Giuseppe Tassini (12 November 1827 - 22 December 1899) was an Italian historian and one of the most notable scholars of the

toponymy Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' ( proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for a proper na ...

of his birthplace 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 ...

. His most notable work was ''Curiosità Veneziane'', a minute toponymical study first published in 1863 and universally considered the most important bibliographical source of its kind.

Life

Born into an old middle-class Venetian family, he was the son of Carlo (1781-1848), an official with the

Austro-Hungarian Navy The Austro-Hungarian Navy or Imperial and Royal War Navy (, in short ''k.u.k. Kriegsmarine'', ) was the navy, naval force of Austria-Hungary. Ships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy were designated ''SMS'', for ''Seiner Majestät Schiff'' (His Majes ...

and his noble-born wife Elisabetta de Wasserfall. He had a bumpy childhood which only settled down after his father's death, gaining a

laurea In Italy, the ''laurea'' is the main post-secondary academic degree. The name originally referred literally to the laurel wreath, since ancient times a sign of honor and now worn by Italian students right after their official graduation ceremo ...

in law in 1860. He then mainly focussed on administering his family estates, including lands in

Scorzè Scorzè is a ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Venice, in the Italian region of Veneto, located about northwest of Venice. The country is bordered by Zero Branco, Trebaseleghe, Venezia, Noale and Salzano. The municipality of Scorzè c ...

and several houses in Venice, and on further study. He died of an apoplectic fit in his house near the sotoportego delle Cariole in Venice, not far from San Zulian. His body was discovered by a chamberlain of the Caffè dei Segretari who usually brought Tassini breakfast each morning - on 22 December 1899 he had not already opened his door and the chamberlain called a blacksmith to force it open. He was buried in a common grave and the location of his remains is now unknown. His manuscript books, houses and lands passed to a cousin who had emigrated to America, who then sold them off, with most of Tassini's notes bought by the Correr Museum. Giuseppe Tassini, ''Curiosità Veneziane'', note integrative e revisione a cura di Marina Crivellari Bizio, Franco Filippi, Andrea Perego, Venezia, Filippi Editore, 2009

863 __NOTOC__ Year 863 ( DCCCLXIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * September 3 – Battle of Lalakaon: A Byzantine army confronts an invasion by Muslim forces, led by Um ...

pp. 5-32.

Works (in date order)

*''La barba'' *''Gli occhiali'' *''Curiosità Veneziane - Ovvero: Origini delle denominazioni stradali di Venezia'' *''Il libertinaggio a Venezia'' *''Veronica Franco celebre letterata e cortigiana veneziana'' *''Feste, spettacoli, divertimenti e piaceri degli antichi veneziani'' *''Alcuni palazzi ed antichi edifizii di Venezia storicamente illustrati'' *''Edifici di Venezia distrutti o volti ad altro uso diverso da quello a cui furono in origine destinati'' *''Osservazioni critiche sopra le innovazioni praticate nella nomenclatura stradale di Venezia'' *''Alcune delle più clamorose condanne capitali eseguite in Venezia sotto la Repubblica'' *''Il veridico - Diario storico veneziano'' *''Le iscrizioni nella chiesa e convento di San Salvatore in Venezia'' *''Aneddoti storici veneziani'' *''Notizie storiche e genealogiche sui cittadini veneziani'' (unfinished) Some of his works are in a ''Miscellanea'' published by Editrice Filippi.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tassini, Giuseppe category:19th-century Italian historians category:People from Venice category:History of Venice category:1827 births category:1899 deaths category:Toponymists Onomasticians Deaths from bleeding