Trajano Boccalini (155616 November 1613) was an Italian
satirist
This is an incomplete list of writers, cartoonists and others known for involvement in satire – humorous social criticism. They are grouped by era and listed by year of birth. Included is a list of modern satires.
Under Contemporary, 1930-196 ...
.
Biography
Boccalini was born in
Loreto, the son of an
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
, he himself adopted that profession, and it appears that he commenced late in life to apply to literary pursuits. Pursuing his studies at
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 ...
, he had the honor of teaching future Cardinal
Guido Bentivoglio
Guido Bentivoglio d'Aragona (4 October 15797 September 1644) was an Italian cardinal, statesman and historian.
Early years
A member of the Ferrara branch of the influential Bentivoglio family of Bologna, he was the younger son of marchese Co ...
, and acquired the friendship of the cardinals Gaetano and Borghesi, as well as of other distinguished personages. By their influence he obtained posts, and was appointed (by
Gregory XIII
Pope Gregory XIII ( la, Gregorius XIII; it, Gregorio XIII; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585), born Ugo Boncompagni, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for ...
) governor of
Benevento in the
Papal States
The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...
. Here, however, he seems to have acted imprudently, and he was soon recalled to Rome, where he shortly afterwards composed his most important work, the ''Ragguagli di Parnaso'' (''News-sheet from Parnassus''), in which
Apollo
Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...
is represented as receiving the complaints of all who present themselves, and distributing justice according to the merits of each particular case. The book is light and fantastic
satire
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...
on the actions and writings of his eminent contemporaries, and some of its happier hits are among the hackneyed felicities of literature.
To escape, it is said, from the hostility of those whom his shafts had wounded, he returned 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 ...
, and there, according to the register in the parochial church of
Santa Maria Formosa
Santa Maria Formosa, formally The Church of the Purification of Mary, is a church in Venice, northern Italy. It was erected in 1492 under the design by Renaissance architect Mauro Codussi. It lies on the site of a previous church dating from the ...
, died of
colic
Colic or cholic () is a form of pain that starts and stops abruptly. It occurs due to muscular contractions of a hollow tube (small and large intestine, gall bladder, ureter, etc.) in an attempt to relieve an obstruction by forcing content out. ...
accompanied with fever on 16 November 1613. It was asserted by contemporary writers that he was beaten to death with sandbags by a band of
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
bravadoes, but the story seems without foundation. At the same time, it is evident from the ''Pietra del Paragone'', which appeared in 1615 after his death, that whatever the Spaniards felt towards him, he cherished against them the bitterest hostility. The only government which was exempt from his attacks is that of Venice, a city for which he seems to have had a special affection.
The ''Ragguagli'', first printed in 1612, has frequently been republished. It was inserted in the first publication of the Rosicrucians, as a preface to their ''Fama Fraternitatis'' (1614). The ''Pietra'' has been translated into French, German, English and Latin; the English translator was
Henry, Earl of Monmouth, his version being entitled ''The Politicke Touchstone'' (London, 1674). Boccalini died in Venice on 16 November 1613. Another posthumous publication of Boccalini was his ''Commentarii sopra Cornelio Tacito'' (Geneva, 1669). Many of his manuscripts are preserved still unprinted.
Works
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Further reading
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References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Boccalini, Trajano
1556 births
1613 deaths
Italian satirists
People from the Province of Ancona
17th-century Italian writers