Carlo Promis
(1808-1873)
Vita
di
Girolamo Maggi
d'Anghiari
ingegnere militare, poeta, filologo, archeologo, giurisperito del secolo XVI
In Miscellanea di Storia Italiana edita per cura della Regia Società di Storia Patria
Torino, Stamperia Reale, 1862, Tomo I, pp. 107 - 143.
Girolamo Maggi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Girolamo Maggi (abt. 1523 in Anghiari, Tuscany—March 27, 1572[1] in Constantinople), or Hieronymus Magius,
was an Italian scholar, jurist, poet, military engineer, urban planner, philologist, archaeologist, mathematician, and
naturalist who studied at Bologna under Francis Robortello. He authored several works, including a collection of poems
on the Flemish wars, (Cinque primi canti della guerra di Fiandra, 1551), one detailing military fortifications (Della
fortificatione delle città, by his friend Giacomo Fusto Castriotto, but edited, annotated, and published posthumously by
Maggi in 1564), and several on the subject of philosophy.
Early life and education Little is known about his youth, since neither he nor most biographers were concerned with
recounting or researching it. His year of birth is unknown; several authors have speculated, based on varying access to
information. Maggi specifically mentioned how, in infancy, he was attacked by the same pestilence which, in 1563, he
states was the most recent one to occur. This was most likely the black death of 1527 spread by Charles V's Protestant
mercenaries (Landsknechts) when they defeated the French and pillaged the Vatican, but may have been one of the
following year or of three years later. His parents were Paolo and Luisa, who quickly left him an orphan. [1] As a young
man, Maggi studied oratory with Pierantonio Ghezzi from Laterina, a master of Latin. Afterwards, to proceed with the
then popular studies, he went at first to the nearby University of Perugia, then to that of Pisa, and finally to that of
Bologna. In Pisa, he attended the lectures of the famous professor of Latin and Greek oratory, Francis Robortello, who
was a faculty member from 1543 to 1549. [1]
Professional life Maggi, who beyond his native Tuscan, had mastered Latin and was erudite in Greek, Hebrew, and
Spanish. Availing himself of such endowments, he went into jurisprudence, more to examine its spirit than its
profession. Initially, he studied the method of Andrea Alciato, then that of Bartolo da Sassoferrato and the 14th and
15th century schools of thought. [1] He became interested in ancient history, and quickly began studying epigraphy and
architectonics. As part of this interest, Maggi accumulated a large collection of ancient tombstones, including ones from
Como, Ravenna, Rieti, Foligno, Perugia and Rome. In Pisa, where he was still engaged in formal studies, and in other
Italian cities, he visited and examined sepulchres and sarcophagi, and used his growing knowledge to dispute a
universally accepted belief of the time: the idea of the existence of giants in ancient days. All of this work formed the
bases for his tractatus on sepulchres. He worked diligently to provide correct interpretations of ancient works of Roman
law and, for his successful explanation of a section of the Pandects of Justinian, as he himself tells the story, he was
embraced and kissed by Robertello. In Pisa, he probably obtained his doctoral degree in 1546, and returned to his native
land two years later. [1] In 1548, he was requested by his fellow citizens to visit Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of
Tuscany. He began this endeavor in Venice, the city where in those times, the greatest Italian minds lived quietly and
profited greatly from their studies, due to the vast commerce of books fueled by the carefulness and tolerance of the
government; there he again saw Robortello, and started a friendship with the famous writer Pietro Aretino. Maggi, who
had nothing to offer, may have sought protection from Aretino, or hoped to avoid harsh criticism from him, when he
sang the following hendecasyllabic verses, published in his 1551 Guerro di Fiandro (Canto II, verse 56)[1]:
L'uom tre volte chiarissimo e divino
The man three times celebrated and divine
Il famoso immortal Pietro Aretino.
The famous immortal Pietro Aretino.
Pleased by the words, Aretino sent this poem on the Flemish wars to Chiapino Vitelli, the famous Spanish mercenary
general, in February 1551, along with a letter praising Maggi's talents. Vitelli's family owned much land around
Anghiari, in an area only a few miles from the Maggi estate. So, Maggi endeavored to please Vitelli, a soldier of
Cosimo, to obtain good entrance at the royal court in Florence. He also praised Giovanni dalle Bande Nere, father of
Cosimo I, whose daring son's rise to the throne of Florence well represented Maggi's goal. In five canti, Maggi often
complained about his sad fate, showing himself unhappy with the legal profession exercised by him out of necessity. [1]
Se il giovin quale Ulpian, Bartolo e Baldo
Although this young man by Ulpian, Bartolo and Baldo
Disturban spesso e l'aspra inopia e dura
Is often distracted, and severe hardship
Non viene afforza al poetar men saldo,
Does not assist him with writing verse,
E a l'avvocar rivolti ogni sua cura;
And he turns his attention to legal practice;
Io per certo infiammato esser e caldo
Nonetheless I firmly believe that for his fiery temper
A fare il veggio un'immortal scrittura,
I will see him write immortal verse,
Gli dia la vita il Ciel, sostegno e 'l nido,
Aided by the might, support and protection of the Heavens
E 'l gran Cosmo udirà, d'altr'opra il grido.
And the noble Cosimo will behold that great work.
Ottoman invasion He was a judge and military defense engineer in Famagusta on Cyprus when the island was invaded
by Ottoman Turks in 1571. Besieged by the Turks, he invented machines to defend Famagusta against their attacks.
