Mariano Bolizza or Marin Bolica (1603 – 27 November 1643) was a nobleman and writer from
Cattaro
Kotor (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian: ), is a coastal town in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative ...
.
Biography
Bolizza was born in Kotor, at the time part of 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, ...
(now
Montenegro
)
, image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Podgorica
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, official_languages = M ...
). He studied at the University of
Padua
Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...
and, having embraced a priestly life, moved to Venice where he became a secretary of
nuncio
An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international or ...
Giovanni Battista Agucchi. Bolizza wrote Agucchi's funeral oration with a dedication to his mentor
Claude de Mesmes, comte d'Avaux
Claude de Mesmes, comte d'Avaux (1595–1650) was a 17th-century French diplomat and public administrator. He was sent in various missions to Venice, Rome, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and Poland by Richelieu.
In 1635 he guided the negotiations ...
, the French ambassador to the Republic of Venice. A member of the
Bolizza family, his ancestor and family
progenitor
In genealogy, the progenitor (rarer: primogenitor; german: Stammvater or ''Ahnherr'') is the – sometimes legendary – founder of a family, line of descent, clan or tribe, noble house, or ethnic group..
Ebenda''Ahnherr:''"Stammvater eines G ...
was Zuane Bolizza, mentioned in 1538.
The Bolizza were central in ensuring the safe transport of correspondence between Venice and the Ottoman Empire.
They had received an exclusive contract after the
Battle of Lepanto
The Battle of Lepanto was a naval engagement that took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states (comprising Spain and its Italian territories, several independent Italian states, and the Soverei ...
(1571).
Family heads were often appointed
vice-proveditors of Cattaro.
His brother was
Francesco Bolizza.
Work
A public servant of Venice, he was assigned to provide information on the
Sanjak of Scutari
The Sanjak of Scutari or Sanjak of Shkodra ( sq, Sanxhaku i Shkodrës; sr, Скадарски санџак; tr, İskenderiye Sancağı or ''İşkodra Sancağı'') was one of the sanjaks of the Ottoman Empire. It was established after the Otto ...
, a paper known in Italian as ''Relazione e descrizione del sangiacato di Scutari''. He delivered his documents at Venice on May 25, 1614. The Sanjak of Scutari included the
vilayet of Montenegro, which paid an annual tribute. The work contains the earliest description of the people and geography of the modern era Montenegro.
Legacy
The
Croatian Encyclopedia
The ''Croatian Encyclopedia'' ( hr, Hrvatska enciklopedija) is a Croatian national encyclopedia published by the Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography.
Overview
The project began in 1999, and it represents a fifth iteration of the encyclo ...
describes him as a 'Croatian writer' and notes his works in Latin and Italian.
See also
*
Rovca
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolizza, Mariano
1603 births
1643 deaths
17th-century Venetian writers
17th-century travel writers
Italian travel writers
Republic of Venice nobility
People from Kotor
Ottoman period in the history of Montenegro
Ottoman Albania
Venetian period in the history of Montenegro