Vito Maria Amico (15 February 1697 - 5 December 1762) was an Italian monk, historian and writer. He is most notable for the last work published in his lifetime, ''Lexicon topographicum Siculum...'', a topographical dictionary of

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

published between 1757 and 1760, describing its history, settlements and best-known families, monuments and churches.

Life

He was born in

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

to Vito Amico and Anna Statella, both from Catanese noble families. He entered the

Monastery of San Nicolò l'Arena The Monastery of San Nicolò l'Arena in Catania, Sicily is a former Benedictine monastery, located on Piazza Dante 30 in the city of Catania, region of Sicily, Italy. After the Mafra, this abbey is the second largest Benedictine monastery in Eur ...

in Catania aged sixteen, becoming its prior aged 34. He later became overall prior of all 25 Benedictine monasteries in

Messina Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in ...

, Militello,

Castelbuono Castelbuono ( Sicilian: ''Castiddubbuonu'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, Sicily (southern Italy). Fountain of Venere Ciprea. It is known for its castle from which its name derives, and around which the city devel ...

and

Monreale Monreale (; ; Sicilian: ''Murriali'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, in Sicily, southern Italy. It is located on the slope of Monte Caputo, overlooking the very fertile valley called ''"La Conca d'oro"'' (the Golde ...

and was made abbot in 1757. His passion for knowledge led him to research Sicilian history and natural history in Etna's lava fields and to search for fossils in Militello. He also collected pottery, vases, medals and coins from archaeological excavations, later donating them to Catania's Museo di antichità greco-romane, sited beside the

University of Catania The University of Catania ( it, Università degli Studi di Catania) is a university located in Catania, Sicily. Founded in 1434, it is the oldest university in Sicily, the 13th oldest in Italy, and the 29th oldest university in the world. With a ...

's library, which he had founded himself - in a short period that museum had a notable collection. He later took the chair in secular history at the same university and founded Catania's first public library. He was made "royal historian" by Carlo di Borbone in 1751.Vito Amico
in ''Treccani.it – Enciclopedie on line'', Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Works

* ''Sicilia sacra disquisitionibus, et notitiis illustrata...'' (Panormi, 1733–1734) (Online edition
tomo I, 1733
* ''Catania illustrata, sive sacra et civilis urbis Catanae Historia...'' (Catanae, 1740–1746) (Online edition
parte II, 1741parte III, 1741parte IV, 1746
* ''De recta civilis Historiae comparandae ratione'' (Catanae, 1744) * ''Dei limiti intorno ai quali deve contenersi la sana e saggia critica, e della esorbitanza dello scrivere'' (Catanae, 1744) * ''Lexicon topographicum Siculum...'' (Panormi, 1757–1760) (Online edition
volume I, parts I-II, 1757volume II, 1759volume III, 1760

Published posthumously

* * ''Dizionario topografico della Sicilia di Vito Amico'', translated from Latin and annotated by Gioacchino Di Marzo (Palermo, 1855–1856) (Online edition
Volume I, first edition, 1855Volume I, second edition, 1858

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amico, Vito 18th-century Italian historians Historians of Sicily category:1697 births category:1752 deaths Academic staff of the University of Catania Italian Benedictines category:Italian topographers Religious leaders from Catania