Painting - Portrait of Bartolomeo Panciatichi by Bronzino

Bartolomeo Panciatichi (1507–1582) was an Italian humanist and politician.

Biography

He was born in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, the illegitimate son of the merchant Bartolomeo, who owned the main Florentine trade company working in

, at

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

. His father had financed the conquests of

Louis XII of France Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Maria of Cleves, he succeeded his 2nd cousin once removed and brother in law at the tim ...

, and the young Bartolomeo was sent as

page Page most commonly refers to: * Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to: Roles * Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation * Page (servant), traditionally a young mal ...

to the French court of King

Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...

. Later he studied in Lyon and

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

, leaving the family's commercial activities to his relatives. He was a friend of Jean de Vauzelles, abbot of

Montrottier Montrottier () is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France. See also *Communes of the Rhône department The following is a list of the 208 communes of the Rhône department of France. This list does not includes the Lyon Metropoli ...

, who translated into French the religious works of

Pietro Aretino Pietro Aretino (, ; 19 or 20 April 1492 – 21 October 1556) was an Italian author, playwright, poet, satirist and blackmailer, who wielded influence on contemporary art and politics. He was one of the most influential writers of his time and a ...

; Panciatichi himself sent the first translated copies to the Italian author in

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 ...

in 1539. In 1539 he moved to Florence, where, on 20 January 1541, he became a member of the

Accademia degli Umidi The Accademia Fiorentina was a philosophical and literary academy in Florence, Italy during the Renaissance. History The Accademia Fiorentina was founded in Florence on 1 November 1540 as the Accademia degli Umidi, or "academy of the wet ones ...

. In 1545 duke

Cosimo I de' Medici Cosimo I de' Medici (12 June 1519 – 21 April 1574) was the second Duke of Florence from 1537 until 1569, when he became the first Grand Duke of Tuscany, a title he held until his death. Life Rise to power Cosimo was born in Florence on 12 ...

appointed him as consul to France. Here Panciatichi became attracted to the

Protestant movement The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, and later brought to Florence several books which had been forbidden by the Catholic church. He was one of the 35 people arrested as heretics in Florence in December 1551-January 1552; Panciatichi was later freed in exchange of a ransom. After promising he would no more deal with religious matters, he subsequently restarted his political career under the Medici aegis: in 1567 he became senator, in 1568 he was commissar in

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

and, in 1578, in

Pistoia Pistoia (, is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typi ...

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Panciatichi, Bartolomeo 1507 births 1582 deaths Italian politicians Italian Renaissance humanists Victims of the Inquisition