The Accademia degli Umoristi (Academy of the Humorists) 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 ...

intellectuals An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking Critical thinking is the analysis of available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments to form a judgement. The subject is complex; several different definitions exist, ...

, mainly

noblemen Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characterist ...

, that significantly influenced the cultural life of 17th century Rome. It was briefly revived in the first half of the eighteenth century by

Pope Clement XI Pope Clement XI ( la, Clemens XI; it, Clemente XI; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721. Clement XI w ...

History

The Accademia degli Umoristi, together with the

Academy of Arcadia The Accademia degli Arcadi or Accademia dell'Arcadia, "Academy of Arcadia" or "Academy of the Arcadians", was an Italian literary academy founded in Rome in 1690. The full Italian official name was Pontificia Accademia degli Arcadi. History F ...

and the ephemeral Academy of the "Notti Vaticane", or "Vatican Nights", founded by St.

Charles Borromeo Charles Borromeo ( it, Carlo Borromeo; la, Carolus Borromeus; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was the Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584 and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation combat ...

, was one of the main Roman literary academies of the seventeenth century. The society was founded in 1603 by Paolo Mancini and Gaspare Salviani. It began as place for writers and intellectuals to celebrate burlesque and mock-heroic poetry, but soon attracted some of the most prominent literary figures and patrons of the arts in Rome. Thanks to the support and protection that it obtained from

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

Francesco Barberini, it became a semi-official institution. Like all the academies of the XV-XVI-XVII centuries, the Accademia degli Umoristi was chaired (or governed) by a Prince, who organized the sessions, directed the work, represented it in other Academies or before the authorities. The office had an annual duration, but could be repeated. The Princes of the Accademia degli Umoristi were among the most prestigious and innovative writers of late

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

and early

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

Italy:

Giovanni Battista Guarini Giovanni Battista Guarini (10 December 1538 – 7 October 1612) was an Italian poet, dramatist, and diplomat. Life Guarini was born in Ferrara. On the termination of his studies at the universities of Pisa, Padua and Ferrara, he was appointed pr ...

(1611),

Alessandro Tassoni Alessandro Tassoni (28 September 156525 April 1635) was an Italian poet and writer, from Modena, best known as the author of the mock-heroic poem ''La secchia rapita'' (''The Rape of the Pail'', or ''The stolen bucket''). Life He was born in M ...

(1606-1607),

Giambattista Marino Giovanni Battista was a common Italian given name (see Battista for those with the surname) in the 16th-18th centuries. It refers to "John the Baptist" in English, the French equivalent is "Jean-Baptiste". Common nicknames include Giambattista, Gi ...

(1623). The laws of the Accademia degli Umoristi also allowed for limited female participation. "Feminis primariis ætate et forma prestantibus earumque viris eam frequentandi veniam dabant leges". The Naples-born writer Margherita Sarrocchi was the first woman to be a regular member of the academy. The

Coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

of the Academy was born on the insistence of Giovanni Battista Guarini (then Prince of the Academy) in 1611: there were numerous proposals and finally what became definitive was accepted: a cloud from which rain falls on the waves of the sea and below towards Lucretian motto «Redit Agmine Dulci» (Returns from the battlefield to sweetness). The academy became defunct around 1670.Haan, Estelle (1998). ''From Academia to Amicitia: Milton's Latin Writings and the Italian Academies'', pp. 102–103. American Philosophical Society. In 1717 Pope Clement XI wanted to restore it and appointed

Alessandro Albani Alessandro Albani (15 October 1692 – 11 December 1779) was a Roman Catholic cardinal, but should be best remembered as a leading collector of antiquities, dealer and art patron in Rome. He supported the art historian, Johann Joachim Winckelmann ...

as prince, not yet a cardinal. However, the attempt was unsuccessful and shortly thereafter the Academy finally disappeared.

Members

Alexander VII Pope Alexander VII ( it, Alessandro VII; 13 February 159922 May 1667), born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death in May 1667. He began his career as a vice- papal legate, an ...

Girolamo Aleandro Girolamo Aleandro (also Hieronymus Aleander; 13 February 14801 February 1542) was an Italian cardinal, and . Life Aleandro was born on 13 February 1480 in Motta di Livenza, in the province of Treviso, part of the Republic of Venice. He studied i ...

