Giovanni Battista Adriani (1511 or 15131579) was an Italian

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 st ...

Life

He was born into a patrician family of

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

. His father, Marcello Virgilio Adriani (died 27 November 1521), was a professor of literature, and served as chancellor of the Republic. Giovanni Battista was secretary to the

Republic of Florence The Republic of Florence, officially the Florentine Republic ( it, Repubblica Fiorentina, , or ), was a medieval and early modern state that was centered on the Italian city of Florence in Tuscany. The republic originated in 1115, when the Flo ...

. He was among the defenders of the city during the siege of 1530, but subsequently joined the

Medici The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Mu ...

party and was appointed professor of rhetoric at the university. At the instance of

Cosimo I 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 ...

he wrote in Italian a contemporary history, spanning from 1536 to 1574, which is generally considered a continuation of Guicciardini chronicles, although the historian Brunet finds this notion erroneous. This
Istoria dei suoi tempi
' was published in Florence in 1583; a new edition appeared also in Florence in 1872. De Thou acknowledges himself greatly indebted to this history, praising it especially for its accuracy. Adriani also composed

funeral orations A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

in Latin on the emperor

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infa ...

and other noble personages, and was the author of a long letter on ancient painters and sculptors prefixed to the third volume of

Vasari Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work '' The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculp ...

. Giovanni Battista's son, named Marcello, born 1533 became a professor of rhetoric at the Accademia Fiorentina. He edited and translated a number of classic texts, including the ''Trattato dell'elocuzione'' by

Demetrius of Phalerum Demetrius of Phalerum (also Demetrius of Phaleron or Demetrius Phalereus; grc-gre, Δημήτριος ὁ Φαληρεύς; c. 350 – c. 280 BC) was an Athenian orator originally from Phalerum, an ancient port of Athens. A student of Theophrast ...

.Dizionario biografico universale, Volume 1, by Francesco Predari, Tipografia Guigoni, Milan (1865); page 33.

Works

* Giovan Battista Adriani: ''Istoria de’ svoi tempi ... Divisa in libri ventidue. Di Nuovo Mandata In Luce. Con li sommarii, e tavola delle cose più notabili.'' 2 vols. Giunti, Florence, 1583. * Adolfo Bartoli (ed.): ''Scritti vari editi ed inediti di G.B. Adriani e di Marcello suo figliuolo.'' Gaetano Romagnoli, Bologna, 1871.

References

* This cites G. M. Mazzucchelli, ''Gli Scrittori d' Italia'', i. p. 151 (Brescia, 1753). {{DEFAULTSORT:Adriani 1510s births 1579 deaths Writers from Florence 16th-century Italian historians