Francesco Cattani da Diacceto (2 September 1531 – 4 November 1595), often referred to as Francesco Cattani da Diacceto il Giovane in order to distinguish him from his grandfather, the philosopher Francesco di Zanobi Cattani da Diacceto (1466–1522), was

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Fiesole Fiesole () is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a scenic height above Florence, 5 km (3 miles) northeast of that city. It has structures dating to Etruscan and Roman times. ...

from 1570 until his death in 1595 and author of several works including an ''Essamerone'' (" Hexameron") and a translation into

vernacular Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken language, spoken form of language, particularly when perceptual dialectology, perceived as having lower social status or less Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige than standard language, which is mor ...

Florentine Italian of the ''Hexaëmeron'' and ''De Officiis Clericorum'' of

Saint Ambrose Ambrose of Milan (; 4 April 397), venerated as Saint Ambrose, was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promoting Roman Christianity against Ari ...

Life

Cattani di Diacceto was born on 2 September 1531 to Dionigi Cattani di Diacceto and Maria di Guglielmo Martini. His father was one of the thirteen children of the noted philosopher Francesco di Zanobi Cattani da Diacceto, sometimes dubbed "Il Vecchio" or "Il Pagonazzo" to distinguish him from his grandson. In 1546 Cattani became a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

of the Cathedral of Florence, and by 1558 was an apostolic pronotary. On 11 August 1570 he was named

, on the retirement of his uncle Angelo Cattani da Diacceto from that post. During the 25 years of his tenure he completed the construction, begun by his uncle, of the at Pratovecchio; restored the church of in Florence and the in the Bishop's Palace of Fiesole; and supervised the restoration of the Duomo of Fiesole, giving the

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

its present form. He had studied civil law and

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

, and as a young man had been associated with the Accademia fiorentina of

Marsilio Ficino Marsilio Ficino (; Latin name: ; 19 October 1433 – 1 October 1499) was an Italian scholar and Catholic priest who was one of the most influential humanist philosophers of the early Italian Renaissance. He was an astrologer, a reviver of Neo ...

. He was a prolific writer on religious topics. He attempted to collect and publish the works, in Latin and Italian, of his grandfather Francesco di Zanobi Cattani da Diacceto, and commissioned Benedetto Varchi to write his biography. This was published together with the ''Tre libri d’amore e un panegirico all’amore'' of the elder Cattani in Venice in 1561. He died on 4 November 1595; he was buried in the Oratory of San Jacopo in the Episcopal Palace of Fiesole.

Works

His published works include: * ''Gli uffici di S. Ambruogio vescouo di Milano: in volgar fiorentino''. Fiorenza: Lorenzo Torrentino, 1558. * ''Homelie del reverendo m. Francesco Cattani da Diacetto Sopra la sequenza del corpo di Christo''. Fiorenza,: appresso L. Torrentino, 1559. * ''L'Essamerone di S. Ambruogio tradotto in volgar Fiorentino per M. Francesco Cattani da Diacceto''. Fiorenza: Lorenzo Torrentino, 1560. * ''Discorso dell'autorità del Papa sopra 'l Concilio''. Fiorenza: appresso i Giunti, 1562. * ''Instituzione spirituale de Messer Lodovico Blosio: Utilissima a coloro, che aspirano alla perfezzione della vita''. Fiorenza: Giunti, 1562. * ''L'Essamerone del Reverendo M. Franceso Cattani da Diacceto''. In Fiorenza: appresso Lorenzo Torrentino, 1563. * ''Discorso del reuerendo m. Francesco de Cattani da Diacceto ... sopra la superstizzione dell'arte magica''. In Fiorenza: appresso Valente Panizzi & Marco Peri, ''circa'' 1567. * ''La vita dell'immaculata et gloriosissima sempre vergine santa Maria madre di Dio et signor nostro Giesu Christo''. In Firenze: Nella Stamperia di Bartolomeo Sermartelli, 1584.

Life

Works

References

Further reading