![Piero-valeriano-bolzani-italian-author-science-source](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Piero-valeriano-bolzani-italian-author-science-source.jpg)
Pierio Valeriano (1477–1558), born Giovanni Pietro dalle Fosse, was a prominent
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 ...
Renaissance humanist
Renaissance humanism was a revival in the study of classical antiquity, at first in Italy and then spreading across Western Europe in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. During the period, the term ''humanist'' ( it, umanista) referred to teache ...
, specializing in the early study of
Egyptian hieroglyphs
Egyptian hieroglyphs (, ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt, used for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with some 1,000 distinct characters.There were about 1,00 ...
. His most famous works were ''On the Ill Fortune of Learned Men (De litteratorum infelicitate)'' and ''Hieroglyphica, sive, De sacris Aegyptiorvm literis commentarii'', a study on hieroglyphics and their use in
allegory
As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...
.
Early life (1477–1509)
Valeriano was born in
Belluno
Belluno (; lld, Belum; vec, Belùn) is a town and province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Located about north of Venice, Belluno is the capital of the province of Belluno and the most important city in the Eastern Dolomites region ...
, Italy, on 2 February 1477 to a poor family. His father, Lorenzo, was a craftsman who died around 1492, leaving a widow and four children in poverty with a young Valeriano as head of the household.
He began his schooling in Belluno at the public school of Giosippo Faustino, a man who Valeriano would later describe as a gifted and talented teacher. Valeriano remembered his schooling fondly, but constantly felt the burden of supporting his family.
Around 1493, Valeriano was brought to Venice by his uncle Fra
Urbano Bolzanio, a well-connected Franciscan friar and authority on the Greek language. Bolzanio taught the young Valeriano Greek, and made it possible for him to study under some of Venice's finest teachers at the time including
Giorgio Valla
Giorgio Valla (Latin: ''Georgius Valla''; Piacenza 1447–Venice 1500) was an Italian academic, mathematician, philologist and translator.
Life
He was born in Piacenza in 1447. He was the son of Andrea Valla and Cornelia Corvini. At the age of f ...
and
Marcantinio Sabellico. It was Sabellico that changed Valeriano's name in honor of the Pierian
Muses
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the p ...
.
Around 1500 he moved to Padua to study under
Leonico Tomeo. Here, through the connections of his uncle, Valeriano met and tutored the son of the future
Doge
A doge ( , ; plural dogi or doges) was an elected lord and head of state in several Italian city-states, notably Venice and Genoa, during the medieval and renaissance periods. Such states are referred to as " crowned republics".
Etymology
The ...
of Venice,
Andrea Gritti
Andrea Gritti (17 April 1455 – 28 December 1538) was the Doge of the Venetian Republic from 1523 to 1538, following a distinguished diplomatic and military career. He started out as a successful merchant in Constantinople and transitioned into t ...
. From 1500 to 1506, Valeriano divided his time between
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
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 ...
, making important contacts such as the Ambassador of France, Ianus Lascaris and becoming firmly entrenched in Venice's scholarly circles. This time allowed him to start tuition from his uncle on his travels through the
Near East
The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...
. It is known that he became particularly interested by his uncle's discussions of Egyptian hieroglyphics. It was here that Valeriano also became friends with and employed by
Aldo Manuzio
Aldus Pius Manutius (; it, Aldo Pio Manuzio; 6 February 1515) was an Italian printer and humanist who founded the Aldine Press. Manutius devoted the later part of his life to publishing and disseminating rare texts. His interest in and preserv ...
.
Time in Rome (1509–1531)
In 1506 he moved to Olivé near
Verona
Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...
staying there until 1509 when the
War of the League of Cambrai
The War of the League of Cambrai, sometimes known as the War of the Holy League and several other names, was fought from February 1508 to December 1516 as part of the Italian Wars of 1494–1559. The main participants of the war, who fough ...
made Valeriano a refugee, forcing him to relocate to Rome. Soon after arriving in Rome, Valeriano made friends with
Egidio di Viterbo, who would support his work on hieroglyphics and introduce him to powerful intellectual circles.
