Onofrio Panvinio
Encyclopedia
The erudite Augustinian Onofrio Panvinio or Onuphrius Panvinius (Verona
23 February 1529 — Palermo
7 April 1568) was an Italian historian and antiquary, who was librarian to Cardinal
Alessandro Farnese.
At eleven he entered the order of Augustinian Hermits and in 1539 he went to Rome
and became fascinated by the city, whose topography
and inscriptions, ancient and medieval history, writers and great papal families he would document through a spectacularly productive brief lifetime.
After graduating in Rome as bachelor of arts in 1553 and teaching the novices of his order in Rome and Florence, in 1557 he obtained the degree of doctor of theology. He visited the libraries of Italy, pursuing historical research and went to Germany in 1559. Refusing the position of bishop, he accepted the more grateful office of corrector and reviser of the books of the Vatican Library
in 1556. He died while accompanying his friend and protector Cardinal Farnese to the Synod of Monreale, 1568.
He was recognized as one of the greatest church historians and archaeologists of his time. The scholarly printer Paulus Manutius
called him antiquitatis helluo ("a glutton for antiquity"), and Julius Caesar Scaliger
styled him pater omnis historiae ("father of all history").
His great archaeological map of ancient Rome was produced in 1565. About the same time he began to collaborate with the French engraver Étienne Dupérac
, who continued to provide illustrations for posthumous printings of Panvinio's works. Not all of his numerous historical, theological, archaeological, and liturgical works were published, even posthumously; some are preserved in manuscript in the Vatican Library
.
His portrait by Titian
is in the Galleria Colonna.
"Of sibyl
s and Sibylline oracles
";
Karl Gersbach, OSA, has published numerous articles on aspects of Panvinio's career. Philip Jacks set his career in the context of early antiquarian investigations in The Antiquarian and the Myth of Antiquity: The Origins of Rome in Renaissance Thought. (Cambridge University Press) 1993. The only modern biography is Jean-Louis Ferrary's bibliographic study, Onofrio Panvinio et les antiquités romaines (Rome) 1996.
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
23 February 1529 — Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
7 April 1568) was an Italian historian and antiquary, who was librarian to Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
Alessandro Farnese.
At eleven he entered the order of Augustinian Hermits and in 1539 he went to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and became fascinated by the city, whose topography
Topography of ancient Rome
The topography of ancient Rome is a multidisciplinary field of study that draws on archaeology, epigraphy, cartography and philology.The classic English-language work of scholarship is A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome , written by Samuel Ball Platner, completed and published after his...
and inscriptions, ancient and medieval history, writers and great papal families he would document through a spectacularly productive brief lifetime.
After graduating in Rome as bachelor of arts in 1553 and teaching the novices of his order in Rome and Florence, in 1557 he obtained the degree of doctor of theology. He visited the libraries of Italy, pursuing historical research and went to Germany in 1559. Refusing the position of bishop, he accepted the more grateful office of corrector and reviser of the books of the Vatican Library
Vatican Library
The Vatican Library is the library of the Holy See, currently located in Vatican City. It is one of the oldest libraries in the world and contains one of the most significant collections of historical texts. Formally established in 1475, though in fact much older, it has 75,000 codices from...
in 1556. He died while accompanying his friend and protector Cardinal Farnese to the Synod of Monreale, 1568.
He was recognized as one of the greatest church historians and archaeologists of his time. The scholarly printer Paulus Manutius
Paulus Manutius
Paulus Manutius was a Venetian printer with a humanist education, the third son of the famous printer Aldus Manutius and his wife Maria Torresano. Aldus died when the boy was two, and his grandfather and two uncles, the Asolani, carried on the Aldine Press...
called him antiquitatis helluo ("a glutton for antiquity"), and Julius Caesar Scaliger
Julius Caesar Scaliger
Julius Caesar Scaliger was an Italian scholar and physician who spent a major part of his career in France. He employed the techniques and discoveries of Renaissance humanism to defend Aristotelianism against the new learning...
styled him pater omnis historiae ("father of all history").
His great archaeological map of ancient Rome was produced in 1565. About the same time he began to collaborate with the French engraver Étienne Dupérac
Étienne Dupérac
Étienne Dupérac was a French painter, draughtsman and engraver, and a topographer and antiquary, who arrived in Rome in 1559...
