Giovanni Baptista (also Battista) Ferrari (1 May 1584 in

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

– 1 February 1655 in Siena), was an Italian

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

, orientalist, university teacher and

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

. Linguistically highly gifted and an able scientist, at 21 years of age Ferrari knew a good deal of

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

and spoke and wrote excellent

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

and

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 ...

. He became a professor of

and

Rhetoric Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...

at the Jesuit College in Rome and in 1622 edited a Syriac-

dictionary A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged Alphabetical order, alphabetically (or by Semitic root, consonantal root for Semitic languages or radical-and-stroke sorting, radical an ...

(''Nomenclator Syriacus'').

Biography

Giovanni Baptista Ferrari was born to an affluent Sienese family and entered the

Jesuit Order The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 by ...

in Rome at the age of 19 in April 1602. After studying

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...

and

natural philosophy Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics, that is, nature and the physical universe, while ignoring any supernatural influence. It was dominant before the develop ...

with Giuseppe Agostini (and after the usual four years of

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

), he was sent to the

Maronite college The Pontifical Maronite College (Italian: ''Pontificio Collegio dei Maroniti'') is one of the Roman Colleges of the Catholic Church. Founded originally in 1584 in order to educate Maronite Church, Maronite priests, the college provides now higher ...

in Rome in 1615/16 – where he learnt Syriac. The early progress reports at the Collegio Romano are complimentary about his literary and Hebraic talents, but rather critical of what appears to have been his somewhat frail state of health and melancholy character. By the schoolyear of 1619-20 he was teaching

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

and

at the

Roman College The Roman College (, ) was a school established by St. Ignatius of Loyola in 1551, just 11 years after he founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). It quickly grew to include classes from elementary school through university level and moved to seve ...

. His first published work was a Syriac Dictionary, or ''Nomenclator'', which he published in 1622 (but with an approval from

Mutio Vitelleschi Mutio Vitelleschi (2 December 1563 – 9 February 1645) was the sixth Superior General of the Society of Jesus and member of the Vitelleschi (noble family), Vitelleschi noble family. Although he was destined for a general ecclesiastical care ...

and Francesco Donati of 1619). The chief object of the author is to explain the Syriac words in the Bible, in which he was assisted by some learned

Maronites Maronites (; ) are a Syriac Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant (particularly Lebanon) whose members belong to the Maronite Church. The largest concentration has traditionally resided near Mount ...

. Although pretty innovative for its time, Ferrari's ''Nomenclator'' was not a very successful effort, and has not enjoyed much esteem in the subsequent literature ( Bochart was especially cutting in his judgment). It is, however, interesting for its introduction, with its long list of profuse acknowledgements to various members of the Maronite college, especially Petrus Metoscita, and for its brief insight into the working procedures and resources of a Syriac scholar of those days. His ''Orationes'', first printed in Lyons in 1625, and several times reprinted, including two London editions in the 1650s and 1660s, are especially remarkable for four very noteworthy orations on the subject of Hebrew language and Hebrew literary style. In the oration on ''Hebraicae linguae suavitas'' Ferrari asserts the stylistic capabilities of

, and defends it against charges that it was limited and coarse; in the chapters ''Hebraicae Musae sive de Disciplinarum omnium Hebraica origine'' and ''Hebraicae litteraturae securitas, sive De arguto dicendi genere usurpando'' he justifies the difficulties of learning the language, and puts forward the case for studying it. His knowledge of the ancient authors, Greek and Latin, was extensive as was his command of the

Semitic languages The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. They include Arabic, Amharic, Tigrinya language, Tigrinya, Aramaic, Hebrew language, Hebrew, Maltese language, Maltese, Modern South Arabian language ...

