Giacomo Castelvetro
Encyclopedia
Giacomo Castelvetro was an Italian refugee, humanist
, teacher and travel writer.
in 1546 to the banker Niccolò Castelvetro and his wife Liberata Tassoni. Not much is known of his early life. He was smuggled out of Modena with his older brother when he was eighteen years old. He stayed in Geneva
with his uncle, the humanist critic, Ludovico Castelvetro
. He traveled widely for several years, living in the towns of Lyon
, Basel
, Vienna
and Chiavenna before his uncle died. In 1587 in Basel he married Isotta de Canonici, the widow of Thomas Erastus
. He died impoverished on 21 March 1616 after a long illness.
but was rescued by the English ambassador Sir Dudley Carleton who threatened a diplomatic incident if an execution of a servant of the king was authorised. He went back to England to escape "the furious bite of the cruel and pitless Roman inquisition".
and Frankfurt
. In 1594 after his wife died he travelled to Denmark and then Sweden. In Sweden he acquainted himself with Duke Charles who later became king in 1599. He toured Europe in 1598, visiting France
, Switzerland
and Germany
. He set off on another European tour in search of patronage in 1611 after being freed from the Inquisition
.
In 1592 he was appointed Italian tutor to King James VI of Scotland and Anne of Denmark
. He taught Italian at the University of Cambridge
for the Spring term in 1613; those he taught included George Stanhope
. He is considered to be the most important promoter of the Italian language and heritage after John Florio, the first known teacher of Italian at the University of Oxford
.
Castelvetro edited this work of Thomas Erastus
and published his collection of medical works (Varia Opuscula Medica) to which Castelvetro wrote the introduction in 1590. He paid for the publishing of Il pastor fido in England in 1591.
He was apparently shocked by the English partiality for meat, lack of green vegetables and sugar-rich diet. Thus he set about writing The fruit, herbs & vegetables of Italy (1614). The manuscript, written in Italian, was circulated amongst supporters. He was like many Italians a keen gardener. At the time in which he was writing the British palate was only beginning to absorb culinary flavours from the continent. Aspects of French and Dutch cooking had assimilated into British cooking but eating habits were still centred on the consumption of large quantities of meat. Castelvetro's enthusiasm for a diverse diet preceded John Evelyn
's treatise produced in 1699 which equally urged the English to eat more salad vegetables.
The treatise is a valuable historical source on 17th century Italian society. It is interspersed with minute observations and vignettes from his life in Modena
and Venice
. He mentions children learning to swim in the Brenta whilst attached to huge pumpkin
s as a means to stay afloat; German wenches, Venetian ladies and intimate conversations with Scandinavian royalty.
He dedicated the work to Lucy, Countess of Bedford on the request of her brother John Harington
and on the hope of acquiring future patronage but was unfortunate in this enterprise.
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
, teacher and travel writer.
Life
Giacomo Castelvetro was born in ModenaModena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
in 1546 to the banker Niccolò Castelvetro and his wife Liberata Tassoni. Not much is known of his early life. He was smuggled out of Modena with his older brother when he was eighteen years old. He stayed in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
with his uncle, the humanist critic, Ludovico Castelvetro
Lodovico Castelvetro
Lodovico Castelvetro was an important figure in the development of neo-classicism, especially in drama. It was his reading of Aristotle that led to a widespread adoption of a tight version of the Three Unities, as a dramatic standard....
. He traveled widely for several years, living in the towns of Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
, Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and Chiavenna before his uncle died. In 1587 in Basel he married Isotta de Canonici, the widow of Thomas Erastus
Thomas Erastus
Thomas Erastus was a Swiss physician and theologian best known for a posthumously published work in which he argued that the sins of Christians should be punished by the state, and not by the church withholding the sacraments...
. He died impoverished on 21 March 1616 after a long illness.
Protestantism
Having become a Protestant he feared for his life when he returned to Italy in 1578 after the death of his father. He swiftly went to England in 1580 after selling his property. From 1598 he settled in Venice. It was there that his brother Lelio was burnt at the stake as a heretic in 1609. In 1611 he was imprisoned by the InquisitionInquisition
The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...
but was rescued by the English ambassador Sir Dudley Carleton who threatened a diplomatic incident if an execution of a servant of the king was authorised. He went back to England to escape "the furious bite of the cruel and pitless Roman inquisition".