, who continued to provide illustrations for posthumous printings of Panvinio's works. Not all of his numerous historical, theological, archaeological, and liturgical works were published, even posthumously; some are preserved in manuscript in the Vatican Library
Vatican Library
The Vatican Library is the library of the Holy See, currently located in Vatican City. It is one of the oldest libraries in the world and contains one of the most significant collections of historical texts. Formally established in 1475, though in fact much older, it has 75,000 codices from...
.
His portrait by Titian
Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio (c. 1488/1490 – 27 August 1576 better known as Titian was an Italian painter, the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near...
is in the Galleria Colonna.
Publications
- De fasti et triumphi Romanorum a Romulo usque ad Carolum V;; (Venice, 1557) "On the festivals and triumphs of the Romans from Romulus to Charles VCharles V, Holy Roman EmperorCharles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
"; - A revised edition of Carolus SigoniusCarolus SigoniusCarolus Sigonius was an Italian humanist, born in Modena.Having studied Greek under the learned Franciscus Portus of Candia, he attended the philosophical schools of Bologna and Pavia, and in 1545 was elected professor of Greek in his native place in succession to Portus...
's Fasti consulares (Venice, 1558); - De comitiis imperatoriis (Basel, 1558);
- De republica Romana (Venice, 1558); "On the Roman Republic";
- Epitome Romanorum pontificum (Venice, 1557); "Brief history of the Roman pontiffs";
- A revised edition of Bartolomeo PlatinaBartolomeo PlatinaBartolomeo Platina, originally named Sacchi was an Italian Renaissance writer.-Biography:Platina was born at Piadena , near Cremona....
's De vitis pontificum (Venice); "On the lives of the popes"; - XXVII Pontif. Max. elogia et imagines" (Rome, 1568); "Elogies and images of twenty-seven pontiffs";
"Of sibyl
Sibyl
The word Sibyl comes from the Greek word σίβυλλα sibylla, meaning prophetess. The earliest oracular seeresses known as the sibyls of antiquity, "who admittedly are known only through legend" prophesied at certain holy sites, under the divine influence of a deity, originally— at Delphi and...
s and Sibylline oracles
Sibylline oracles
The Sibylline Oracles are a collection of oracular utterances written in Greek hexameters ascribed to the Sibyls, prophetesses who uttered divine revelations in a frenzied state. Fourteen books and eight fragments of Sibylline Oracles survive...
";
- Chronicon ecclesiasticum a C. Julii Caesaris tempore usque ad imp. Maximilianum II (Cologne, 1568); "Ecclesiastical chronicle from the time of Julius Caesar to that of Emperor Maximilian";
- De episcopatibus, titulis, et diaconiis cardinalium (Venice, 1567);"of the bishoprics, tituli and diaconates of the cardinals";
- De ritu sepeliendi mortuos apud veteres Christianos (Cologne, 1568); "Of burial rites for the dead among the early Christians";
- De praecipuis urbis Romae santioribusque basilicis (Rome, 1570; Cologne, 1584);
- De primatu Petri et apostolicae selis potestate (Verona 1589): "Of the primacy of Peter and the power of the apostolic see";
- Libri X de varia Romanorum pontificum creatione (Venice, 1591);
- De bibliotheca pontificia vaticana (Tarragona, 1587); "On the pontiofical Vatican LibraryVatican LibraryThe Vatican Library is the library of the Holy See, currently located in Vatican City. It is one of the oldest libraries in the world and contains one of the most significant collections of historical texts. Formally established in 1475, though in fact much older, it has 75,000 codices from...
"; - Augustiniani ordinis chronicon (Rome, 1550); "Chronicle of the Augustinian Order";
- De ludis circensibus (Venice, 1600); "On the circus games". A posthumous publication with etchings by Dupérac that date to the 1560s.
- Epitome antiquitatum romanarum (Rome, 1558);
- De antique Romanorum religione; "On the ancient religion of the Romans";
Karl Gersbach, OSA, has published numerous articles on aspects of Panvinio's career. Philip Jacks set his career in the context of early antiquarian investigations in The Antiquarian and the Myth of Antiquity: The Origins of Rome in Renaissance Thought. (Cambridge University Press) 1993. The only modern biography is Jean-Louis Ferrary's bibliographic study, Onofrio Panvinio et les antiquités romaines (Rome) 1996.
External links
- Catholic Encyclopedia: Onofrio Panvinio
- De ludis circensibus is located at the Special Collections/Digital Library in Falvey Memorial Library at Villanova University.