Pietro Bembo: Humanist, Linguist, Literary Theorist, Poet...

Pietro Bembo,  (born May 20, 1470, Venice—died Jan. 18, 1547, Rome), was a Renaissance cardinal who wrote one of the earliest Italian grammars and assisted in establishing the Italian literary language.

In 1513, Bembo became secretary to Pope Leo X in Rome. On Leo’s death (1521), he retired to Padua. He accepted the office of historiographer of Venice in 1529, and was shortly thereafter appointed librarian of St. Mark’s Cathedral. Created a cardinal in 1539, Bembo returned to Rome, where he devoted himself to theology and classical history.

Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s. v. "Pietro Bembo," accessed December 05, 2011, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/60259/Pietro-Bembo.

Primary Sources:

Bembo, Pietro. Gli Asolani di messer Pietro Bembo.Impressi in Venetia: nelle case d'Aldo Romano, 1505.  call number: Special Collections - Gunst Collection Z239.9 .A36 B45 CB 

Bembo, Pietro. Gli asolani. In Vinegia: Nella case d'Aldo Romano & d'Andrea Asolano suo suocero, 1515.  call number: Special Collections - Gunst Collection Z239.9 .A36 B45 1515 CB 

Bembo, Pietro. Prose di m. Pietro Bembo, nelle qvali si ragiona della volgar lingva scritte al cardinale De Medici ... divisein tre libri. Vinegia: G. Tacuino, 1525.  call number: Special Collections - Rare Books Collection KB1525 .B4 F 

Bembo, Pietro, J. Ang. dei Angeli, and Comin da Trino. Prose. In Venetia: [Comin da Trino], 1540. call number: Special Collections - Rare Books Collection PC1073 .B3 1540 T 

Bembo, Pietro. Rime. In Vinetia: [Giovanni Andrea Valvassori], 1544.  call number: Special Collections - Rare Books Collection PQ4608 .A15 1544 

Bembo, Pietro, Francesco Sansovino, and Gualtiero Scoto. Delle lettere di M. Pietro Bembo: a sommi pontefici, a cardinali etad altri signori et persone ecclesiastice scritte : primo[-quarto] volume : con la giunta della vitta del Bembo. In Vinegia: [Gualtiero Scoto], 1575.  call number: Special Collections - Rare Books Collection PQ4608 .A7 1575 

Leo. Papal brief signed by Pietro Bembo, the secretary to Leo X. 1516.  call number: Special Collections - Manuscript Collection  M1788

Wednesday primary source #15 - 18th century Italian correspondence

Letters from the Court of Modena (Bologna) to Narciso Calcagni in Reggio, Italy, 1737-1744.

Coreggio Torella, Giocon da
Manuscript/Archive: 71 letters.
In Italian
Special Collections: Misc 330

Description from the catalog record:
Modena became the center of the noble family Este in the 16th century, after they lost their original center of Ferrara. Modena blossomed in this period, becoming a center for culture and the arts. By the 18th century the prestige of both the city and the family had waned; from 1703-07 Modena was occupied by French troops, and from 1742-49 by Austrian troops.
...
The letters discuss everyday matters of court life, such as the purchase of clothes and art, and Torella's family life. The later letters (from 1743) make reference to the Austrian occupation.
...
Coreggio Torella was a member of the Court of the Duchess of Modena, Carlotta Aglae di Bourbon. Possibly he was groom of the chambers. The Duchess, who is the subject of many of the letters, was the daughter of Philippe II d'Orleans, and the wife of Francesco d'Este, whom she married in 1720. Her son, Ercole, was the last of the male line of the noble Italian family.
Provenance:
From the dispersed library of Bar. Horace Finaly Landau, in Florence. Purchased by Stanford, 1977.

These could be a great source for a seminar paper, or a larger project on 18th century court and home life.

Wednesday primary source #12

Olschki, Fiammetta. Papers Relating to Leo S. Olschki (firm) and Olschki Family Members, 1904-1994. Special Collections, M0739

Author: Olschki, Fiammetta, collector.
Title: Papers relating to Leo S. Olschki (Firm) and Olschki family members, 1904-1994.
Related e-resource: Finding aid available online
http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/ft3g5002hs
Physical Description: 8.75 linear feet
Note: Boxes 12-18 (Accession 1998-066) are closed until 1/1/2025.

Summary: Includes personal family correspondence between the Wittkowers and their son, and between the Olschkis and their children. The papers of the firm include individual files of correspondence with major scholars and collectors. In addition, there is a history of the firm written by Fiammetta Olschki Witt and information about her catalogue raisonné of European travel books, 1990. Included in the papers of the firm is a file on the Serristori archive (1452-195?) with descriptions and the 1982 valuation; a political oddment file with a German anti-semitic leaflet, 1933, and student protest material from the 1960s and early 70s; and three files about the Florence flood, documenting the losses suffered by the firm, 1966-67.

Leo S. Olschki was founder in 1886 of the prestigious publishing house of the same name. Fiammetta Witt née Olschki married Mario Max Witt (earlier Wittkower). She is the granddaughter of Leo Samuel Olschki, and niece of Leonardo Olschki and Cesare Olschki. Mario Witt's parents were Rudolf and Margot Wittkower.

The archives contain correspondence between the firm and many important scholars and book collectors of the 20th century as well as materials on the Florence flood in 1966 and information on student protest movements.