. Indeed, Ferrari was a member of the Papal Commission charged with translating the Bible into

. He was honoured in 1759, when botanist

Philip Miller Philip Miller Royal Society, FRS (1691 – 18 December 1771) was an English botany, botanist and gardener of Scottish descent. Miller was chief gardener at the Chelsea Physic Garden for nearly 50 years from 1722, and wrote the highly popular ...

published '' Ferraria'', which is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

monocotyledon Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, ( Lilianae '' sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are flowering plants whose seeds contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. A monocot taxon has been in use for several decades, but with various ranks ...

ous

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Iridaceae Iridaceae () is a family of plants in order Asparagales, taking its name from the Iris (plant), irises. It has a nearly global distribution, with 69 accepted genera with a total of about 2500 species. It includes a number of economically importan ...

and native to tropical and southern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref>

''De Florum Cultura''

Ferrari's interests were not limited to Oriental languages. He devoted himself till 1632 to the study and cultivation of ornamental plants, and published ''De Florum Cultura'', which was illustrated with copperplates by, amongst others, Anna Maria Vaiani, possibly the first female copper-engraver. The first book deals with the design and maintenance of the garden and garden equipment. The second book provides descriptions of the different flowers, while the third book deals with the culture of these flowers. The fourth book, continues with a treatise on the use and beauty of the flower species, including their different

varieties Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

and

mutations In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Viral genomes contain either DNA or RNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA or viral replication, mitosi ...

. Through his acquaintance with

Cassiano dal Pozzo Cassiano dal Pozzo (1588 – 22 October 1657) was an Italian scholar and patron of arts. The secretary of Cardinal Francesco Barberini, he was an antiquary in the classicizing circle of Rome, and a long-term friend and patron of Nicolas Poussin ...

, secretary of Cardinal Francesco Barberini, he was appointed to manage the new garden at the Barberini Palace. The plants featured in Ferrari's research came from Cardinal Francesco Barberini's private

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

, the ''Horti Barberini'', a garden which was under the care of Ferrari. Ferrari dedicated the

edition of ''De Florum Cultura'' to Cardinal Francesco Barberini. Ludovico Aureli translated the book into

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

and dedicated this edition, which is entitled ''Flora, overo Cultura di Fiori'' (1638) or simply ''Flora'', to Barberini's sister-in-law,

Anna Colonna Anna Colonna (1601–1658) was an Italian nobility, Italian noblewoman of the Colonna family, Colonna and Barberini families. She was also the Princes of Paliano, Princess of Paliano. Early life Colonna was born in 1601 at Orsogna; the daughter ...

. Ferrari became Horticultural Advisor to the Papal family. Ferrari was also closely associated with the Lincei, and in Book 1, chapter 2 of his ''Flora'', he expressly thanks

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 ...

for his “erudite additions” (“erudite aggiunte”) and the Accademia for incurring “liberal expenses” (“liberale spesa”) in connection with this book.

''Hesperides sive de Malorum...''

Zitruskultur - Giovanni Battista Ferrari

Another work is the ''Hesperides sive de Malorum Aureorum Cultura et Usu Libri Quatuor'', first published in 1646. Ferrari's close relationship with

(1588-1657), a noted scholar and student of citrus, led to the creation of this work. The first volume of this work is devoted to citrus and its many varieties and variations. The plates were produced by the best artists of the time, such as Johann Friedrich Greuter,

Cornelis Bloemaert Cornelis Bloemaert II (1603 – 28 September 1692), was a Dutch painter and engraver, who after training in the Dutch Republic worked most of his career in Rome. His workshop in Rome played an important role in spreading Italian art throughout E ...

and Nicolas Joseph Foucault. Plates were also prepared by the renowned painters and draughtsmen of

Roman Baroque Roman Baroque may refer to either: * Styles in Rome of any form of the arts in the Baroque period, roughly from 1600 to the late 18th century. Rome was a leading centre for Baroque architecture and Baroque painting in particular. * Styles in ancien ...

, such as

Pietro da Cortona Pietro da Cortona (; 1 November 1596 or 159716 May 1669) was an Italian Baroque painter and architect. Along with his contemporaries and rivals Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini, he was one of the key figures in the emergence of Roman ...

Andrea Sacchi Andrea Sacchi (30 November 159921 June 1661) was an Italian painter of High Baroque Classicism, active in Rome. A generation of artists who shared his style of art include the painters Nicolas Poussin and Giovanni Battista Passeri, the sculptor ...

Nicolas Poussin Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was a French painter who was a leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythologic ...

