Antonio de Beatis was an Italian

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

best known for his travel diary of 1517–1518, a work of major value in

art history Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...

Life

De Beatis was born in

Molfetta Molfetta (; Bari dialect, Molfettese: ) is a town located in the northern side of the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, southern Italy. It has a well restored old city, and its own dialect. History The earliest local signs of permanent habit ...

, but the date of his birth is unknown. He served as a secretary to Cardinal

Luigi d'Aragona Luigi d'Aragona (1474–1519) (called the Cardinal of Aragón) was an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal. He had a highly successful career in the church, but his memory is affected by the allegation that he ordered the murder of his own sister and ...

during the latter's European tour of 1517–1518, in which capacity he recited the

divine office Divine Office may refer to: * Liturgy of the Hours, the recitation of certain Christian prayers at fixed hours according to the discipline of the Roman Catholic Church * Canonical hours, the recitation of such prayers in Christianity more generall ...

, helped prepare or even perform the

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

and wrote letters on the cardinal's behalf. He kept a personal diary of the trip, with daily entries beginning with their departure from

Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...

on 9 May 1517 and ending with their return there on 26 January 1518, although the trip did not end until they reached

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

on 16 March. De Beatis made copies of his diary for friends, including the humanist

Antonio Seripando Antonio Seripando (1476–1531) was an Italian Renaissance humanist and book collector. Seripando was the eldest son of Giovanni Ferdinando and Isabella Luisa Galeota, minor nobility living in the Porta Capuana district of Naples. His parents die ...

. He was still making copies into 1521. The date of his death is unknown.

Travel diary

Only one of the three copies of De Beatis's diary to be examined by scholars had a title: ''Viaggi, et Itinerario di Mon. R.mo et Ill.mo il Cardinal' de' Aragona .incominciando dalla Città di Ferrara anno M.D.XVII. Mense Maij'' ('Voyage and Itinerary of My Lord the Most Reverend and Illustrious Cardinal of Aragon, Beginning from the City of Ferrara in the Year 1517, Month of May'). The original contained illustrations, of which only those of the

Shroud of Turin The Shroud of Turin (), also known as the Holy Shroud (), is a length of linen cloth that bears a faint image of the front and back of a naked man. Because details of the image are consistent with depiction of Jesus, traditional depictions o ...

and

Francis of Paola Francis of Paola, O.M. (also known as Francis the Fire Handler; 27 March 1416 – 2 April 1507), was a Roman Catholic friar from the town of Paola in Calabria who founded the Order of Minims. Like his patron saint (Francis of Assisi), but unlike ...

are found in the surviving copies, which were not intended for publication. The language of the diary is the , since De Beatis claims that his knowledge of

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

and Tuscan is inadequate. In an introductory letter to one of the 1521 copies, he states that he kept the diary at the cardinal's urging. It consists mainly of notes made at the time based on firsthand witness or, as De Beatis says, reports by "persons of great authority and worthy of all trust and belief". It does not appear to have undergone heavy editing or to be heavily indebted to written sources. The purpose of the cardinal's trip was pleasure, taking advantage of a lull in the

Italian Wars The Italian Wars were a series of conflicts fought between 1494 and 1559, mostly in the Italian Peninsula, but later expanding into Flanders, the Rhineland and Mediterranean Sea. The primary belligerents were the House of Valois, Valois kings o ...

. According to De Beatis, the cardinal was familiar with Spain and Italy and so resolved that "he would also get to know Germany, France and all those other regions bordering the northern and western ocean and make himself known to so great a variety of people." The official excuse for the trip was to meet the cardinal's relative, the future

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) ...

, who was already

King of Spain The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish ...

and

Lord of the Netherlands Habsburg Netherlands were the parts of the Low Countries that were ruled by sovereigns of the Holy Roman Empire's House of Habsburg. This rule began in 1482 and ended for the Northern Netherlands in 1581 and for the Southern Netherlands in 1797. ...

. The meeting took place on 12 July in

Middelburg Middelburg may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Europe * Middelburg, Zeeland, the capital city of the province of Zeeland, southwestern Netherlands ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Middelburg, a former Catholic diocese with its see in the Zeeland ...

. De Beatis's diary is of major historical interest for its firsthand accounts of meeting with famous persons and for its descriptions of works of art. Besides Charles V, the cardinal met King

Francis I of France Francis I (; ; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once removed and father-in-law Louis&nbs ...

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

, the banker

Jakob Fugger Jakob Fugger ''of the Lily'' (; 6 March 1459 – 30 December 1525), also known as Jakob Fugger ''the Rich'' or sometimes Jakob II, was a major German merchant, mining entrepreneur, and banker. He was a descendant of the Fugger merchant family loc ...

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

and the polymath

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...

at Cloux. De Beatis saw tapestries designed by

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...

being produced in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. He praises the

Ghent Altarpiece The ''Ghent Altarpiece'', also called the ''Adoration of the Mystic Lamb'' (), is a very large and complex 15th-century polyptych altarpiece in St Bavo's Cathedral, Ghent, Belgium. It was begun around the mid-1420s and completed by 1432, and it ...

as "the finest painting in Christendom". He claims that the figures in Da Vinci's ''

Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, ''The Last Supper (Leonardo), The Last Supper'' (1495-1498). Mural, tempera on gesso, pitch and mastic ...

'' are based on certain Milanese personalities. De Beatis provided his diary with a large alphabetical index, unusual for the time.

Notes

Bibliography

* * {{refend 15th-century births 16th-century deaths People from Molfetta Italian travel writers 16th-century travel writers