In October 1509
Pope Julius II
Pope Julius II ( la, Iulius II; it, Giulio II; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or th ...
named Valeriano parish priest of
Limana
Limana ( vec, Łimana) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Belluno in the Italian region of Veneto, located about north of Venice and about southwest of Belluno. As of 31 December 2010, it had a population of 5 027 and an area of ...
, a position held by Valeriano's maternal uncle, gaining him a small income. From 1509 to 1513, Valeriano struggled to gain a foothold in Rome after failing to impress both Pope Julius and
Emperor Maximilian. Despite this failure, his efforts to gain patronage of the Emperor allowed his work to attain interest from Trans-Alpine humanists.
Valeriano's fortunes changed following the election of Giovanni de Medici, a former pupil of his uncle Urbano, as
Pope Leo X
Pope Leo X ( it, Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521.
Born into the prominent political an ...
in 1513. Because of his connection to the new pope, Valeriano was soon invited to tutor his nephews including the young
Ippolito de' Medici
Ippolito de' Medici (March 1511 – 10 August 1535) was the only son of Giuliano di Lorenzo de' Medici, born out-of-wedlock to his mistress Pacifica Brandano.
Biography
Ippolito was born in Urbino. His father died when he was only five (1516), an ...
, raising him to the inner circles of the
papal court
The papal household or pontifical household (usually not capitalized in the media and other nonofficial use, ), called until 1968 the Papal Court (''Aula Pontificia''), consists of dignitaries who assist the pope in carrying out particular ceremoni ...
.
Leo X's pontificate (1513-1521) was a time of great popularity and patronage for humanists. Valeriano, with his vast knowledge of hieroglyphics was very popular in scholarly circles, gaining many powerful positions through both his knowledge and connections. One such position that Valeriano held was secretary to the Cardinal Giulio de' Medici, the future
Pope Clement VII
Pope Clement VII ( la, Clemens VII; it, Clemente VII; born Giulio de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the ...
. During Leo's pontificate, given his new status within the Papal Court, Valeriano was given almost unlimited access to hieroglyphics and antiquities in both public and private collections. This led to notable encounters with some of the Italy's greatest painters of the time including
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...
,
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...
, and
Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...
.
The tombs of Pierio Valeriano (right) and his uncle Fra Urban Bolzanio (left) at the Basilica di Santa Maria dei Frari in Venice
After Leo X's death in 1521, Valeriano lost his papal patronage with the accession of
Pope Adrian VI
Pope Adrian VI ( la, Hadrianus VI; it, Adriano VI; nl, Adrianus/Adriaan VI), born Adriaan Florensz Boeyens (2 March 1459 – 14 September 1523), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 January 1522 until his d ...
. The papacy of Adrian VI brought far less patronage of humanists than under Leo X and Julius II before him, causing a mass exodus of humanists from Rome in the winter and spring of 1523 including Valeriano. This did not last, and Valeriano returned to Rome and prosperity upon the accession of his former employer Giulio de' Medici, who in 1523 became Pope Clement VII.
Under the Medici popes Valeriano attained a number of positions and titles, including,
protonotary apostolic
In the Roman Catholic Church, protonotary apostolic (PA; Latin: ''protonotarius apostolicus'') is the title for a member of the highest non-episcopal college of prelates in the Roman Curia or, outside Rome, an honorary prelate on whom the pop ...
, secret chamberlain, and given a canonry in his home of Belluno. Throughout this period from 1523 to 1527, Valeriano made the most of this relative prosperity and security of income to continue his research of hieroglyphics dividing his time between Florence and Rome. Despite these movements, he continued to teach, his students during this period including
Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work ''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculpt ...
,
Alessandro Farnese, and
Ippolito de' Medici
Ippolito de' Medici (March 1511 – 10 August 1535) was the only son of Giuliano di Lorenzo de' Medici, born out-of-wedlock to his mistress Pacifica Brandano.
Biography
Ippolito was born in Urbino. His father died when he was only five (1516), an ...
.
The
Sack of Rome in 1527 again forced him to move, travelling with a party including the Medici princes and others high in the papal court. Following news of the Sack, an uprising in Florence sought to overthrow the Medici rulers of that city, which caused a loss of almost all of Valeriano's possessions in both cities.
