Stefano Antonio Morcelli (17 January 1737 – 1 January 1822) was an Italian
Jesuit scholar, known as an
epigraphist
Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...
. His work ''De stilo Latinarum inscriptionum libri III'', published in three volumes in 1781, which shows a rigorous method, a novelty and originality of approach, as well as a solid preparation, gave him his European fame and is considered a milestone in the development of epigraphy.
Life
Morcelli was born at
Chiari near
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 ...
. He studied at the Jesuit College of Brescia and was admitted into the Society of Jesus, 3 November 1753. He successively taught grammar at
Fermo
Fermo (ancient: Firmum Picenum) is a town and ''comune'' of the Marche, Italy, in the Province of Fermo.
Fermo is on a hill, the Sabulo, elevation , on a branch from Porto San Giorgio on the Adriatic coast railway.
History
The oldest hu ...
, humanities at Ragusa, and oratory at the
Roman College
The Roman College ( la, Collegium Romanum, it, Collegio Romano) was a school established by St. Ignatius of Loyola in 1551, just 11 years after he founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). It quickly grew to include classes from elementary school t ...
where he established an academy of archaeology at the
Kircherian Museum
The Kircherian Museum was a public collection of antiquities and artifacts, a cabinet of curiosities, founded in 1651 by the Jesuit father Athanasius Kircher in the Roman College. Considered the first museum in the world, its collections were grad ...
.
After the
suppression of the Society of Jesus
The suppression of the Jesuits was the removal of all members of the Society of Jesus from most of the countries of Western Europe and their colonies beginning in 1759, and the abolishment of the order by the Holy See in 1773. The Jesuits were ...
(1773) he became
librarian
A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users.
The role of the librarian has changed much over time ...
to
Cardinal Albani
Alessandro Albani (15 October 1692 – 11 December 1779) was a Roman Catholic cardinal, but should be best remembered as a leading collector of antiquities, dealer and art patron in Rome. He supported the art historian, Johann Joachim Winckelmann ...
and in 1791 was appointed to a
provostship in his native town. He declined the offer of the
Archbishopric of Ragusa
The Diocese of Dubrovnik ( hr, Dubrovačka biskupija); or Ragusa ( la, Dioecesis Ragusiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in southern Croatia.[sermons
A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. E ...]
and
ascetic treatises. When the Society of Jesus was re-established he again took his place in its ranks, and died in Chiari in January 1822, aged eighty-four.
Works
He owes his reputation not only to his extensive knowledge of ancient inscriptions, but also to his classical Latinity. Among his works are:
* ''De stilo inscriptionum latinarum'' (Rome, 1781);
* ''Inscriptiones commentariis subjectis'' (Rome, 1783)
* To a second edition of these two works was added the ''Πάρεργον Inscriptionum novissimarum'' (Padua, 1818–22);
* ''Μηνολόγιον τῶν Εὐαγγελίων Ἑορταστικὸν sive Kalendarium Ecclesiæ Constantinopolitanæ'' etc. (Rome, 1788);
* ''Africa Christiana'' (Brescia, 1816-7);
* ''Opuscoli Ascetici'' (Brescia, 1819 or 1820).
Morcelli was also an important
numismatist
A numismatist is a specialist in numismatics ("of coins"; from Late Latin ''numismatis'', genitive of ''numisma''). Numismatists include collectors, specialist dealers, and scholars who use coins and other currency in object-based research. Altho ...
, and was influential on such scholars as
Celestino Cavedoni Celestino Cavedoni (18 May 1795 at Levizzano-Rangone, near Modena – 26 November 1865 in Modena) was an Italian ecclesiastic, archeologist, and numismatist.
He pursued his theological studies in the diocesan seminary, and from 1816 to 1821 distin ...
.
[Foraboschi D. 1990, ''Monetary Theory and the Antiquarian: Eighteenth-Century Numismatic Research from Galiani to S.A. Morcelli'', in M.H. Crawford, C.R. Ligota, J.B. Trapp (eds.), Medals and Coins from Budè to Mommsen, London, pp. 115-123.]
Bibliography
*
*
Carlos Sommervogel
Carlos Sommervogel (8 January 1834 – 4 March 1902) was a French Jesuit scholar. He was author of the monumental ''Bibliothèque de la Compagnie de Jésus'', which served as one of the major references for the editors of the Catholic Encyclope ...
, ''Bibliothèque de la Compagnie de Jésus'', V, 1290-1305 (Paris, 1894);
* Henri Jaubert O.S.B., ''Stéphane- Antoine Morcelli'', Constantine 1914;
* Luigi Rivetti, ''Stefano Antonio Morcelli: note biografiche 1737-1821'', Brescia 1920;
* Luisa Cenini, ''Stefano Antonio Morcelli: 1737-1821. La vita e l’opera'', Brescia 1975;
* Mino Facchetti, ''Il Morcelli e Chiari fra ’700 e ’800'', Chiari 1987;
* ''Stefano Antonio Morcelli. Un gesuita tra Ancien Régime ed Età Contemporanea'', in ''Biblioteca Clarense. Quaderni della Fondazione Biblioteca Morcelli Pinacoteca Repossi'', Chiari 2001.
*
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morcelli, Stefano Antonio
1737 births
1822 deaths
18th-century Italian Jesuits
Epigraphy
Latin epigraphers
19th-century Italian Jesuits
Italian classical philologists
Italian archaeologists
People from Chiari, Lombardy