Paganino Paganini (;

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 ...

: ''Paganinus de Paganinis''; –1538), was an

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 ...

printer Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person or a company * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer (fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * James ...

and

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

from 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, ...

during

the Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass idea ...

. He was the original publisher of Luca Pacioli's mathematical works, '' Summa de arithmetica'' and ''

De divina proportione ''Divina proportione'' (15th century Italian for ''Divine proportion''), later also called ''De divina proportione'' (converting the Italian title into a Latin one) is a book on mathematics written by Luca Pacioli and illustrated by Leonardo da ...

'', and of what is thought to be the first printed version of the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

Life

Born in

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo ...

in the mid-fifteenth century, Paganini moved to

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

at a young age. In Venice he entered the field of publishing in 1483, working with publishers Bernardino Benali and Giorgio Arrivabene. In 1487 he printed and published his first independent work, a copy of the

Roman Missal The Roman Missal ( la, Missale Romanum) is the title of several missals used in the celebration of the Roman Rite. Along with other liturgical books of the Roman Rite, the Roman Missal contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of th ...

(published for the first time in 1474). In the following years he devoted himself to the printing of various works on theology and jurisprudence, including an exceptional Bible with accompanying illustrations and commentary by

Nicholas of Lyra Nicolas de Lyra __notoc__ 1479 Nicholas of Lyra (french: Nicolas de Lyre; – October 1349), or Nicolaus Lyranus, a Franciscan teacher, was among the most influential practitioners of biblical exegesis in the Middle Ages. Little is know ...

. His publications also included significant works on mathematics and politics. In 1517 he returned with his son Alessandro and his wife to Brescia, where he founded his own print shop in the monastery on Isola del Garda; he later settled in the town of Toscolano, which today is part of the municipality of Toscolano-Maderno. Here he continued his collaboration with his son, also a printer and publisher, printing numerous Latin and Italian classics in small format. In his later years he moved to the town of Cecina, also currently part of Toscolano-Maderno, where he died in 1538.

Notable works

Among Paganini's most notable publications were three mathematical writings of Luca Pacioli: Pacioli's '' Summa de arithmetica'' (1494), ''

'' (1509), and his Italian translation of Euclid's ''Elements'' (1509). He also published Vergerio's ''De Republica Veneta liber primus'' in 1526, contributing to the work's influence on Venetian politics in the early sixteenth century.

First printed Arabic Quran

Between 1537 and 1538 Paganini and his son published what was probably the first printed edition of the

. This work was likely intended for export to 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) ...

, with which Venice had extensive trade ties. Sometimes known as the Paganini Quran, the Venice Quran, or the Venice Manuscript, it is believed to be the first complete copy of the Quran printed on a

movable type Movable type (US English; moveable type in British English) is the system and technology of printing and typography that uses movable components to reproduce the elements of a document (usually individual alphanumeric characters or punctuation m ...

printer. In the end, the venture was unsuccessful; the entire print run is reported by various contemporaries to have been lost, though the explanations for the disappearance vary widely. However, one copy of this printed Quran was found in 1987 in a monastery in Isola di San Michele (Venice).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paganini, Paganino Republic of Venice printers Businesspeople from Brescia 1450 births Year of birth uncertain 1538 deaths