Giovanni Francesco Fara (February 4, 1543 - 1591) was a

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

n historian, geographer and clergyman,http://www.filologiasarda.eu/didattica/schede/slides.php?sez=37&id=560&didaSec=letteratura who wrote in Latin.

Biography

Giovanni Francesco Fara, the son of a

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

, was born into one of the most illustrious families in

Sassari Sassari (, ; sdc, Sàssari ; sc, Tàtari, ) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 127,525 inhabitants, and a Functional Urban Area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island, ...

. His early studies were done in Sardinia, and then moved to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

where he studied law and philosophy at the

Collegio di Spagna The Collegio di Spagna (Royal Spanish College or Royal College of Spain in Bologna) (officially ''Real Colegio Mayor de San Clemente de los Españoles'') is a college for Spain, Spanish students at the University of Bologna, Italy, which has been ...

, an institution for the Spanish students in the city of

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

; he also attended the lectures of the jurist

Camillo Porzio Camillo Porzio (1526–1580) was an Italian historian. Life He belonged to a wealthy and Nobility, noble Naples, Neapolitan family, and was the son of the philosopher Simone Porzio. He studied law, first at Bologna and later at Pisa, and after gra ...

. He collected information for his writings 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 ...

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 ...

. He was appointed

Archpriest The ecclesiastical title of archpriest or archpresbyter belongs to certain priests with supervisory duties over a number of parishes. The term is most often used in Eastern Orthodoxy and the Eastern Catholic Churches and may be somewhat analogous ...

of the Cathedral of Sassari on December 6, 1568. He was appointed

Bishop of Bosa A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

in 1591, and died there the same year. His large library was donated to the

University of Cagliari The University of Cagliari ( it, Università degli Studi di Cagliari) is a university in Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. It was founded in 1606 and is organized in 11 faculties. History The ''Studium Generalis Kalaritanum'' was founded in 1606 alon ...

. Fara is considered the "father of Sardinian historiography".

Works

* ''Tractatus de essentia infantis, proximi infantiae et proximi pubertatis'' (1567) * ''De rebus sardois'' (four books, the first published in 1580, the rest in 1835) * ''De corographia Sardiniae'' (unpublished until the nineteenth century)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fara, Giovanni Francesco 1543 births 1591 deaths Sardinian Roman Catholic priests Italian male writers