, Pietro Paolo Ubaldini, F. Perier,

Francesco Albani Francesco Albani or Albano (17 March or 17 August 1578 – 4 October 1660) was an Italian Baroque painter of Albanian descent who was active in Bologna (1591–1600; 1609; 1610; 1618–1622), Rome (1600–1609; 1610–1617; 1623–1625), ...

Filippo Gagliardi Filippo Gagliardi (born c. 1606, died 1659) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administ ...

Giovanni Francesco Romanelli Giovanni Francesco Romanelli (Viterbo, 1610Baldinucci claims the date is May 14, 1617.– Viterbo, 1662) was a major Italian people, Italian painter of the Baroque period, celebrated for his use of bright, vivid colors and also for his clarity ...

Guido Reni Guido Reni (; 4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642) was an Italian Baroque painter, although his works showed a classical manner, similar to Simon Vouet, Nicolas Poussin, and Philippe de Champaigne. He painted primarily religious works, but al ...

Domenico Zampieri Domenico Zampieri (, ; October 21, 1581 – April 6, 1641), known by the diminutive Domenichino (, ) after his shortness, was an Italian Baroque painter of the Bolognese School of painters. Life Domenichino was born in Bologna, son of a shoe ...

and H. Rinaldi. The plates show life-sized whole fruit, including sections. Other plates show

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

, mythological scenes, garden buildings,

Orangeries An orangery or orangerie is a room or dedicated building, historically where orange and other fruit trees are protected during the winter, as a large form of greenhouse or conservatory. In the modern day an orangery could refer to either a ...

, garden tools, etc.. He published this at a time growing interest in and structural sophistication of seventeenth-century

orangeries An orangery or orangerie is a room or dedicated building, historically where orange and other fruit trees are protected during the winter, as a large form of greenhouse or conservatory. In the modern day an orangery could refer to either a ...

, constructed needed to protected citrus trees from the cold of Northern Europe or heat of Italian summers."Hesperides sive de Malorum Aureorum cultura et usu", The Metropolitan Museum of Art
/ref> Both works are important as they display accurate representations. Ferrari was the first

scientist A scientist is a person who Scientific method, researches to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engag ...

to provide a complete description of the

limes Limes may refer to: * ''Limes'' (Roman Empire), a border marker and defense system of the Roman Empire * ''Limes'' (Italian magazine), an Italian geopolitical magazine * ''Limes'' (Romanian magazine), a Romanian literary and political quarterly ma ...

lemons The lemon (''Citrus'' × ''limon'') is a species of small evergreen tree in the ''Citrus'' genus of the flowering plant family Rutaceae. A true lemon is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange. Its origins are uncertain, but some ...

and

pomegranates The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punicoideae, that grows between tall. Rich in symbolic and mythological associations in many cultures, it is thought to have originat ...

. He also described medical preparations, the details on

citron The citron (''Citrus medica''), historically cedrate, is a large fragrant citrus fruit with a thick Peel (fruit), rind. It is said to resemble a 'huge, rough lemon'. It is one of the Citrus taxonomy#Citrons, original citrus fruits from which al ...

and prescribed limes, lemons and pomegranates as medicinal plants against

scurvy Scurvy is a deficiency disease (state of malnutrition) resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, fatigue, and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, anemia, decreased red blood cells, gum d ...