Wednesday primary source #11 - Italian chancellery history

For those interested in early modern Italian diplomatic history...

Title: Memorie istoriche di diversi luoghi, ed altro. Other title: Memorie storiche di diversi luoghi, ed altro

Other title: History as seen from an Italian Chancellery : unpublished manuscript codex, 1565-1614.

Physical Description: 1 v. (529 ff. ; folio, 34.5 x 23 cm)

Note: Bound in contemporary quarter vellum and cartonato, title on spine, text in neat chancellery hands.

Summary: This unpublished manuscript is from the diplomatic archive of an Italian chancellery, probably compiled in the opening decades of the 17th century. It covers a geographically diverse area of interests from England to China, from Mecca to Poland. The 70-odd texts (letters, news reports, laws, travel narratives) are organized by geographical region, beginning with Poland, Russia and Eastern Europe, then Turkey and the Mediterranean battleground, Britain, and the Savoie. Taken together, the collection offers insight into Italian diplomatic interests at the beginning of the 17th century and the manner in which these were recorded in official circles. Summary: Within the text are oddities, such as an account of the Chinese city of Quinsai (Hangzhou) based on Marco Polo and later accounts by Jesuits and Christian merchants, a description of a Haj from Alexandria to Mecca, and, bound in the same section as various documents relating to the Princedom of Savoie, an etiquette manual for pages in the service of a prince. Summary: The collection of documents relating to England and Scotland numbers some 100-odd pages. It includes texts written by Filippo Pigafetta and Placido Ragazzoni. There is a copy of the Treaty of London (1604), a supplication of 1601 by England's Catholics to the King, and a public defense by Sir Robert Cecil against accusations of intrigue against the crown (1606)

MSS CODEX 0093 F 1 Manuscript Collection -- Request at Special Collections Desk

For the full record, click : http://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/6687427

Wednesday (actually Friday!) primary source #10 - Italian family accounts

This would be a great primary source for a seminar paper -

Author: Brancaccio Family
Title: Brancaccio family account book; being a ledger of rents and taxes collected: manuscript codex, January 1624 to April 1637.
Imprint: [Rome?]
Physical Description: 1 volume (126 leaves) ; 4to

This account book, identified on the upper cover as a "Review of things" and as the property of Leonardo, Maria, and one other member of the family, contains detailed descriptions of the monies and goods collected, possibly on behalf of the church. The ledger gives detailed descriptions of rents collected for houses and lands, some paid with money, others paid with grain and goods, plus taxes collected, also paid in money and goods. Several notable names appear throughout the ledger, including those of Medici, Piti, and Borgia.

For the full descriptive record please click here!

Wednesday Primary Source #8 - convent register

A manuscript volume containing biographical information about the nuns of the Santa Maria Annuciata delle Murate in Florence, 1629-1809. Catherine de' Medeci had stayed here in the 16th century.

You can find the location of the convent (and many other buildings, streets, and neighborhoods) on Brown University's "online Gazetteer of Sixteenth Century Florence :
http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/florentine_gazetteer/

Organization: Santa Maria Annunciata della Murate (Convent :
                    Florence, Italy)
Title: Vita e morte, 1629-1809.
Physical Description: 1 v. (149 leaves)
Summary: Biographical details, including date of birth and of
entry to the convent, names of parents, and date of
death.  The second of two volumes, the first probably
lost or stolen as a result of political turmoil.
Note: A Benedictine convent of about 250 sisters.
Note: Phillipps MS 22159; purchased by Stanford, 1990.
Subject (LC): Santa Maria delle Annunziate
Subject (LC): Benedictine nuns--Italy--Florence.
Subject (LC): Convents--Florence.
Subject (LC): Monasticism and religious orders for women.
Subject (LC): Women.
Subject (LC): Florence (Italy)--History--1421-1737.
Subject (LC): Florence (Italy)--History--1737-1860.
Title: Santa Maria Annunciata della Murate Obituarium.
Title: Obituarium S. Maria de Florencia.
Title: Santa Maria delle Annunziate.

SPEC-COLL CALL NUMBER          COPY  LOCATION                        
1)MSS CODEX M0544 F CB        1   MANUSCRIPT

Wednesday primary source #5 - a manuscript on criminology

Author: Zamboni, Pietro.
Title: Introduzione alla Pratica Criminale.., tradotta dal
Latino in Volgare da Giannantonio Signoretti di
Orazio, 1738.
Physical Description: 1 v. (113 leaves)
Summary: 28 chapters and an index. Each chapter appears to
deal with a different aspect of criminology and the
laws and penalties related to the different types of
crimes committed. Crimes range from the public to the
private: adultery, sacrilege, incest, homicide,
poisoning. Also examined are the various motivations
or reasons for crimes, and the forensic procedures to
be taken in case of death.
Note: Born probably in mid-late 16th century in Schio
(Vicence), Italy. Lawyer.
Note: Purchased, 1989.
Subject (LC): Crime and criminals--Italy.
Subject (LC): Law--Italy.
Repository address: Dept. of Special Collectins, Stanford Univ. Libraries,
Stanford, CA 94305.

SPEC-COLL CALL NUMBER COPY LOCATION
1)MSS CODEX M0515 1T MANUSCRIPT