Francesco Stelluti (12 January 1577, in

Fabriano Fabriano is a town and ''comune'' of Ancona province in the Italian region of the Marche, at above sea level. It lies in the Esino valley upstream and southwest of Jesi; and east-northeast of Fossato di Vico and east of Gubbio (both in U ...

– November 1652, in

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, ...

) was an Italian

polymath A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...

who worked in the fields of

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

microscopy Microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view subjects too small to be seen with the naked eye (objects that are not within the resolution range of the normal eye). There are three well-known branches of microscopy: optical mic ...

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

, and

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 ...

. Along with

Federico Cesi Federico Angelo Cesi (; 26 February 1585 – 1 August 1630) was an Italian scientist, naturalist, and founder of the Accademia dei Lincei. On his father's death in 1630, he became briefly lord of Acquasparta. Biography Federico Cesi was ...

, Anastasio de Filiis and

Johannes van Heeck Johannes van Heeck, (Deventer 2 February 1579 – presumably Sant'Angelo Romano c.1620), (also known as Johann Heck, Joannes Eck, Johannes Heckius, Johannes Eckius and Giovanni Ecchio) was a Dutch physician, naturalist, alchemist and astrologer. ...

, he founded the

Accademia dei Lincei The (; literally the "Academy of the Lynx-Eyed"), anglicised as the Lincean Academy, is one of the oldest and most prestigious European scientific institutions, located at the Palazzo Corsini on the Via della Lungara in Rome, Italy. Founded in ...

in August 1603.

Early life

Francesco was the son of Bernardino Stelluti and his wife Lucrezia Corradini. He went to Rome at a young age to study law and after completing his studies, he began to work in law, which he practised all his life, while also dedicating himself to literary and scientific studies. In the Accademia, he was first appointed Grand Counsellor, with the task of teaching mathematics, geometry and astronomy to the other members. Later he was appointed ''proponitor'' (lecturer) in machines and mathematical instruments, and ''provisor'' (supervisor) and ''calculator'' of the motions of the stars. His

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

in the Accademia was ''Tardigrado'' (slow stepper), reflecting his character as a quiet, studious man, careful and versatile. His protecting star was Saturn, from which he was said to draw his capacity for reflection and speculation, as well as his motto, ''Quo serius eo citius'' (“the slower, the swifter”). In 1604 he authored the ''Logicae Physicae et Metaphysicae Brevissimum Compendium''. Like his companions he faced hostility from the family of Prince Cesi because of the creation of the

and was compelled to leave Rome for several years, going first to Fabriano and then to the Farnese court in

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

. He returned to Rome in 1609, and took an active role in the development of the Accademia. In 1610 he went to Naples with Cesi to establish a branch of the Accademia there, to be run by Giambattista della Porta and he also began his life’s work of editing the “Tesoro Messicano”, which contained the records gathered in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

by naturalist

Francisco Hernández de Toledo Francisco Hernández de Toledo (c. 1515 – 28 January 1587) was a naturalist and court physician to Philip II of Spain. He was among the first wave of Spanish Renaissance physicians practicing according to the revived principles formulated by Hipp ...

in the 1570s. In 1612 he was elected ''procuratore generale'' of the Accademia.

Later life

In 1625 he and

printed in

broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of in height. Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper ...

(or broadside) form the work ''Apiarium'' in 1625, marking the first published

microscopic The microscopic scale () is the scale of objects and events smaller than those that can easily be seen by the naked eye, requiring a lens or microscope to see them clearly. In physics, the microscopic scale is sometimes regarded as the scale betwe ...

revelations of biological structures. The broadsheet contained an illustration of three bees - a design of three bees was the family crest of the new pope,

Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII (; ; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death, in July 1644. As pope, he expanded the papal terri ...

. Stelluti’s ''Persio tradotto in verso sciolto e dichiarato'' (" orks of AulusPersius laccustranslated into light verse and annotated 'lit.'' 'declared' in the sense of 'remarked/commented upon'), published in Rome in 1630, is the first book published in

codex The codex (: codices ) was the historical ancestor format of the modern book. Technically, the vast majority of modern books use the codex format of a stack of pages bound at one edge, along the side of the text. But the term ''codex'' is now r ...

form to contain images of organisms viewed through the microscope. Subsequently, in 1637 he published a work on fossilised wood, apparently also with the aid of magnifying instruments and he finally published the “Tesoro Messicano” in 1651. The ''Tesoro Messicano'' (“Mexican Treasure”) or more precisely the ''Rerum Medicarum Novae Hispaniae Thesaurus'', was the final work of the Accademia. It represented nearly half a century of collaborative work among Accademia members. After the death of Prince Cesi, Stelluti carried forward the work of the Accademia, and, in particular, ensured that the long and sometimes poorly organised project to create this book was brought to fruition. The work was not only very long, but full of an extraordinary number of illustrations - 800 in the first 899 pages. After Prince Cesi's death, Stelluti was steadfast in preventing the heritage of the Accademia from being lost and he remained close to his friend's widow. After her death, he was apparently in the service of

Livia della Rovere Livia della Rovere (16 December 1585 – 6 July 1641) was an Italian nobility, Italian noblewoman of the House of della Rovere and the last Duchess of Urbino (1599–1631). Life Born in Pesaro on 16 December 1585,

for a short time. He outlived all the other founders of the Accademia, and died in Rome in 1653, while a guest in the palace of Duke Paolo Sforza, husband of Olimpia Cesi, Prince Cesi’s daughter.

References

External links

* Stelluti, Francesco (1630
''Persio tradotto in verso sciolto e dichiarato da Francesco Steluti''
- digital facsimile from

Linda Hall Library The Linda Hall Library is a privately endowed American library of science, engineering and technology located in Kansas City, Missouri, on the grounds of a urban arboretum. It claims to be the "largest independently funded public library of sc ...

* Stelluti, Francesco (1637
''Trattato del legno fossile minerale nuouamente scoperto''
- digital facsimile fro
archive.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stelluti, Francesco 1577 births 1652 deaths People from the Papal States 16th-century Italian mathematicians 17th-century Italian mathematicians Members of the Lincean Academy