Biography

He was born at 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...

 of a Lucca

Lucca

Lucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plainnear the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca...

n family. After studying at Padua

Padua

Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...

 he served the Republic of Venice

Republic of Venice

The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...

 in various political capacities, including that of secretary to one of the Venetian delegates at the Council of Ten

Council of Ten

The Council of Ten, or simply the Ten, was, from 1310 to 1797, one of the major governing bodies of the Republic of Venice whose actions were often secretive. Although some sources may indicate that the Council of Ten was generally accepted in Venice, there was some opposition...

. (

In 1562 he accompanied the ambassador Michele Suriano to the Court of Emperor Maximilian II

Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor

Maximilian II was king of Bohemia and king of the Romans from 1562, king of Hungary and Croatia from 1563, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation from 1564 until his death...

 and acted as official historiographer of the Republic; during which office he delivered the funeral oration for those killed at the naval battle of Lepanto

Battle of Lepanto (1571)

The Battle of Lepanto took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic maritime states, decisively defeated the main fleet of the Ottoman Empire in five hours of fighting on the northern edge of the Gulf of Patras, off western Greece...

 (1571). After the change of government he was made Savio

Savio

Savio can mean:* Savio , an Italian river* Savio, sector of Kerava town in Finland, and a railway station located in the sector* Savio, Buenos Aires, a settlement in Escobar Partido, Argentina...

 di Terraferma (for the administration of the republics continental possessions), and became a senator.

In 1579 he was appointed official historian to the republic, in succession to Luigi Contarini. He took up the narrative from where Cardinal Bembo had left it, in 1513, and brought it down to 1551. He was made provveditore to the Chamber of Loans in 1580, Commisario del Cadore

Cadore

Cadore is a "comunità montana" in the Italian region of Veneto, in the northernmost part of the province of Belluno bordering on Austria, the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is watered by the Piave River poured forth from the Carnic Alps...

 (1589), Savio del gran consiglio in 1590, ambassador to the pope in Rome (1592–95) and governor of Brescia

Brescia

Brescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...

 (1590–92). In 1596 he was appointed provveditore (procurator) of St. Mark (1596, next in dignity to the doge), and Provveditore

Provveditore

The Italian title provveditore or proveditore , "he who sees to things", was the style of various local district governors in the extensive, mainly maritime empire of the Venetian dogal republic...

 delle Fortezze (superintendent of fortifications) in 1597. He died in Venice.

Writings

He was devoted from youth to literature and philosophy, also the composition of poetry. He applied himself especially to history and political science, and was at the end of the sixteenth century what Macchiavelli, though in a different way, was at the beginning. He belonged intellectually to the group of recently ennobled men who met at the residence of the Morosini to discuss politics, which party (it may be called the liberal party) came into authority in 1582.

His chief works are the "Guerra di Cipro" 'War of Cyprus' (1570–72) and the "Storia Veneziana" a continuation of Bembo's history, embracing the years 1513 to 1551, which was at first written in Latin and subsequently in Italian, published until posthumously in 1599. Both works were composed at the request of the Government, but written with truth and impartiality, showing especially the connexion between the current events of Venice and the general history of Europe.

His "Despatches" from Rome and the "Relazione" written at the end of his diplomatic mission reveal his great political foresight, by his accurate estimate of men and affairs at Rome, and which are equal to those of the greatest Venetian ambassadors.

Of his political writings, the "Della perfezione della vita politica" in dialogue form, written between 1572 and 1579, of somewhat didactic and academic tone, treats principally of the superiority of the active and contemplative life, a problem he decides in favour of the active life on account of its contributing more to the welfare of the Republic. It was supposed, not without reason, to have been written to controvert the ideas contained in Bellarmine

Robert Bellarmine

Robert Bellarmine was an Italian Jesuit and a Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was one of the most important figures in the Counter-Reformation...

's "De officio principis christiani".

His "Discorsi politici" were not published till after his death. The first book treats of the greatness and decadence of the Romans; the second of modern governments, especially Venice, being really an apology for the latter's policy. Among his other works may be mentioned a number of political orations.

Though Paruta is an independent thinker, Macchiavelli's influence is notable. The policy of Italian equilibrium, which a century later developed into that of European equilibrium, was clearly foreseen by him. In his political views economy is not an important part, and therein he is inferior to his contemporary, the Piedmontese Botero

Giovanni Botero

Giovanni Botero was an Italian thinker, priest, poet, and diplomat, best known for his work Della ragion di Stato . In this work, he argued against the amoral political philosophy associated with Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince, not only because it lacked a Christian foundation but also because...

.

Sources and references

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11510a.htm

• Apostolo Zeno
  Apostolo Zeno
  Apostolo Zeno was a Venetian poet, librettist, journalist, and man of letters.-Early life:Apostolo Zeno was born of Cretan Greek descent in Venice in 1669...
  
  's edition of Paruta's history (in the series Degli Istorici delle cose veneziane, Venice, 1718)
• C. Monzani's edition of Paruta's political works (Florence, 1852)