Biondo Flavio

The Roman Ceremony Of Deification

Quintus Curtius History , , , ,

We read about how certain Roman emperors were “deified” after their deaths.  Unfortunately it is not easy to learn the details about how this process was actually undertaken.  I was fortunate to come across a rare description of how the deification (deificatio) ceremony took place in the humanist Biondo Flavio’s Roma Triumphans (Rome in Triumph).  This Renaissance Latin work, published in 1459, contains a wealth of information on Roman religion and ceremonies, compiled from a painstaking review of  the Latin sources available to him.

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The Boar And The Wolf Of Sant’ Antonio

Quintus Curtius Thought, Travel & Exploration , , , ,

I will turn again to Biondo Flavio’s geographical compendium of Italy called Italia Illustrata, which was published in 1453.  Flavio traveled all over the Italian peninsula and recorded historical information, anecdota, and local customs of the Italian countryside in the late medieval period.  During his tour of Tuscany, he found himself in the region near the city of Petriolo.  Here there was a remote monastery dedicated to Sant’ Angelo named the Eremo di Sant’ Antonio in Val d’Aspra.  Flavio describes the place as being at the top of an irregular road threading through forested hills.  It was also an austere place, not lavish at all in its construction (ut ad parum sumptuose et minus laute aedificatum te conferas monasterium).

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The Man Of Action Should Not Expect Gratitude From Others

Quintus Curtius Thought , , , ,

We have recently discussed ways of handling a lack of appreciation.  A certain independence of spirit–a soaring greatness of soul–is one of the main ways we can limit our expectations of appreciation from others.  Consider again, if you need to, the verses of Ibn Munir on this subject, which capture perfectly this spiritual independence.  As I see it, no more powerful statement of this ethic has ever been put into poetic form.

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The Special Fruitfulness Of Verona In Northern Italy

Quintus Curtius History, Travel & Exploration , , , ,

The humanist and historian Biondo Flavio (1392–1463) conducted a historical survey of all of Italy, going through the country region by region.  The result of his labors was the massive Italia Illustrata, probably the first topographical survey since ancient times.  We have recorded elsewhere his description of bird-hunting in Anzio.  We will now linger over his description of the rich agricultural regions near Verona and the River Adige.

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Catching Birds In Anzio, Italy

Quintus Curtius Travel & Exploration , , ,

The Italian humanist Biondo Flavio of Forli (1392-1463) was one of the great names of Renaissance humanism.  His extensive Description of Italy (Italia Illustrata) collected anecdota and geographical information about every region of the country from ancient times until his own day.  It was first published in 1451, but saw frequent additions and revisions until Flavio’s death.  Book II, section 7 of his treatise provides some details on how the natives of Nettuno (a town in the region of Lazio, south of Rome) go about netting birds.  The passage attracted my attention for some reason, and I thought it might be worth relating; it may even be of interest to modern hunters.  Flavio himself can provide the specific details:

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The Three Types Of Travel Writing, And Their Uses

Quintus Curtius Thought, Travel & Exploration , , , , ,

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Travel writing is a popular genre.  We live in an age of travel, where it is easy to plan a sojourn to the most remote of locations.  Most people today hardly give a thought to the fact that their routine international destinations of travel were, until very recently, accessible only by ship or overland travel.  Even as late as the 1860s, the source of the Nile River in Africa was unknown.

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