Abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

Gian Benedetto Mittarelli, O.S.B. Cam., (2 September 1707 – 14 August 1777) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

and

monastic Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religion, religious way of life in which one renounces world (theology), worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

Early life and education

Mittarelli was born in 1707 at

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 ...

and christened Nicola Giacomo. At the early age of fourteen, Nicola entered the

Camaldolese Order The Camaldolese Hermits of Mount Corona ( la, Congregatio Eremitarum Camaldulensium Montis Coronae), commonly called Camaldolese is a monastic order of Pontifical Right for men founded by Saint Romuald. Their name is derived from the Holy Hermita ...

at the Monastery of Saint Michael, established on the island of

Murano Murano is a series of islands linked by bridges in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy. It lies about north of Venice and measures about across with a population of just over 5,000 (2004 figures). It is famous for its glass making. It was on ...

in the Venetian Lagoon. When he was admitted to the

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

of the monastery, he was given the name

Dom Dom or DOM may refer to: People and fictional characters * Dom (given name), including fictional characters * Dom (surname) * Dom La Nena (born 1989), stage name of Brazilian-born cellist, singer and songwriter Dominique Pinto * Dom people, an et ...

Gian Benedetto, by which he was known for the rest of his life. Later, he studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

at the monasteries of his Order in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

and

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. When he completed his studies, he was assigned to teach these subjects to the younger members of the Order. Because he was not attuned to the

scholastic method Scholasticism was a medieval school of philosophy that employed a Organon, critical organic method of philosophical analysis predicated upon the Aristotelianism, Aristotelian categories (Aristotle), 10 Categories. Christian scholasticism eme ...

, his superiors sent him to the Monastery of Saint

Parisius Parisius ( it, Parisio) was a Camaldolese monk and spiritual director. It is believed that Parisius was born in 1160, at either Treviso or Bologna. At the age of twelve, Parisius entered the Camaldolese order. Shortly after being ordained a pri ...

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Veneti ...

, where he became a

confessor Confessor is a title used within Christianity in several ways. Confessor of the Faith Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith but not to the point of death.archivist An archivist is an information professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to Document, records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records maintained by an archivist c ...

of the Order.

Career

In 1760 he was elected

of San Michele, and in 1765,

Superior General A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of a religious institute in the Catholic Church and some other Christian denominations. The superior general usually holds supreme executive authority in the religious community, while t ...

of his Order for the space of five years during which he resided in Rome. After his term expired, he returned to his monastery in Venice, where he remained as abbot until his death in 1777.

Writings

His monumental work, in the preparation of which he was assisted by his confrères,

Anselmo Costadoni Dom Anselmo Costadoni, O.S.B. Cam., (1714–1785) was an Italian Camaldolese monk, historian and theologian. Biography He was born on 6 October 1714, at Venice and christened Giovanni Domenico. The son of a rich merchant, he sacrificed at an e ...

and Dom Calogerà, is the "Annales Camaldulenses ordinis S. Benedicti, ab anno 907 ad annum 1770" 9 volumes folio (Venice, 1755–73). It follows the plan of

Mabillon Dom Jean Mabillon, O.S.B., (; 23 November 1632 – 27 December 1707) was a French Benedictine monk and scholar of the Congregation of Saint Maur. He is considered the founder of the disciplines of palaeography and diplomatics. Early life Mabil ...

's "Annales ordinis S. Benedicti". His other works are * "Memorie della vita di San Parisio, e del monastero dei Santi Christina e Parisio di Treviso" (Venice, 1748) * "Memorie del monastero della Santa Trinità di Fænza" (Fænza, 1749) * "Ad Scriptores rerum Italicarum A. Muratorii accessiones historiæ Faventinæ" (Venice, 1771) * "De litteratura Faventinorum" (Venice, 1775) * ''Bibliotheca codicum manuscriptorum monasterii S. Michaelis Venetiarum prope Murianum una cum Appendice librorum impressorum seculi XV'' (Venice, 1779; posthumous work)

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mittarelli, Nicola Giacomo Camaldolese Order 1707 births 1777 deaths Benedictine scholars Italian Benedictines Italian historians of religion Benedictine abbots 18th-century Venetian historians