* Tommaso Aversa *

Sigismondo Boldoni Sigismondo Boldoni (5 July 1597 – 3 July 1630) was an Italian writer, philosopher, and physician. Boldoni was born in Bellano and died in Pavia from the plague shortly before his 33rd birthday. At the time of his death he held the principal chai ...

Baldassarre Bonifacio Baldassarre Bonifacio (5 January 1585 – 17 November 1659) was an Italian Catholic bishop, theologian, scholar and historian, known for his work (1632), the first known treatise on the management of archives. Biography The son of a lawyer of ...

Francesco Bracciolini Francesco Bracciolini (26 November 1566 – 31 August 1645) was an Italian poet. Biography Bracciolini was born of a noble family in Pistoia in 1566. On his removing to Florence he was admitted into the academy there, and devoted himself to lit ...

* Antonio Bruni *

Giovanni Francesco Busenello Giovanni Francesco Busenello (24 September 1598 – 27 October 1659) was an Italian lawyer, librettist and poet of the 17th century. Biography Born to a low-class family of Venice, it is thought that he studied at the University of Oberhausen a ...

* Jacopo Cicognini *

Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII ( la, Clemens VIII; it, Clemente VIII; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born ...

Clement XI Pope Clement XI ( la, Clemens XI; it, Clemente XI; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721. Clement XI w ...

Cassiano dal Pozzo Cassiano dal Pozzo (1588 – 22 October 1657) was an Italian scholar and patron of arts. The secretary of Cardinal Francesco Barberini, he was an antiquary in the classicizing circle of Rome, and a long-term friend and patron of Nicolas Poussin, w ...

* Pietro Della Valle * Francesco Della Valle *

Giovanni Battista Doni Giovanni Battista Doni (bap. 13 March 1595 – 1647) was an Italian musicologist and humanist who made an extensive study of ancient music. He is known, among other works, for having renamed the note "Ut" to "Do" in solfège. In his day, he was ...

Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc (1 December 1580 – 24 June 1637), often known simply as Peiresc, or by the Latin form of his name, Peirescius, was a French astronomer, antiquary and savant, who maintained a wide correspondence with scienti ...

* Porfirio Feliciano * Paganino Gaudenzi * Vincenzo Gramigna *

* Pierre Hévin *

Lucas Holstenius Lucas Holstenius, born Lukas Holste, sometimes called Holstein (1596 – 2 February 1661), was a German Catholic humanist, geographer, historian, and librarian. Life Born at Hamburg in 1596, he studied at the gymnasium of Hamburg, and later ...

Giulio Mancini Giulio Mancini (21 February 1559 – 22 August 1630) was a seicento physician, art collector, art dealer and writer on a range of subjects. His writings on contemporary artists like Caravaggio and Annibale Carracci remain one of our earliest sourc ...

* Paolo Mancini * Prospero Mandosio * Giovanni Battista Manna *

Giovanni Battista Marino Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * '' Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend ...

Agostino Mascardi Agostino Mascardi (2 September 1590, in Sarzana – 1640) was an Italian rhetorician, historian and poet. Expelled from the Jesuit Order by his superiors, Mascardi pursued a successful career as a secretary for various important figures, and beca ...

Gabriel Naudé Gabriel Naudé (2 February 1600 – 10 July 1653) was a French librarian and scholar. He was a prolific writer who produced works on many subjects including politics, religion, history and the supernatural. An influential work on library science ...

* Pietro Sforza Pallavicino * Girolamo Preti * Antonio Querenghi *

Gian Vittorio Rossi Gian Vittorio Rossi, also known as Giano Nicio Eritreo, (1577–1647) was an Italian poet, philologist, and historian. Life and works Rossi was born in Rome to a well-to-do family and lived his entire life in the city of his birth. He was educ ...

* Margherita Sarrocchi * Agazio di Somma *

* Bartolommeo Tortoletti *

Vincent Voiture Vincent Voiture (24 February 1597 – 26 May 1648), French poet and writer of prose, was the son of a rich wine merchant of Amiens. He was introduced by a schoolfellow, the count Claude d'Avaux, to Gaston, Duke of Orléans, and accompanied him ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Accademia degli Umoristi Learned societies of Italy 1603 establishments in Italy Organisations based in Rome