Accademia degli Occulti was a

learned society A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an discipline (academia), academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and s ...

founded in

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...

around the middle of the sixteenth century.Eveline Chayes, "Language of Words and Images in the ''Rime degli academici occulti'', 1568: Reflections of the Pre-Conceptual?", in Lodi Nauta (ed.), ''Language and Cultural Change: Aspects of the Study and Use of Language in the Later Middle Ages and the Renaissance'' (Peeters, 2006), pp. 149–171. Various dates are given for its founding: 1563,James Edward McClellan III, ''Science Reorganized: Scientific Societies in the Eighteenth Century'' (Columbia University Press, 1985), p. 306. 1565Uberto Motta, ''Antonio Querenghi (1546–1633): un letterato padovano nella Roma del tardo Rinascimento'' (Pubblicazioni dell'Università Cattolica, 1997), p. 35. or 1567. There is evidence that it may have existed as early as 1553. Its "prince", Alfonso Capriolo, is even said to have founded it as early as 1540.Mauro Ambrosoli, ''The Wild and the Sown: Botany and Agriculture in Western Europe, 1350–1850'', trans. Mary McCann Salvatorelli (Cambridge University Press, 1997

992 Year 992 ( CMXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Worldwide * Winter – A superflare from the sun causes an Aurora Borealis, with visibility as fa ...

, pp. 120–122. The Occulti had written rules and formed a relatively long-lived and stable society until its disappearance sometime after 1623, when it is last mentioned. It was most active in the period around 1568–1570, when it published two collections of poetry. The ''Rime degli Academici occulti'' of 1568 is structured as fourteen chapters, each on a member of the academy. Each begins with the member's ''impresa'' (

device A device is usually a constructed tool. Device may also refer to: Technology Computing * Device, a colloquial term encompassing desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc. * Device file, an interface of a device driver * Peripheral, any devi ...

), including an image and a motto; a prose commentary on the same by the academy's secretary, ; and a poem. Contributing poets include Antonio Querenghi and . The Occulti are also notable for their interest in

natural philosophy Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior throu ...

Agostino Gallo Agostino Gallo (14 May 1499 – 6 September 1570) was an Italian agronomist. Although not a man of letters, Agostino Gallo contributed greatly to the store of written agricultural knowledge of his time. He improved methods of cultivating Ita ...

was a member.

References

{{reflist

External links

Accademia degli Occulti
at ''Enciclopedia bresciana''
Occulti, Accademia degli
at ''Enciclopedia bresciana'' Learned societies of Italy Brescia