The Acerba (from ''acervus'') was an encyclopaedic poem by Cecco d'Ascoli. It was printed in more than twenty editions - the least faulty of them is that of

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, dated 1510. The earliest known, which has become exceedingly rare, is that of

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

, which has no date, but is ascribed to ca. 1473. The final edition of the work was printed in 1546. It is unfinished, and consists of 4,865 verses in sesta rima in four volumes. The first volume treats of

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

and

meteorology Meteorology is the scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere and short-term atmospheric phenomena (i.e. weather), with a focus on weather forecasting. It has applications in the military, aviation, energy production, transport, agricultur ...

; the second of stellar influences, of physiognomy, and of the vices and virtues; the third of

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): Mi ...

s and of the love of animals; while the fourth propounds and solves a number of moral and physical problems. The fifth volume was on theology, but only its first chapter was completed. Basing his knowledge on experimentation and observation, Cecco knew of metallic aerolites and shooting stars, explained dew and possibly the

circulation of the blood In vertebrates, the circulatory system is a organ system, system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the body. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, that consists of ...

and accounted for

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

plants through mountain-forming revolutions of the earth.

Bibliography

*''L'Acerba - Acerba etas'' - Latin Commentary - Vulgar Commentary - Sonnets, edited by Marco Albertazzi, Trento, La Finestra editrice 2002. CD-Rom inside with Sessa edition, 1501.

External links

Full text (in Italian)Wikiquote - L'Acerba (in Italian)
{{authority control Medieval Italian literature category:Italian poems category:15th-century poems