Girolamo Gigli (or ''Gerolamo''; 14 October 1660 – 4 January 1722) was an Italian writer and playwright.
Biography
Born in
Siena
Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.
The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...
to the Nenci family, he was adopted by an uncle, from whom he took the surname, Gigli. He married young to Laurenzia Perfetti, with whom he had twelve children. In 1698 he taught at the
University of Pavia
The University of Pavia ( it, Università degli Studi di Pavia, UNIPV or ''Università di Pavia''; la, Alma Ticinensis Universitas) is a university located in Pavia, Lombardy, Italy. There was evidence of teaching as early as 1361, making it one ...
and later in that of Siena, as Tuscan professor of Literature. He was a regular visitor to the
Gigli adapted French comedy with a lively and spontaneous humor. For example, ''Il Don Pilone, ovvero il bacchettone falso'' (1711) is an adaptation of ''
Tartuffe
''Tartuffe, or The Impostor, or The Hypocrite'' (; french: Tartuffe, ou l'Imposteur, ), first performed in 1664, is a theatrical comedy by Molière. The characters of Tartuffe, Elmire, and Orgon are considered among the greatest classical thea ...
'' by
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...
. Here, Gigli uses the language of Siena to make a witty satire of personalities of the era. In ''La sorellina di don Pilone'' (1712), Gigli teases his own family, especially his wife. The same year Gigli wrote ''Il Gazzettino e Avvisi ideali'', mocking characters related to the academic, religious, and courtly worlds.
In addition to plays, he also wrote some forty musical compositions. Gigli also engaged in historical research and linguistic diversity. His most notable historical work is the ''Diario Senese'' (or ''Sanese''), a two-volume work published posthumously in 1723 by his son Ludwig. In the ''Diario'', Gigli collected "outstanding things sacred and profane that would illustrate the annals of Siena", ordered day-to-day; therefore containing much historical information from previous centuries concerning the customs, traditions, and institutions of Siena.
In 1717 he published all the writings of
St. Catherine of Siena
Catherine of Siena (Italian: ''Caterina da Siena''; 25 March 1347 – 29 April 1380), a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic, was a mystic, activist, and author who had a great influence on Italian literature and on the Catholic Church. ...
, but in farcical and funny language: the so-called ''Vocabolario Cateriniano''. This questioning of the Florentine language, in addition to its opinion concerning the superiority of
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 ...
over Siena, helped give rise to the controversy with the
Accademia della Crusca
The Accademia della Crusca (; "Academy of the Bran"), generally abbreviated as La Crusca, is a Florence-based society of scholars of Italian linguistics and philology. It is one of the most important research institutions of the Italian language ...
, from which he was expelled. Gigli never disavowed his views of language, and was therefore sent into exile, under pressure from the same Accademia della Crusca. His ''Vocabolario Cateriniano'' was burned at Florence in Piazza Sant Apollinare, on 9 September 1717. Gigli then had to move, first to
Viterbo
Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo.
It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history. ...
and then to Rome, before returning to Siena in the final period of his life. However, due to his economic and social disgrace, he decided to return to Rome, where he died in 1722.
In recent years the Accademia della Crusca has decided to republish Gigli's ''Vocabulario Cateriniano''.
In 1707 it was published in Siena with a dedication to the Grand Duke
Cosimo III
Cosimo III de' Medici (14 August 1642 – 31 October 1723) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1670 until his death in 1723, the sixth and penultimate from the House of Medici. He reigned from 1670 to 1723, and was the elder son of Grand Duke Ferdinan ...
"The life of the seraphic bride of Jesus Christ St. Catherine of Siena, now faithfully translated from the Latin Legend who compiled the B. Raymond of Capua, her confessor for Mr. Canon Bernardino Pecci Academic Enthroned".