Pierre Grimal  G rimal 

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