Silvio Antoniani (31 December 1540,

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 ...

– 16 August 1603,

) was a musician, canon lawyer, writer on education,

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

and

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 ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, who spent most of his career in the Roman Curia.

Life

The son of a poor wool merchant, his talent with the

lyre The lyre () is a stringed musical instrument that is classified by Hornbostel–Sachs as a member of the lute-family of instruments. In organology, a lyre is considered a yoke lute, since it is a lute in which the strings are attached to a yoke ...

at a young age drew the attention of many patrons and led indirectly to his career in the Church. Cardinal

Otto Truchsess von Waldburg Otto Truchsess von Waldburg (25 February 1514 – 2 April 1573) was Prince-Bishop of Augsburg from 1543 until his death and a Cardinal of the Catholic Church. Childhood and Education Otto was born at Scheer Castle to the Swabian noble House of ...

funded his education at a young age.

Pope Julius III Pope Julius III ( la, Iulius PP. III; it, Giulio III; 10 September 1487 – 23 March 1555), born Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 February 1550 to his death in March 155 ...

provided Antoniani with room and board at the

Apostolic Palace The Apostolic Palace ( la, Palatium Apostolicum; it, Palazzo Apostolico) is the official residence of the pope, the head of the Catholic Church, located in Vatican City. It is also known as the Papal Palace, the Palace of the Vatican and the V ...

. He met

Ercole II d'Este Ercole II d'Este (5 April 1508 – 3 October 1559) was Duke of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio from 1534 to 1559. He was the eldest son of Alfonso I d'Este and Lucrezia Borgia. Biography Through his mother, Ercole was a grandson of Pope Alexander ...

Duke of Ferrara Emperor Frederick III conferred Borso d'Este, Lord of Ferrara, with the Duchy of Modena and Reggio in 1452, while Pope Paul II formally elevated him in 1471 as Duke of Ferrara, over which the family had in fact long presided. This latter territo ...

, who sponsored his studies at the

University of Ferrara The University of Ferrara ( it, Università degli Studi di Ferrara) is the main university of the city of Ferrara in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. In the years prior to the First World War the University of Ferrara, with more than 5 ...

, where Antoniani earned a doctorate in civil and canon law in 1556, and was professor of

classical literature Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

. After the death of the Duke of Ferrara, he returned to Rome. In 1563 Pope

Pius IV Pope Pius IV ( it, Pio IV; 31 March 1499 – 9 December 1565), born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 December 1559 to his death in December 1565. Born in Milan, his family considered ...

appointed him to the chair of belles-lettres in

Sapienza University The Sapienza University of Rome ( it, Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza or the University of Rome, and formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a public research university located in Rome, Ita ...

, a position in which he worked with St Charles Borromeo, who made him his personal secretary. In 1566 he resigned the chair, and took up the study of theology under the direction of St Philip Neri and was ordained priest on 12 June 1568. Pope Pius V named him Secretary of the College of Cardinals, a position he held for twenty-four years.

Pope Sixtus V Pope Sixtus V ( it, Sisto V; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order ...

named him secretary of the Congregation of Bishops and Regulars. Clement VIII appointed him Secretary of Papal Briefs in 1593. Antoniano was also Master of the Papal Chamber and a Canon of the

Basilica of Saint Peter The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal en ...

. Pope Clement created him Cardinal Priest of '' San Salvatore in Lauro'' on 3 March 1599. He was present at the acceptance of the Union of Brest, and two of his writings are inscribed on the north and south faces of the pedestal supporting the Vatican Obelisk in

Saint Peter's Square Saint Peter's Square ( la, Forum Sancti Petri, it, Piazza San Pietro ,) is a large plaza located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the papal enclave inside Rome, directly west of the neighborhood (rione) of Borgo. Bot ...

. He died in Rome in 1603, and is interred in

Santa Maria in Vallicella Santa Maria in Vallicella, also called Chiesa Nuova, is a church in Rome, Italy, which today faces onto the main thoroughfare of the Corso Vittorio Emanuele and the corner of Via della Chiesa Nuova. It is the principal church of the Oratorians, ...

Works

With the advent of

Italian humanism 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 ...

in the late sixteenth century, Antoniano devoted himself to the study of educational problems and at the instance of St Charles Borromeo, wrote his principal work on the Christian education of children, (''Tre libri dell' educazione cristiana de' figliuoli'', Verona, 1584.) His work passed through several editions in Italian and was translated into French by Guignard (Troyes, 1856; Paris, 1873), and into German by Kunz (Freiburg, 1888). The other writings of Antoniano, many of which have not been published, deal with literary, historical, and liturgical subjects. He was one of the compilers of the Roman Catechism and a member of the commission charged by Clement VIII with the revision of the

Breviary A breviary (Latin: ''breviarium'') is a liturgical book used in Christianity for praying the canonical hours, usually recited at seven fixed prayer times. Historically, different breviaries were used in the various parts of Christendom, such a ...

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Antoniano, Silvio 16th-century Italian cardinals 16th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests Academic staff of the University of Ferrara Writers from Rome 1540 births 1603 deaths Italian non-fiction writers Italian male non-fiction writers Education writers 17th-century Italian cardinals