Ermolao Barbaro (–1471) was an Italian prelate. He is sometimes referred to as "''the elder''" to distinguish him from his relative Ermolao Barbaro.

History

Ermolao Barbaro was born into the Venetian Barbaro family, the son of Zaccaria Barbaro and nephew to Francesco Barbaro. around the year 1410. As a child, he studied the Greek language with Guarino Veronese. When he was 12 years old he made a Latin translation of 33 of

Aesop's Fables Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a Slavery in ancient Greece, slave and storyteller who lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 Before the Common Era, BCE. Of varied and unclear origins, the stor ...

.“A new general biographical dictionary, Volume 3”, Hugh James Rose, Henry John Rose, 1857, pg. 13

“Biographie universelle, ancienne et moderne”, J Fr Michaud; Louis Gabriel Michaud, Paris, Michaud, 1811-28., pg. 33

/ref> Barbaro studied at the

University of Padua The University of Padua (, UNIPD) is an Italian public research university in Padua, Italy. It was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from the University of Bologna, who previously settled in Vicenza; thus, it is the second-oldest ...

, where he graduated in 1425. Among his teachers was

Guarino Guarini Camillo Guarino Guarini (17 January 16246 March 1683) was an Italian architect of the Piedmontese Baroque architecture, Baroque, active in Turin as well as Sicily, Kingdom of France, France and Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal. He was a Theatines, ...

. Later he moved to Rome where he entered Papal service. In 1435, Pope

Eugene IV Pope Eugene IV (; ; 1383 – 23 February 1447), born Gabriele Condulmer, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 March 1431 to his death, in February 1447. Condulmer was a Venetian, and a nephew of Pope Gregory XII ...

named him apostolic prothonotary and in 1443 appointed Barbaro as Bishop of Treviso. In 1447, the Pope promised Barbaro the nomination as Bishop of Bergamo, but instead appointed Polidoro Foscari to the position. Barbaro left Rome and traveled Italy, but he returned to work in the curia and remained there until 1453.

Nicholas V Pope Nicholas V (; ; 15 November 1397 – 24 March 1455), born Tommaso Parentucelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 March 1447 until his death in March 1455. Pope Eugene IV made him a cardinal in 1446 afte ...

appointed him

Bishop of Verona 235px, The facade of ''Palazzo del Vescovado'' The Diocese of Verona () is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in northern Italy. The diocese belongs to the Ecclesiastical Province of Venice. The bishop of Verona has his seat in Verona, Vene ...

and Barbaro settled there on a permanent basis, except for a brief period in

Perugia Perugia ( , ; ; ) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area. It has 162,467 ...

, from 1460 to 1462, as governor.''L'Umanesimo umbro: Atti del IX Convegno di studi umbri. Gubbio, 22-23 settembre, 1974'', Perugia, 1977, pag. 199 In 1459, Barbaro assisted with the council held by

Pius II Pope Pius II (, ), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini (; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August 1458 to his death in 1464. Aeneas Silvius was an author, diplomat, ...

Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...

. In 1460, he was sent as a papal legate to

Charles VII of France Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461), called the Victorious () or the Well-Served (), was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461. His reign saw the end of the Hundred Years' War and a ''de facto'' end of the English claims to ...

Barbaro was responsible for the construction of the Bishop’s Palace at

Monteforte d'Alpone Monteforte d'Alpone is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about west of Venice and about east of Verona. Monteforte d'Alpone borders the following municipalities: Gambellara, Montecchia ...

between 1453–1471, designed by Michele da Caravaggio. He also translated the biography of Saint Athanasius by Eusebius of Cesarea. He died in Venice in 1471.

Modern Italian editions of his works

* Ermolao Barbaro il Vecchio.Orationes contra poetas. Epistolae. Critical edition by Giorgio Ronconi. 16x24 cm, pp VIII+186. 16x24 cm, VIII +186 pp. Florence: Sansoni, 1972. Publications of the Faculty of the University of Padua * Ermolao Barbaro il Vecchio. Aesop Fabulae. Edited by Cristina Cocco. 22 cm, pp. Genoa: D.AR.FI.CL.ET., 1994. Trad. italiana a fronte * Hermolao Barbaro seniore interprete. Aesopi fabulae. Edited by Cristina Cocco, 25 cm, pp 155, Florence: SISMEL-Edizioni del Galluzzo, 2007. Il ritorno dei classici nell'umanesimo. National edition of the translations of Greek texts in humanistic and Renaissance age.

Sources

Girolamo Tiraboschi Girolamo Tiraboschi (; 18 December 1731 – 9 June 1794) was an Italian literary critic, the first historian of Italian literature. Biography Born in Bergamo, he studied at the Jesuit college in Monza, entered the order, and was appointed in 17 ...

, ''History of Italian Literature'', Vol. VI, ed. Florence, 1819 *

Vespasiano da Bisticci Vespasiano is a municipality in the Belo Horizonte metropolitan region in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, located north of Belo Horizonte. Vespasiano is home to Cidade do Galo, the training grounds of Campeonato Brasileiro Série A tea ...

, ''Lives of Illustrious Men of the Fifteenth Century', ed. Barbera-Bianchi, Florence, 1859 * Pio Paschini, ''Three Eminent Prelates of the Renaissance: Ermolao Barbaro, Adriano Castellesi, Giovanni Grimani'', Rome, Facultas Theologica Pontificii Athenaei Lateranensis, 1957

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbaro, Ermalao 15th-century births 1471 deaths Republic of Venice clergy Bishops of Treviso Bishops of Verona Italian classical scholars Republic of Venice politicians Italian translators University of Padua alumni 15th-century Venetian people Ermolao, Bishop