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Francesco Robortello (1516–1567) Francesco Robortello (1516–1567) This book explores the intellectual world of Francesco Robortello, one of the most prominent scholars of the Italian Renaissance. From poetics to rhetoric, philology to history, topics to ethics, Robortello revolutionised the field of humanities through innovative interpretations of ancient texts and with a genius that was architectural in scope. He was highly esteemed by his contemporaries for his acute wit, but also envied and disparaged for his many qualities. In comparison with other humanists of his time such as Carlo Sigonio and Pier Vettori, Robortello had a deeply philosophical vein, one that made him unique not only to Italy, but to Europe more generally. Robortello’s role in reforming the humanities makes him a constituent part of the long-fifteenth century. Robortello’s thought, however, unlike that of other fifteenth-century humanists, sprung from and was thoroughly imbued with a systematic, Aristotelian spirit without which his philosophy would never have emerged from the tumultuous years of the mid-Cinquecento. Francesco Robortello created a system for the humanities which was unique for his century: a perfect union of humanism and philosophy. This book represents the first fully fledged monograph on this adventurous intellectual life. Marco Sgarbi is Associate Professor in the History of Philosophy at the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. Routledge Studies in Renaissance and Early Modern Worlds of Knowledge Series Editor: Harald E. Braun University of Liverpool This series explores Renaissance and Early Modern Worlds of Knowledge (c.1400–c.1700) in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa. The volumes published in this series study the individuals, communities and networks involved in making and communicating knowledge during the first age of globalization. Authors investigate the perceptions, practices and modes of behaviour which shaped Renaissance and Early Modern intellectual endeavour and examine the ways in which they reverberated in the politi- cal, cultural, social and economic sphere. The series is interdisciplinary, comparative and global in its outlook. We welcome submissions from new as well as existing fields of Renais- sance Studies, including the history of literature (including neo-Latin, European and non-European languages), science and medicine, religion, architecture, environmental and economic history, the history of the book, art history, intellectual history and the history of music. We are particularly interested in proposals that straddle disciplines and are inno- vative in terms of approach and methodology. The series includes monographs, shorter works and edited collections of essays. The Society for Renaissance Studies ( www.rensoc.org.uk ) pro- vides an expert editorial board, mentoring, extensive editing and support for contributors to the series, ensuring high standards of peer-reviewed scholarship. We welcome proposals from early career researchers as well as more established colleagues. SRS Board Members: Erik DeBom (KU Leuven, Belgium), Mordechai Feingold (California Institute of Technology, USA), Andrew Hadfield (Sussex), Peter Mack (University of Warwick, UK), Jennifer Richards (Uni- versity of Newcastle, UK), Stefania Tutino (UCLA, USA), Richard Wist- reich (Royal College of Music, UK) Writing Southern Italy Before the Renaissance Trecento Historians of the Mezzogiorno Ronald G. Musto Francesco Robortello (1516–1567) Architectural Genius of the Humanities Marco Sgarbi For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/ Routledge-Studies-in-Renaissance-and-Early-Modern-Worlds-of-Knowledge/ book-series/ASHSER4043 Francesco Robortello (1516–1567) Architectural Genius of the Humanities Marco Sgarbi First published 2020 by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 and by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2020 Taylor & Francis The right of Marco Sgarbi to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice : Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Sgarbi, Marco, 1982– author. Title: Francesco Robortello (1516–1567) : architectural genius of the humanities / Marco Sgarbi. Description: New York, NY : Routledge, 2020. | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: “This book explores the intellectual world of Francesco Robortello, one of the most prominent scholars of the Italian Renaissance. From poetics to rhetoric, philology to history, topics to ethics, Robortello revolutionized the field of humanities through innovative interpretations of ancient texts and with a genius that was architectural in scope. He was highly esteemed by his contemporaries for his acute wit, but also envied and disparaged for his many qualities. In comparison with other humanists of his time such as Carlo Sigonio and Pier Vettori, Robortello had a deeply philosophical vein, one that made him unique not only to Italy, but to Europe more generally. Robortello’s role in reforming the humanities makes him a constituent part of the long-fifteenth century. Robortello’s thought, however, unlike that of other fifteenth century humanists, sprung from and was thoroughly imbued with a systematic, Aristotelian spirit without which his philosophy would never have emerged from the tumultuous years of the mid-Cinquecento. Francesco Robortello created a system for the humanities which was unique for his century: a perfect union of humanism and philosophy. This book represents the first fully-fledged monograph on this adventurous intellectual life”—Provided by publisher. Identifiers: LCCN 2019028197 (print) | LCCN 2019028198 (ebook) | ISBN 9780367224875 (hardback) | ISBN 9780429275159 (ebook) | ISBN 9781000692822 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781000693188 (epub) | ISBN 9781000693003 (mobi) Subjects: LCSH: Robortello, Francesco, 1516–1567. | Humanists—Italy— Biography. | Intellectuals—Italy—Biography. Classification: LCC DG540.8.R63 S43 2020 (print) | LCC DG540.8.R63 (ebook) | DDC 001.3092—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019028197 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019028198 ISBN: 978-0-367-22487-5 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-429-27515-9 (ebk) Typeset in Sabon by Apex CoVantage, LLC To Anna Contents List of Illustrations viii Acknowledgements ix 1 Introduction 1 2 Life and Works 15 3 Topics 53 4 Rhetoric 77 5 Poetics 103 6 History 139 7 Moral Philosophy 160 8 Conclusion 173 Index 180 Illustrations Figures 2.1 Second Censored Version of Marliani’s Book 28 2.2 First Uncensored Version of Marliani’s Book 28 2.3 Francesco Segala’s Bust of Francesco Robortello 38 3.1 Cicero’s Scheme of Topics 68 3.2 Robortello’s Scheme of Topics 69 4.1 1549 Scheme on Rhetoric 87 5.1 Manuscript II.IV.192, 245 r , Detail of the First Sheet 107 Table 3.1 Table of Topical Places in Cicero, Boethius and Agricola 58 Acknowledgements This monograph is the result of seven years’ research on Francesco Robor- tello. My interest in Robortello started during my previous investigation into vernacular logical textbooks in Renaissance Italy, where I encoun- tered some very interesting manuscripts on logic, Topics and rhetorics hitherto ignored by Renaissance scholars. I gradually became acquainted with Robortello’s thought during my research year as fellow at Villa I Tatti, The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies. In reading the secondary literature, however, I felt growing dissatisfaction with the way in which Robortello’s intellectual character was generally depicted, as an arid humanist, meticulous philologian and exceptional as well as controversial university professor. His philosophical thought was completely neglected, buried under the idea that good humanists cannot be philosophers, only philologians. While engaged in reading and inter- preting his manuscripts, some of them seriously damaged, I was struck by his originality as thinker and his genuine contribution to the history of late Renaissance and early modern thought, beyond the traditional field of literary criticism. Tranquillity for writing this book has been made possible over the last five years thanks to the generous support of the European Research Council’s grant, “Aristotle in the Italian Vernacular: Rethinking Renais- sance and Early-Modern Intellectual History (c.1400–c.1650).” My spe- cial gratitude goes to David A. Lines, who has dexterously managed the project on behalf of the University of Warwick. The idea for a book was first kindled in 2014 at my arrival at the Department of Philosophy and Cultural Heritage at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. Without such a peaceful and conducive environment, it would not have been possible to write a single word. Some of the results to be found here (particularly in chapters 3 and 4 ) have been previously published in these articles: Marco Sgarbi, “Fran- cesco Robortello on Topics,” Viator 47 (2016): 365–88, Brepols Publish- ers; and Marco
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