Francesco Berlinghieri
Encyclopedia
Francesco Berlinghieri was an Italian
scholar and humanist
who lived during the fifteenth century. He promoted the value of classical Greek learning and was one of the first to print a text based on Ptolemy's
Geographica
. Berlinghieri studied poetry under the tutelage of Cristoforo Landino
.
into a family with over 200 years of involvement in Florentine politics. He served in a variety of governmental offices including as Prior of the Signoria and Conservator of Laws. In 1479 he was appointed Florentine ambassador at the Gonzaga
court in Mantua
¹. He later found employment in Florence
in the court of Lorenzo de' Medici
and took part in the Platonic Academy
, founded by Marsilio Ficino
. Berlinghieri provided financial support to Ficino during the latter's translation of Plato
's works into Latin.
In 1464 Berlinghieri started to work on a treatise based upon Ptolemy's Geographica
. He updated its maps and included a commentary in verse form. It was printed in 1482 with copper engraved maps by the German printer Nicolaus Laurentii
, also known as Niccolò Tedesco, under the title Septe Giornate della Geographia di Francesco Berlinghieri meaning "The Seven Days of Geography". It was one of the first printed works based on Ptolemy and also the first to be printed in vernacular Italian
. Berlinghieri was also among the first to supplement the traditional maps contained in the Geographia with updated maps of France, Italy, Spain and the Holy Land.²
Berlinghieri's work was originally to be dedicated to the Ottoman
Sultan Mehmed II
. When the sultan died in 1481, Berlinghieri dedicated it to Federico da Montefeltro
, the Duke of Urbino
. Unfortunately, the duke died before the final edition was printed. Additionally, manuscript copies of the book were dedicated to Lorenzo de'Medici and Federigo da Montefeltro and individual copies of the printed edition were dedicated to the Ottoman Sultan, at that time Bayezid II
and his half-brother Cem Sultan.³
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...
scholar and humanist
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
who lived during the fifteenth century. He promoted the value of classical Greek learning and was one of the first to print a text based on Ptolemy's
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
Geographica
Geographia (Ptolemy)
The Geography is Ptolemy's main work besides the Almagest...
. Berlinghieri studied poetry under the tutelage of Cristoforo Landino
Cristoforo Landino
Cristoforo Landino was an Italian humanist and an important figure of the Florentine Renaissance.-Biography:...
.
Career
Berlinghieri was born in FlorenceFlorence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
into a family with over 200 years of involvement in Florentine politics. He served in a variety of governmental offices including as Prior of the Signoria and Conservator of Laws. In 1479 he was appointed Florentine ambassador at the Gonzaga
House of Gonzaga
The Gonzaga family ruled Mantua in Northern Italy from 1328 to 1708.-History:In 1433, Gianfrancesco I assumed the title of Marquis of Mantua, and in 1530 Federico II received the title of Duke of Mantua. In 1531, the family acquired the Duchy of Monferrato through marriage...
court in Mantua
Mantua
Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
¹. He later found employment in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
in the court of Lorenzo de' Medici
Lorenzo de' Medici
Lorenzo de' Medici was an Italian statesman and de facto ruler of the Florentine Republic during the Italian Renaissance. Known as Lorenzo the Magnificent by contemporary Florentines, he was a diplomat, politician and patron of scholars, artists and poets...
and took part in the Platonic Academy
Platonic Academy
The Academy was founded by Plato in ca. 387 BC in Athens. Aristotle studied there for twenty years before founding his own school, the Lyceum. The Academy persisted throughout the Hellenistic period as a skeptical school, until coming to an end after the death of Philo of Larissa in 83 BC...
, founded by Marsilio Ficino
Marsilio Ficino
Marsilio Ficino was one of the most influential humanist philosophers of the early Italian Renaissance, an astrologer, a reviver of Neoplatonism who was in touch with every major academic thinker and writer of his day, and the first translator of Plato's complete extant works into Latin...
. Berlinghieri provided financial support to Ficino during the latter's translation of Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
's works into Latin.
In 1464 Berlinghieri started to work on a treatise based upon Ptolemy's Geographica
Geographia (Ptolemy)
The Geography is Ptolemy's main work besides the Almagest...
. He updated its maps and included a commentary in verse form. It was printed in 1482 with copper engraved maps by the German printer Nicolaus Laurentii
Nicolaus Laurentii
Nicolaus Laurentii was a printer living in Florence, Italy in the late fifteenth century. He was the first printer to use copper plate engravings and printed a number of works of importance to the Italian Renaissance....
, also known as Niccolò Tedesco, under the title Septe Giornate della Geographia di Francesco Berlinghieri meaning "The Seven Days of Geography". It was one of the first printed works based on Ptolemy and also the first to be printed in vernacular Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
. Berlinghieri was also among the first to supplement the traditional maps contained in the Geographia with updated maps of France, Italy, Spain and the Holy Land.²
Berlinghieri's work was originally to be dedicated to the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
Sultan Mehmed II
Mehmed II
Mehmed II , was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to September 1446, and later from...
. When the sultan died in 1481, Berlinghieri dedicated it to Federico da Montefeltro
Federico da Montefeltro
Federico da Montefeltro, also known as Federico III da Montefeltro , was one of the most successful condottieri of the Italian Renaissance, and lord of Urbino from 1444 until his death...
, the Duke of Urbino
Urbino
Urbino is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of Federico da Montefeltro, duke of Urbino from 1444 to 1482...
. Unfortunately, the duke died before the final edition was printed. Additionally, manuscript copies of the book were dedicated to Lorenzo de'Medici and Federigo da Montefeltro and individual copies of the printed edition were dedicated to the Ottoman Sultan, at that time Bayezid II
Bayezid II
Bayezid II or Sultân Bayezid-î Velî was the oldest son and successor of Mehmed II, ruling as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512...
and his half-brother Cem Sultan.³
Further reading
- Brotton, Jerry. Trading Territories. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1998.
- Brotton, Jerry. "Printing the World." Books and the Sciences in History, Eds. Marina Frasca-Spada and Nick Jardine. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
- Cosgrove, Dennis. Apollo's Eye: A Cartographic Genealogy of the Earth in the Western Imagination. Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003.
- Roberts, Sean. "Cartography Between Cultures: Francesco Berlinghieri's Geographia of 1482" doctoral dissertation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 2006.