Giovan Battista Nani (30 August 1616,

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 ...

– 5 November 1678,

), in French ''Jean Baptiste Felix Gaspard Nani'', was a Venetian ambassador, librarian, archivist, amateur botanist and historian, born into a patrician family. For 25 years (1643–68) Battista was the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

's ambassador to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Biography

Giovan Battista Nani was born in 1616 into a noble Venetian family. His father was procurator of Saint Mark, and

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

from Venice to

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 educated under the eye of his father, who took his son with him to Rome in his embassy from the Venetian Republic to

Pope Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII ( la, Urbanus VIII; it, Urbano VIII; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death in July 1644. As po ...

. In 1641, Nani was admitted into the College of Senators, and soon after was appointed ambassador to France, where he resided five years. He was much esteemed by

Cardinal Mazarin Cardinal Jules Mazarin (, also , , ; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino () or Mazarini, was an Italian cardinal, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Louis XIII and Louis X ...

, who often consulted him on public affairs. In 1648, he returned to Venice, after having obtained from the court of France a considerable aid of men and money for the defence of Candia against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. The superintendence of the affairs of war and the finances was then entrusted to him; and in 1664, he was sent ambassador to the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

, which he again visited on the accession of the Emperor

Leopold Leopold may refer to: People * Leopold (given name) * Leopold (surname) Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons'' * Leopold Bloom, the protagonist o ...

. In 1670, he went upon a second embassy to the court of France. At his return he was nominated procurator of Saint Mark; and was soon after raised to the post of Captain General of the Sea. A maritime life, however, not agreeing with him, he continued to serve the state at home. He died in Venice in 1678.

Works

On 17 March 1652, Nani was appointed by the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

to write the history of the Republic. He wrote in

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 ...

the History of Venice from 1613 to 1671. Nani's History was translated into French by François Tallemant (1679) and Masclary (1702), and continued by Michele Foscarini and Piero Garzoni. In writing his history of Venice he has given a general history of his times, especially with respect to the affairs of the French in Italy. This history was printed in Venice, in 2 vols. 4to, in 1662 and 1679. Nani wrote about the Conspiracy of Spain against the Venetian Republic, set up by the Marquis de Bedmar. The story was used by César Vichard de Saint-Réal in his ''Conjuration des Espagnols contre la République de Venise en l'année M. DC. XVIII'', and in 1682 by

Thomas Otway Thomas Otway (3 March 165214 April 1685) was an English dramatist of the Restoration period, best known for ''Venice Preserv'd'', or ''A Plot Discover'd'' (1682). Life Otway was born at Trotton near Midhurst, the parish of which his father, H ...

in playwright '' Venice Preserv'd, or A Plot Discover'd''.

Leopold von Ranke Leopold von Ranke (; 21 December 1795 – 23 May 1886) was a German historian and a founder of modern source-based history. He was able to implement the seminar teaching method in his classroom and focused on archival research and the analysis of ...

published his view on the conspiracy in ''Über die Verschwörung gegen Venedig, im Jahre 1618'' (1831).Ueber die Verschwörung gegen Venedig, im Jahre 1618 door Leopold von Ranke

/ref> Nani left in

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...

a paraphrase on

Lucan Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (3 November 39 AD – 30 April 65 AD), better known in English as Lucan (), was a Roman poet, born in Corduba (modern-day Córdoba), in Hispania Baetica. He is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imperial ...

Pharsalia ''De Bello Civili'' (; ''On the Civil War''), more commonly referred to as the ''Pharsalia'', is a Roman epic poem written by the poet Lucan, detailing the civil war between Julius Caesar and the forces of the Roman Senate led by Pompey the Gre ...

, and Considerations on the

Annals Annals ( la, annāles, from , "year") are a concise historical record in which events are arranged chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record. Scope The nature of the distinction between ann ...

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his t ...

Works

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Notes

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nani 1616 births 1678 deaths 17th-century Venetian writers 17th-century diplomats 17th-century Italian historians Historians of Italy Ambassadors of the Republic of Venice to France Procurators of Saint Mark