Works

* * ''Hesperides siue de malorum aureorum cultura et vsu Libri quator Io. Baptistae Ferrarii Senensis e Societate Iesu'', Romae: Sumptibus Hermanni Scheus, 1646. * ''In funere Marsilij Cagnati medici praestantissimi laudatio Ioannis Baptistae Ferrarij Senensis e Societate Iesu: habita in aede S. Mariae in Aquiro 5. Kal. Augusti 1612'', Romae: apud Iacobum Mascardum, 1612. * ''Io. Bapt. Ferrarii ... De florum cultura libri 4'', Romae: excudebat Stephanus Paulinus, 1633. * ''Io. Bapt. Ferrarii Senen. Societatis Iesu Orationes'', Lugduni: sumptibus Ludouici Prost, haeredis Rouille, 1625. * ''Io. Bapt. Ferrarii Senensis ... Orationes'', Venetiis: apud Beleonium, 1644. * ''Io. Bapt. Ferrarii Senensis e Soc. Iesu Orationes'', Romae: apud Franc. Corbellettum, 1627. * ''Io. Bapt. Ferrarii Senensis e Societate Iesu Orationes quartum recognitae et auctae'', (Romae: typis Petri Antonij Facciotti, 1635). * ''Io. Baptistae Ferrarii senensis ... Orationes'', Mediolani: apud haer. Pacifici Pontij, & Io. Baptistam Piccaleum, impressores archiepiscopales, 1627. * ''Io. Bapt. Ferrarii Senensis e Societ. Iesu Orationes'', Nouissima editio iuxta exemplar, Coloniae: apud Cornel. Egmont, imprim. 1634. * ''Io. Baptistae Ferrarii Senensi, S.I. Flora, seu De florum cultura lib. 4'', Editio nova. Accurante Bernh Rottendorffio, Amstelodami: prostant apud Joannem Janssonium, 1664. * ''Io. Baptistae Ferrarii Senensi, S.I. Flora, seu de florum cultura lib. 4, Editio nova. Accurante Bernh Rottendorffio ...'', Amstelodami: Prostant apud Joannem Janssonium, 1664.

Gallery

File:Aurantium corniculatum.jpg, ''Aurantium corniculatum'' from ''Hesperides'' (1646) File:Hesperides, sive, De malorvm avreorvm cvltvra et vsv libri quatuor (Page 337) BHL273402.jpg, ''Alla lima citrata oblonga sive scabiosa et mostrosa'' from ''Hesperides'' (1646) File:Hesperides, sive, De malorvm avreorvm cvltvra et vsv libri quatuor (Page 327) BHL273392.jpg, ''Lumia ollulae aspectu'' from ''Hesperides'' (1646) File:Hesperides, sive, De malorvm avreorvm cvltvra et vsv libri quatuor (Page 199) BHL273264.jpg, ''Limon liguriae ceriescus'' from ''Hesperides'' (1646) File:Plate from "Flora, seu de florum cultura", Ferrari 1646 Wellcome L0007607.jpg, ''Flos indicus e violaceo fuscus radice tuberosa'' from ''Flora, seu de florum cultura'' (1646) File:Plate from "Flora, seu de florum cultura", Ferrari 1646 Wellcome L0007606.jpg, ''Narcissus indicus Liliaceus diluto colore purpurascens'' from ''Flora, seu de florum cultura'' (1646) File:Vincenzo Leonardi02.jpg, ''Limon S. Remi'' from ''Hesperides'' (1646) File:Hesperides, sive, De malorvm avreorvm cvltvra et vsv libri quatuor (Page 205) BHL273270.jpg, ''Limon Caietanus'' from ''Hesperides'' (1646) File:Hesperides, sive, De malorvm avreorvm cvltvra et vsv libri quatuor (Page 433) BHL273498.jpg, ''Aurantium dulci cortice et Sinense'' from ''Hesperides'' (1646) File:Hesperides, sive, De malorvm avreorvm cvltvra et vsv libri quatuor (Page 339) BHL273404.jpg, ''Lima eadem rotunda'' from ''Hesperides'' (1646) File:Hesperides, sive, De malorvm avreorvm cvltvra et vsv libri quatuor (Page 237) BHL273302.jpg, ''Limon perettae consimilis'' from ''Hesperides'' (1646) File:Hesperides, sive, De malorvm avreorvm cvltvra et vsv libri quatuor (Page 389) BHL273454.jpg, ''Aurantium crispo folio'' from ''Hesperides'' (1646) File:Hesperides, sive, De malorvm avreorvm cvltvra et vsv libri quatuor (Page 379) BHL273444.jpg, Aurantium sicciore medulla hibernum from ''Hesperides'' (1646)

References

Sources

*
''Gardening Knife, from "Hesperides" by Giovanni Battista Ferrari''

Ferrari's book

* * * * *Ferrari, Giovan Battista. "Flora overo Cultura di Fiori." 1638. Facsimile edition, Florence: Leo S. Olschki, 2001. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrari, Giovanni Baptista 1584 births 1655 deaths People from Siena Pontifical Maronite College alumni 17th-century Italian Jesuits 17th-century Italian botanists Jesuit scientists Italian orientalists