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

Il famoso immortal Pietro Aretino.

The man three times celebrated and divine

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

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 'l gran Cosmo udirà, d'altr'opra il grido.

Although this young man by Ulpian, Bartolo and Baldo

Is often distracted, and severe hardship

Does not assist him with writing verse,

And he turns his attention to legal practice;

Nonetheless I firmly believe that for his fiery temper

I will see him write immortal verse,

Aided by the might, support and protection of the Heavens

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