When
Pope Clement VII
Pope Clement VII ( la, Clemens VII; it, Clemente VII; born Giulio de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the ...
fell ill and was expected to die in January 1529, he named his nephew (and Valeriano's pupil) Ippolito de' Medici as
cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals
* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
. Rewarded for his loyalty, Valeriano was named secretary to the cardinal, a position that offered him relative stability. His stay in Rome did not last, with records of him being based in Padua in 1531 and settling back to Belluno in 1532.
Retirement and legacy
In 1538 Valeriano was ordained as a priest and moved back to Belluno where he spent the last twenty years of his life on his scholarly projects. These included editing ''Hieroglyphica'', which despite being largely finished in the late 1520s, was only published in 1556, and several books on Greek grammar. Aside from a trip to Rome in 1536–1537, Valeriano would live out the rest of his days between Padua and Belluno, dying in the latter in 1558.
Valeriano's work as a teacher inspired many, including the famous writer and painter
Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work ''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculpt ...
. His largely under-appreciated ''Hieroglyphica'' acts as a precursor to books such as
Cesare Ripa
Cesare Ripa (c. 1555, Perugia – Rome) was an Italian iconographer who worked for Cardinal Anton Maria Salviati as a cook and butler.
Life
Little is known about his life. He was born of humble origin in Perugia about 1555. The exact date of ...
's ''
Iconologia
Cesare Ripa (c. 1555, Perugia – Rome) was an Italian iconographer who worked for Cardinal Anton Maria Salviati as a cook and butler.
Life
Little is known about his life. He was born of humble origin in Perugia about 1555. The exact date of ...
'', and is a guide to much Renaissance iconography.
Notable works
![Valeriano Adoratio](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Valeriano_Adoratio.jpg)
Among his books, ''De litteratorum infelicitate'' (or ''On the Ill Fortune of Learned Men'') and ''Hieroglyphica sive de sacris Aegyptiorum litteris commentarii'' or ''Hieroglyphics, or Commentaries on the Sacred Letters of the Egyptians'' are those with the greatest legacy.
''De litteratorum infelicitate'' is a treatise on the misfortunes of learned men, containing anecdotes of their poverty, lives, and deaths. Though some of the stories are of dubious authenticity, the book provides an insight into the lives of Italian humanists in the first half of the sixteenth century.
Valeriano's ''Hieroglyphica'' was written following a frenzy of popularity surrounding the rediscovery of the Hieroglyphics of
Horapollo Horapollo (from Horus Apollo; grc-gre, Ὡραπόλλων) is the supposed author of a treatise, titled ''Hieroglyphica'', on Egyptian hieroglyphs, extant in a Greek translation by one Philippus, dating to about the 5th century.
Life
Horapollo is ...
, but was not published until after the initial excitement had subsided. For its day, the ''Hieroglyphica'' was the most concise Renaissance dictionary of symbols, an area of increasing interest at the time. The book was influenced largely by the Hieroglyphics of Horapollo, Valeriano's lifetime of studying Egyptian antiquities throughout Italy, and by first-hand knowledge passed down by his uncle Fra Urbano. Each entry contains a dedication to various people who supported, or influenced Valeriano in his epic compendium of imagery. The ''Hieroglyphica'' was published in
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
in 1556, reprinted seven times over the next 120 years in Latin, translated into French in 1576 and 1615, and Italian in 1602.
Valeriano was also a prolific writer of
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
poetry
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
; in particular, a 1549 poem, "Pierus", written in the shape of a
pear
Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the p ...
, is an early example of
concrete poetry
Concrete poetry is an arrangement of linguistic elements in which the typographical effect is more important in conveying meaning than verbal significance. It is sometimes referred to as visual poetry, a term that has now developed a distinct mea ...
; it was famous enough to be known in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, where it was attacked by
Gabriel Harvey
Gabriel Harvey (c. 1552/3 – 1631) was an English writer. Harvey was a notable scholar, whose reputation suffered from his quarrel with Thomas Nashe. Henry Morley, writing in the ''Fortnightly Review'' (March 1869), has argued that Harvey's Lati ...
.
Little of this has survived and few copies remain outside of library and museum archives.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valeriano, Pierio
1477 births
1558 deaths
16th-century Latin-language writers
Italian Renaissance humanists
People from Belluno
Italian poets
Italian male poets
New Latin-language poets