Carlo Giuseppe Guglielmo Botta
Encyclopedia
Carlo Giuseppe Guglielmo Botta (November 6, 1766, San Giorgio Canavese
, Piedmont
– August 10, 1837, Paris
) was an Italian
historian
.
He was born at San Giorgio Canavese
in Piedmont
. He studied medicine at the University of Turin
, and obtained his doctors degree when about twenty years of age. Having rendered himself obnoxious to the government during the political commotions that followed the French Revolution
, he was imprisoned for over a year; and on his release in 1795 he withdrew to France
, only to return to his native country as a surgeon in the French army, whose progress he followed as far as Venice
. Here he joined the expedition to Corfu
, from which he did not return to Italy till 1798. At first he favored French policy in Italy, contributed to the annexation of Piedmont by France in 1799, and was an admirer of Napoleon; but he afterwards changed his views, realizing the necessity for the union of all Italians and for their freedom from foreign control.
After the separation of Piedmont from France in 1814 he retired into private life, but, fearing persecution at home, became a French citizen. In 1817 he was appointed rector
of the University of Rouen
, but in 1822 was removed owing to clerical influence. Amid all the vicissitudes of his early manhood Botta had never allowed his pen to be long idle, and in the political quiet that followed 1816 he naturally devoted himself more exclusively to literature. In 1824 he published a history of Italy from 1789 to 1814 (? vols.), on which his fame principally rests; he himself had been an eyewitness of many of the events described. His continuation of Guicciardini, which he was afterwards encouraged to undertake, is a careful and laborious work, but is not based on original authorities and is of small value. Though living in Paris
he was in both these works the ardent exponent of that recoil against everything French which took place throughout Europe. A careful exclusion of all Gallicisms, as a reaction against the French influences of the day, is one of the marked features of his style, which is not infrequently impassioned and eloquent, though at the same time cumbrous, involved and ornate. Botta died at Paris on 10 August 1837, in comparative poverty, but in the enjoyment of an extensive and well-earned reputation.
His son, Paul-Émile Botta
(1802-1870), was a distinguished traveller and Assyria
n archaeologist, whose excavations at Khorsabad (1843) were among the first efforts in the line of investigation afterwards pursued by Layard.
The works of Carlo Botta are Storia naturale e medica deli Isola di Corfu (1798); an Italian translation of Borns Joannis Physiophuli specimen monachologiae (1801); Souvenirs d'un voyage en Dalmatie (1802); Storia della guerra dell'Independenza d'America (1809); Camillo, a poem (1815); Storia d'Italia dal 1789 al 1814 (1824, new ed., Prato, 1862); Storia d'Italia in continuazione al Guicciardini (1832, new ed, Milan, 1878).
See C. Dionisiotti, Vita di Carlo Botta (Turin, 1867); C. Pavesio, Carlo Botta e le sue opere storiche (Florence, 1874); Scipione Botta, Vita privata di Carlo Botta (Florence, 1877); A. d'Ancona e O. Bacci, Man-ucla della Letteratura Italiana (Florence, 1894), vol. v. pp. 245 seq.
San Giorgio Canavese
San Giorgio Canavese is a town and comune in the province of Turin in the region of Piedmont, northern Italy.The main attraction is the castle, once a possession of the Novarese counts of Biandrate.-External links:* *...
, Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
– August 10, 1837, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
) was an Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
.
He was born at San Giorgio Canavese
San Giorgio Canavese
San Giorgio Canavese is a town and comune in the province of Turin in the region of Piedmont, northern Italy.The main attraction is the castle, once a possession of the Novarese counts of Biandrate.-External links:* *...
in Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
. He studied medicine at the University of Turin
University of Turin
The University of Turin is a university in the city of Turin in the Piedmont region of north-western Italy...
, and obtained his doctors degree when about twenty years of age. Having rendered himself obnoxious to the government during the political commotions that followed the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, he was imprisoned for over a year; and on his release in 1795 he withdrew to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, only to return to his native country as a surgeon in the French army, whose progress he followed as far as Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
. Here he joined the expedition to Corfu
Corfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
, from which he did not return to Italy till 1798. At first he favored French policy in Italy, contributed to the annexation of Piedmont by France in 1799, and was an admirer of Napoleon; but he afterwards changed his views, realizing the necessity for the union of all Italians and for their freedom from foreign control.
After the separation of Piedmont from France in 1814 he retired into private life, but, fearing persecution at home, became a French citizen. In 1817 he was appointed rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of the University of Rouen
University of Rouen
The University of Rouen is a French university, in the Academy of Rouen.-See also:* List of public universities in France by academy...
, but in 1822 was removed owing to clerical influence. Amid all the vicissitudes of his early manhood Botta had never allowed his pen to be long idle, and in the political quiet that followed 1816 he naturally devoted himself more exclusively to literature. In 1824 he published a history of Italy from 1789 to 1814 (? vols.), on which his fame principally rests; he himself had been an eyewitness of many of the events described. His continuation of Guicciardini, which he was afterwards encouraged to undertake, is a careful and laborious work, but is not based on original authorities and is of small value. Though living in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
he was in both these works the ardent exponent of that recoil against everything French which took place throughout Europe. A careful exclusion of all Gallicisms, as a reaction against the French influences of the day, is one of the marked features of his style, which is not infrequently impassioned and eloquent, though at the same time cumbrous, involved and ornate. Botta died at Paris on 10 August 1837, in comparative poverty, but in the enjoyment of an extensive and well-earned reputation.
His son, Paul-Émile Botta
Paul-Émile Botta
Paul-Émile Botta was a French scientist who served as Consul in Mosul from 1842.-Life:...
(1802-1870), was a distinguished traveller and Assyria
Assyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
n archaeologist, whose excavations at Khorsabad (1843) were among the first efforts in the line of investigation afterwards pursued by Layard.
The works of Carlo Botta are Storia naturale e medica deli Isola di Corfu (1798); an Italian translation of Borns Joannis Physiophuli specimen monachologiae (1801); Souvenirs d'un voyage en Dalmatie (1802); Storia della guerra dell'Independenza d'America (1809); Camillo, a poem (1815); Storia d'Italia dal 1789 al 1814 (1824, new ed., Prato, 1862); Storia d'Italia in continuazione al Guicciardini (1832, new ed, Milan, 1878).
See C. Dionisiotti, Vita di Carlo Botta (Turin, 1867); C. Pavesio, Carlo Botta e le sue opere storiche (Florence, 1874); Scipione Botta, Vita privata di Carlo Botta (Florence, 1877); A. d'Ancona e O. Bacci, Man-ucla della Letteratura Italiana (Florence, 1894), vol. v. pp. 245 seq.