The Acerba (from ''acervus'') was an encyclopaedic poem by

Cecco d'Ascoli Cecco d'Ascoli (1257 – September 26, 1327) is the popular name of Francesco degli Stabili (sometimes given as Francesco degli Stabili Cichus), an Italian encyclopaedist, physician and poet. Cecco (in Latin, ''Cichus'') is the diminutive of Fran ...

. It was printed in more than twenty editions - the least faulty of them is that of

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

, dated 1510. The earliest known, which has become exceedingly rare, is that of

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 ...

, which has no date, but is ascribed to ca. 1473. The final edition of the work was printed in 1546. It is unfinished, and consists of 4,865 verses in sesta rima in four volumes. The first volume treats of

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

and

meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did no ...

; the second of stellar influences, of physiognomy, and of the vices and virtues; the third of

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2 ...

s and of the love of animals; while the fourth propounds and solves a number of moral and physical problems. The fifth volume was on theology, but only its first chapter was completed. Basing his knowledge on experimentation and observation, Cecco knew of metallic aerolites and shooting stars, explained dew and possibly the

circulation of the blood The blood circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the entire body of a human or other vertebrate. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, tha ...

and accounted for

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

plants through mountain-forming revolutions of the earth.

Bibliography

*''L'Acerba - Acerba etas'' - Latin Commentary - Vulgar Commentary - Sonnets, edited by Marco Albertazzi, Trento, La Finestra editrice 2002. CD-Rom inside with Sessa edition, 1501.

External links

Full text (in Italian)Wikiquote - L'Acerba (in Italian)
{{authority control Medieval Italian literature category:Italian poems category:15th-century poems