Public and Private in the Writings of Leon Battista Alberti by Anne-Marie Sorrenti A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Italian Studies University of Toronto © Copyright by Anne-Marie Sorrenti 2014 Public and Private in the Writings of Leon Battista Alberti Anne-Marie Sorrenti Doctor of Philosophy Department of Italian Studies University of Toronto 2014 Abstract Through an examination of works by Leon Battista Alberti, namely De iure, Della famiglia, selections from Intercenales, and parts of De re aedificatoria, this dissertation studies how Alberti conceptualizes public and private in legal, social, and architectural terms. The key to his thought on the subject is found in De iure, a lesser-known tract of his, not generally considered by literary scholars. Analyzed here in relation to the other writings, it sheds new light on Alberti by demonstrating that the ordering of public law above private law and the notion of the telos of the public good were deeply ingrained in his thought. The re-examination of Della famiglia from the viewpoint of his legal thought demonstrates that for Alberti public concerns are more important than private ones. Certain interlocutors, who argue that private interests are more important than the public good, also focus on the importance of secrecy and dissimulation in various forms of human interactions, including friendship. The dissertation also treats Alberti's approach to public and private in the development of the theme of marriage and infidelity both in Della famiglia and in four of his Intercenales (Maritus, Uxoria, Amores, and Vidua), none of which has been studied at length ii in this way in the existing scholarship. In these stories, the public is that which is openly expressed and performative, while the private is shrouded in secrecy and dissimulation. Finally, the chapter on public and private architecture provides a fresh perspective on Alberti's masterpiece on architecture, De re aedificatoria, by examining how his descriptions of private residences relate to his statements about the public function of architecture. The analysis emphasizes the public, civilizing function of both the architect and architecture for Alberti, regardless of whether he is discussing public works or private residences. iii Acknowledgments I would like to thank first and foremost my supervisor, Professor Olga Zorzi Pugliese, not only for her intellectually rigorous, precise, and timely commentary but also for her mentorship. Her commitment to the highest academic standards is exemplary and her unwavering support, encouragement, and patience at all stages of the preparation of this dissertation are so appreciated. My deepest gratitude also extends to Professor Konrad Eisenbichler for his close reading of my work, for his generosity with his ideas, and for inspiring new directions in my research. His many valuable suggestions have vastly improved the quality of my scholarship. I am also indebted to Professor Eva Kushner, whose keen philosophical engagement has assisted me tremendously in clarifying the scope of this project. I am truly blessed to have had such a committed and focused committee. Acknowledgment is due to Professor Charles Taylor and to Professor James Tully for teaching me how to think and how to read all those years ago at McGill in their courses and advanced seminars in political philosophy. Finally, thank you to my family—to my husband Cam, to my children Thomas and Bella, and to my late mother Moira—for helping me to see this project through. iv Table of Contents Introduction 1 Chapter 1: Alberti's De iure in the Context of Legal Humanism 7 1. De iure: A Brief Introduction 7 2. Alberti and the Context of Legal Humanism 18 2.1 The Scholastics: Glossators/Commentators and the Post-Glossators/Bartolists 21 2.2 The Anti-Scholastic School of Legal Humanism: Petrarch and Valla 23 2.2.1 Petrarch 24 2.2.2 Valla 28 2.3 Alberti’s Critique of the Profession of Law in De commodis Compared to Petrarch’s Letter XX, 4 and Valla’s Letter Against Bartolus 35 2.4 The Position of De iure Between Legal Humanism and Historical Jurisprudence 44 2.4.1 Historical Jurisprudence 45 3. De Iure: Summary and Analysis of the Text 46 3.1 An Overview of De iure in Six Parts 49 3.1.1 Part 1: Introduction (Sections 1–3) 50 3.1.2 Part 2: On Ordering Goods and Evils (Sections 4–13) 50 3.1.3 Part 3: Wrongdoings and Their Consequences (Sections 14–19) 51 3.1.4 Part 4: Citizenship and Law, Ethics and Friendship (Sections 20–23) 53 3.1.5 Part 5: The Public Good, Community, and Public Law’s Superiority to Private Law (Sections 