Maggino Gabrielli, Meïr Di Gabriele Magino, or Mazo di Gabriel was a Venetian-Jewish inventor, entrepreneur, alchemist, and silk manufacturer who lived during the 16th century. Gabrielli started producing crystal glass and mirrors throughout the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

for church windows in Rome in 1588. He obtained a monopoly on silk production in 1587. After the death of

Pope Sixtus V Pope Sixtus V (; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death, in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order, where h ...

he went to the

Medici The House of Medici ( , ; ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first consolidated power in the Republic of Florence under Cosimo de' Medici and his grandson Lorenzo "the Magnificent" during the first half of the 15th ...

court, but he faced protests and resigned, eventually moving to the duchy of Lorraine, where he established an Oriental Trade Company. His goal was to create a network of trade

entrepôt An entrepôt ( ; ) or transshipment port is a port, city, or trading post where merchandise may be imported, stored, or traded, usually to be exported again. Such cities often sprang up and such ports and trading posts often developed into comm ...

s throughout Germanic lands, but he returned to Italy and died shortly thereafter while accompanying the Tuscan grand duke on a military campaign against the Turks. His only publication is a treatise on

sericulture Sericulture, or silk farming, is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk. Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, the caterpillar of the Bombyx mori, domestic silkmoth is the most widely used and intensively studied silkwo ...

, ''Dialoghi di M. Magino Gabrielli hebreo venetiano sopra l'utili sue inventioni circa la seta,'' published in Rome in 1588. He worked with

Abramo Colorni Abramo Colorni (Abram or Abraham, Colorno or Calorno, sometimes Colorini, 1544–1599) was an Italian-Jewish polymath and Renaissance man. An engineer, architect, mathematician, chiromancer, cryptographer, alchemist, inventor, Magic (supernatur ...

and Giovan Battista Guidoboni. He obtained several patents from Venice,

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, the Pope and the King of Spain to capitalize on his silk-related inventions. His business consisted of a network of partnerships for the production of silk fabrics, woollen cloth, gold thread, and glass, with workshops in

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

and Florence. He also owned a paper mill and a farm for

silkworm ''Bombyx mori'', commonly known as the domestic silk moth, is a moth species belonging to the family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of '' Bombyx mandarina'', the wild silk moth. Silkworms are the larvae of silk moths. The silkworm is of ...

rearing in

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

. In 1593 he obtained a patent from the Florentine government for the production of linen oil. File:Title Page, woodcut, from Magino di Gabrielli.png File:Figura seconda dello staccare dell'ova woodcut.png File:Figura Terra del govemo del seme perfar nascere i Vermicelli.png File:Figura Qyinta di cia ehe si deve far quando i Venni comminciano a nascere, woodcut.png

References

Jewish Italian writers 16th-century Italian inventors 16th-century alchemists 16th-century Italian male writers 16th-century Italian Jews 16th-century Italian businesspeople {{Jewish-bio-stub