Julius Caesar Capaccio (15528 July 1634) was a learned

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humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

of the 17th century. A civic humanist, in 1602 he was appointed secretary of the city of Naples.

Biography

Giulio Cesare Capaccio was born in Campagna d'

Eboli Eboli ( Ebolitano: ) is a town and ''comune'' of Campania, southern Italy, in the province of Salerno. An agricultural centre, Eboli is known mainly for olive oil and for its dairy products, among which the famous buffalo mozzarella from the ...

(Salerno) in 1552, of a humble family. As a youngster he became proficient in

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and

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before attending the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continuo ...

, where he graduated in law. In 1592 appeared his treatise on

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s ''Delle imprese'', a late but important testimony of

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tradition. By the early 1600s he was deeply involved in local antiquarian studies, especially in the

Phlegraean Fields The Phlegraean Fields ( it, Campi Flegrei ; nap, Campe Flegree, from Ancient Greek 'to burn') is a large region of supervolcanic calderas situated to the west of Naples, Italy. It was declared a regional park in 2003. The area of the calde ...

. An erudite member of the humanist literary-historian circle in late sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century Naples, he was one of the most methodical local scholars interested in reconstructing Naples's past from antiquity to his day. In 1611 Capaccio became a founding member of the Neapolitan Accademia degli Oziosi (Academy of the Idle). He died in 1634, shortly after the publication of ''Il Forastiero'', a guide to Naples in dialogue form, which is considered his masterpiece. ''Il Forastiero'' is a huge narrative description of the

history of Naples The history of Naples is long and varied, dating to Greek settlements established in the Naples area in the 2nd millennium BC. During the end of the Greek Dark Ages a larger mainland colony – initially known as Parthenope – develo ...

modeled after the conversation between a foreigner and a local sage, imagined as taking place over the course of ten days. His work was part of the historical and geographic genre that became popular in the later sixteenth century. It was, in fact, just the type of book he had helped establish with his earlier guides on the antiquities and natural marvels of the Phlegraean Fields. It was also akin to Eugenio Caracciolo's ''Napoli Sacra'' (1624) in its historical treatment of Naples's sacred sites, martyrs, and saints' cults. Capaccio's detailed descriptions and historical narrative embraced both the pagan and the early Christian period, from which the city's present political institutions and religious traditions were thought to have originated.

Works

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References

Bibliography

* ''This article incorporates text from Watkins Biographical Dictionary, a publication now in the

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Capaccio, Julius 1552 births 1631 deaths Italian male non-fiction writers 17th-century Italian historians 17th-century Italian male writers People from Campagna Italian archaeologists University of Naples Federico II alumni University of Bologna alumni Italian Renaissance humanists 17th-century Latin-language writers Italian Renaissance writers People of the Kingdom of Naples