24–26) 56 3.1.6 Part 6: The Conclusion to De iure (Sections 27–28) 59 3.2 Analysis of De iure 60 3.2.1 Ancient Concepts of Justice and the Relationship Between Law and Philosophy 60 v 3.2.2 Natural Law Principles 63 3.2.3 A Comparison between Salutati’s De nobilitate legum et medicinae and Alberti’s De iure 65 3.2.4 History, Context, and Judgment in De iure 69 Chapter 2: Public and Private, Friendship, and Dissimulation in De iure and Della famiglia 76 1. Public and Private in De iure and Della famiglia 76 1.1 Public and Private in De iure 76 1.2 Alberti's Focus on Public Virtù and Good Laws in the Prologue to Book 1 of Della famiglia 80 1.3 The Family's Role in Exalting the City: Alberti's Pedagogical Project and its Public Aims 90 1.4 Book III: The Debate Between Lionardo and Giannozzo: Civic, Public Life vs. Private Family Life 98 2. The Many Faces of Friendship in De iure and Della famiglia: From Friendship in the Laws to Friendship as Courtiership 104 2.1 The Concept of Friendship and the Intersection of Public and Private Worlds 104 2.2 Aristotle's Typology of Friendship 105 2.3 Public Friendship in the Laws in De iure 109 2.4 The Three Types of Family Friendship in Books I to III of Della famiglia 111 2.4.1 Lionardo: Family Friendships That Support the Public Good 113 2.4.2 Giannozzo: Family Friendship as an End in Itself 115 2.4.3 Giannozzo: Family Friendships of Utility in the Semi-Private Sphere 117 2.5 Piero and Book IV: Friendship as Courtiership 119 2.5.1 The Context of Book IV 120 vi 2.5.2 Piero's Novella on Friendship: The Role of the Prince in Exalting the Family 124 3. Corruption and Dissimulation in Public and Private Affairs from De iure to Della famiglia 137 3.1 Prudence in De iure and Della famiglia 141 3.2 Corruption and Dissimulation in De iure 150 3.3 Dissimulation in Della famiglia 151 3.3.1 Giannozzo and Dissimulation 151 3.3.2 Piero's Novella and Dissimulation 156 3.3.3 Adovardo and Dissimulation 157 Chapter 3: Adulterous Wives and Naughty Widows: Public and Private Aspects of Infidelity from Della famiglia to Intercenales 164 1. Marriage and Infidelity in Della famiglia 165 1.1 Battista 166 1.2 Lionardo 167 1.3 Giannozzo 169 2. Intercenales 177 2.1 Uxoria and Maritus 182 2.1.1 Uxoria 182 2.1.2 Maritus 191 2.2 Amores and Vidua 200 2.2.1 Amores 201 2.2.2 Vidua 209 vii Chapter 4: Alberti as "Author" of Public and Private Architecture in De re aedificatoria 218 1. A Brief Introduction to De re aedificatoria 218 2. The Architect as Author 221 3. Public and Private in De re aedificatoria 224 3.1 The Public Purpose of the Discipline of Architecture 226 3.2 The Division of Public and Private Architecture 229 3.3 The Overlapping of Public and Private Functions in Architecture 232 3.4 Private Dwellings: City Life vs. Country Life 237 Conclusion 249 Bibliography 258 1. Primary Sources 258 2. Secondary Sources 260 viii 1 Introduction Leon Battista Alberti's thinking has been described as "new wine in an old bottle" that is wrapped in a "deceptive package." Renaissance architectural historian Mario Carpo extends this metaphor by claiming that in the often deeply divided field of Alberti studies, some scholars "discuss the package, some the bottle, and some the wine."1 This dissertation on the concepts of public and private in the writings of Alberti will make reference at various times to the bottle (his use of ancient sources and past models), the wine (his new and innovative thinking) and the package (his complex narrative strategies whereby ideas emerge that seem to contradict the author's world-view). Alberti's dominant world-view, as expressed in many of his writings, is that public concerns precede and are more important than private ones, even though private interests place constant pressure on the public good as Alberti understands it. Instead of focusing primarily on Alberti's irony as Timothy Kircher might, or on decorum as Anthony Grafton does, the present study of how public and private are defined and discussed by Alberti as principles that guide his work sheds a new light on both the dominant message and the sometimes contradictory qualities of his more complex writings. The first Chapter, "Alberti's De iure in the Context of Legal Humanism" demonstrates that one of the keys to understanding the priority of public over private in Alberti's thinking is his little-known treatise on law. This short work distils the fundamental ideas that Alberti gleaned from his decade of legal study in Bologna and is a testament to the fact that the terms "public" and "private" carried a primarily juridical meaning for him.