When the island was conquered, Maggi was sent to the dungeons at Istanbul where, locked in chains, he wrote from
memory two detailed treatises, De tintinnabulis, on bells and carillons, and the explicitly illustrated De equuleo, on
torture devices. In attempts to be freed, he dedicated the first treatise to Carolus Rym (Charles Ramire), ambassador to
the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II, and the second treatise to François de Noailles, bishop of Aire and
ambassador to the King of France. They were pleased with his works, and endeavoured to obtain his release. Their
efforts, however, were brought to light as he was being released to the Italian ambassador. The prison captain ordered
him to be detained and executed by strangulation. His two treatises were published posthumously in 1608 and 1609,
respectively.
Works
• Maggi, Girolamo (1551). Cinque primi canti della guerra di Fiandra.
• Maggi, Girolamo (1562). De mundi exustione, et de die judicii ("On the world's consumption by fire and the
Day of Judgment").
• Maggi, Girolamo (1564). Miscellanorum, seu Variarum Lectionum.
• Castriotto, Giacomo Fusto; Girolamo Maggi (1564). Della fortificatione delle città.
• Maggi, Girolamo. De tintinnabulis.
• Maggi, Girolamo. De equuleo.
References
1. ^ a b c d e f g Promis, Carlo (1862). "Vita di Girolamo Maggi d'Anghiari". Miscellanea di Storia Italiana 1:
105–143.
http://it.wikisource.org/wiki/Immagine:Vita_di_Girolamo_Maggi_d%27Anghiari%2C_Miscellanea_di_storia_
italiana%2C_vol_1%2C_p_105-143.pdf.
Other references
• Short biography. URL accessed 2006-03-06.
• Original documents at Digicoll.library.wisc.edu/.[dead link]
• D'Israeli, Isaac. "Imprisonment of the Learned". Curiosities of Literature. George Routledge & Sons.
• Ditchfield, Peter Hampson. Books Fatal to Their Authors. URL accessed 2006-03-06.
This article incorporates content from the 1728 Cyclopaedia, a publication in the public domain.
•
Further reading
• Buratti, Alessandro. Elogio di Girolamo Magi celebre letterato di Anghiari... Perugia, Nella Stamperia
Costantini, Santucci e Comp., 1809. pp 115.
Girolamo Maggi
Da Wikiquote, aforismi e citazioni in libertà.
Girolamo Maggi D'Anghiari, o Hieronymus Magius (1523 – 1572), poeta, filologo, matematico, naturalista,
ingegnere e archeologo italiano.
• Bene senza dubbio ti parrà cosa maravigliosa che io, prigioniero e nella schiavitù di un Turco, dentro un
ergastolo, privo affatto di libri e dei sussidii della memoria (poiché appena in farsetto scampai alla strage di
Cipro) abbia composto codesto libretto de Tintinnabulis. Ciò non di meno, non vorrei già che tu ignorassi
qualmente Dio 0. M., che mi salvò da infiniti pericoli di terra e di mare, a me qui condotto tosto abbia assistito,
la qual cosa facilmente apparisce: essendoché, mi fece tenere pressoché tutte quelle cose che a' tempi tranquilli
già aveva scritto e portato meco in Cipro, affinché rileggendole potessi qualche volta togliermi dall'animo le
molestie e le cure più gravi. (da una lettera a Carlo Rym, patrizio di Gand, citato in Carlo Promis, Vita di
Girolamo Maggi d'Anghiari)
• Gettato lungi dalla patria e dagli amici, non molto danaro m'abbisogna in prestito per riscattarmi dalla
schiavitù. Non sono un vagabondo né un fallito, neppure vorrei vuotare la borsa ad alcuno.
• L'uom tre volte chiarissimo e divino | Il famoso immortal Pietro Aretino. (da Guerra di Fiandra, Canto II,
verso 56, citato in Carlo Promis, Vita di Girolamo Maggi d'Anghiari)
• Se il giovin quale Ulpian, Bartolo e Baldo | Disturban spesso e l'aspra inopia e dura | Non viene afforza al
poetar men saldo, | E a l'avvocar rivolti ogni sua cura ; | Io per certo infiammato esser e caldo | A fare il
veggio un'immortal scrittura, | Gli dia la vita il Ciel, sostegno e 'l nido, | E ' gran Cosmo udirà d'altr'opra il
grido. (da Guerra di Fiandra, Canto II, versi 58 e seguito, citato in Carlo Promis, Vita di Girolamo Maggi
d'Anghiari)
Bibliografia
• M. Gierolamo Magi d'Anghiari, al valoroso Signor Chiapino Vitelli, Cinque primi canti della guerra di
Fiandra, Venezia, 1551.
Citazioni su Girolamo Maggi [modifica]
• D'indole ingenua ed amabile, amò il sapere più per esso che per sé, né mai ributtandosi perché il premio non
seguisse tosto la fatica, né mai la eguagliasse: amico di moltissimi dotti, ebbe talvolta ad esporre opinioni
diverse dalle loro, ma ciò fece con modestia e dolcezza tale, che l'avversario non gli si inimicava mai, cosa rara
sempre, rarissima in quel secolo di sì villane diatribe. (Carlo Promis)
• Non vi fu quasi parte di letteratura che non venisse coltivata: elegante scrittore nelle lingue italiana e latina,
dotto anche nella greca e nell'ebraica, scrisse eruditissimamente di teologia, filologia, giurisprudenza, usi e
costumi antichi: mandò in luce, commentandoli, libri di antichi e di moderni scrittori: fu poeta ed istorico :
diffuse lo studio dell'architettura militare mediante opere sue ed altrui: versato nelle meccaniche militari,
siccome conoscitore degli autori greci ch'erano a que' tempi i migliori fonti, tentò non affatto infelicemente di
connetterle colle pratiche moderne, cosicché non v'è altri che di questi e de' latini avesse per ogni minuta
questione sì prontamente e copiosamente alla mano ogni squarcio, ogni parola. (Carlo Promis)
Altri progetti
(EN) Wikipedia contiene una voce riguardante Girolamo Maggi