The Accademia degli Incogniti (Academy of the Unknowns), also called the Loredanian Academy, 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 ...

of freethinking

intellectuals An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or as ...

, 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 and political life of mid-17th century

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

. The society was founded in 1630 by

Giovanni Francesco Loredan Giovanni Francesco Loredan (or Loredano) (Venice, 27 February 1607 - Peschiera del Garda, 13 August 1661) was a Venetian writer and politician, and a member of the noble family of Loredan. In 1630, he founded the Accademia degli Incogniti, a lea ...

and Guido Casoni, and derived its basic

Aristotelian philosophy Aristotelianism ( ) is a philosophical tradition inspired by the work of Aristotle, usually characterized by deductive logic and an analytic inductive method in the study of natural philosophy and metaphysics. It covers the treatment of the socia ...

from Cesare Cremonini, a

Peripatetic Peripatetic may refer to: *Peripatetic school, a school of philosophy in Ancient Greece *Peripatetic axiom * Peripatetic minority, a mobile population moving among settled populations offering a craft or trade. *Peripatetic Jats There are several ...

who was professor of philosophy at the

University of Padua The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from B ...

.Rosand, pp. 37–40 The society included historians, poets, and librettists. According to historian

Ellen Rosand Ellen Rosand is an American musicologist, historian, and opera critic who specializes in Italian music and poetry of the 16th through 18th centuries. Her work has been particularly focused on the music and culture of Venice and Italian opera of the ...

, the academy, in keeping with its name, usually operated behind the scenes. Members often wrote in a secret language and frequently published their works anonymously. The Accademia degli Incogniti was particularly active in the promotion of musical theater in Venice from the 1630s onward, founding its own theater, the

Teatro Novissimo The Teatro Novissimo was a theatre in Venice located in the Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo with its entrance on the Calle de Mendicanti. It was the first theatre built in Venice specifically for the performance of opera. Because it was purpose-built ...

, which flourished briefly between 1641 and 1645. In their librettos for musical dramas, the iconoclastic intellectuals of the academy set a tone which was " ftenshockingly frank and frequently amoral". Among these librettists were Giacomo Badoaro, who wrote ''

Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria ''Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria'' (Stattkus-Verzeichnis, SV 325, ''The Return of Ulysses to his Homeland'') is an List of operas by Claudio Monteverdi, opera consisting of a prologue and five acts (later revised to three), set by Claudio Montever ...

'' for

Claudio Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is considered ...

, and

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 ...

, who provided

Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is consider ...

with the libretto for the composer's final and arguably greatest operatic work, ''

L'incoronazione di Poppea ''L'incoronazione di Poppea'' ( SV 308, ''The Coronation of Poppaea'') is an Italian opera by Claudio Monteverdi. It was Monteverdi's last opera, with a libretto by Giovanni Francesco Busenello, and was first performed at the Teatro Santi Giovanni ...

''. Although the academy is often depicted as a group of "sceptical libertines extolling a peculiarly Venetian brand of (im)morality",Carter, p. 271. Loredan was a respected senator of the

Venetian Republic The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

; other members likewise served the Republic as senators or councilors, and the academy remained an unofficial center of political power for several decades. Its influence began to wane in the late 1650s, and by 1661, the academy had ceased to meet. Cesare Cremonini (détail)

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Accademia Degli Incogniti 1630 establishments in the Republic of Venice Freethought organizations Learned societies of Italy Venetian Renaissance 1630 establishments in Italy *