Travels
In 1574 he befriended Sir Roger North of Kirtling on a 1574 visit to England and accompanied his son John on an educational tour in Italy. He was known to travel frequently to Europe after settling in England. He attended the renowned book fairs at BaselBasel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
and Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
. In 1594 after his wife died he travelled to Denmark and then Sweden. In Sweden he acquainted himself with Duke Charles who later became king in 1599. He toured Europe in 1598, visiting France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. He set off on another European tour in search of patronage in 1611 after being freed from the Inquisition
Inquisition
The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...
.
Patronage and Tutorship
In England he received the patronage of Sir Philip Sidney, Sir Francis Walsingham and Sir Christopher Hatton when he became interested in publishing Renaissance works. He was closely involved with the English embassy in Venice and became friends with Sir Henry Wotton who was ambassador there before Sir Dudley Carleton.In 1592 he was appointed Italian tutor to King James VI of Scotland and Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark was queen consort of Scotland, England, and Ireland as the wife of King James VI and I.The second daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark, Anne married James in 1589 at the age of fourteen and bore him three children who survived infancy, including the future Charles I...
. He taught Italian at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
for the Spring term in 1613; those he taught included George Stanhope
George Stanhope
George Stanhope was a clergyman of the Church of England, rising to be Dean of Canterbury and a Royal Chaplain...
. He is considered to be the most important promoter of the Italian language and heritage after John Florio, the first known teacher of Italian at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
.
Works
- Explicatio gravissimae quaestionis utrum excommunicatio (1589)
Castelvetro edited this work of Thomas Erastus
Thomas Erastus
Thomas Erastus was a Swiss physician and theologian best known for a posthumously published work in which he argued that the sins of Christians should be punished by the state, and not by the church withholding the sacraments...
and published his collection of medical works (Varia Opuscula Medica) to which Castelvetro wrote the introduction in 1590. He paid for the publishing of Il pastor fido in England in 1591.
- After settling in Venice in 1598 he edited manuscripts on contemporary Italian poetry and fiction for a publisher called G.B Ciotto.
- The fruit, herbs & vegetables of Italy (1614)
He was apparently shocked by the English partiality for meat, lack of green vegetables and sugar-rich diet. Thus he set about writing The fruit, herbs & vegetables of Italy (1614). The manuscript, written in Italian, was circulated amongst supporters. He was like many Italians a keen gardener. At the time in which he was writing the British palate was only beginning to absorb culinary flavours from the continent. Aspects of French and Dutch cooking had assimilated into British cooking but eating habits were still centred on the consumption of large quantities of meat. Castelvetro's enthusiasm for a diverse diet preceded John Evelyn
John Evelyn
John Evelyn was an English writer, gardener and diarist.Evelyn's diaries or Memoirs are largely contemporaneous with those of the other noted diarist of the time, Samuel Pepys, and cast considerable light on the art, culture and politics of the time John Evelyn (31 October 1620 – 27 February...
's treatise produced in 1699 which equally urged the English to eat more salad vegetables.
The treatise is a valuable historical source on 17th century Italian society. It is interspersed with minute observations and vignettes from his life in Modena
Modena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
and Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
. He mentions children learning to swim in the Brenta whilst attached to huge pumpkin
Pumpkin
A pumpkin is a gourd-like squash of the genus Cucurbita and the family Cucurbitaceae . It commonly refers to cultivars of any one of the species Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita mixta, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita moschata, and is native to North America...
s as a means to stay afloat; German wenches, Venetian ladies and intimate conversations with Scandinavian royalty.
He dedicated the work to Lucy, Countess of Bedford on the request of her brother John Harington
John Harington
John Harington , of Kelston, was a courtier, author and master of art. He became a prominent member of Queen Elizabeth I's court, and was known as her 'saucy Godson'...
and on the hope of acquiring future patronage but was unfortunate in this enterprise.
- He later edited a manuscript of Taddeo Duni of Zurich and translated A Remonstrance of James I … for the Right of Kings (1615) but didn't receive the royal patronage he desired.