New Advent
 Home   Encyclopedia   Summa   Fathers   Bible   Library 
 A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z 
New Advent
Home > Catholic Encyclopedia > R > Francesco Redi

Francesco Redi

Please help support the mission of New Advent and get the full contents of this website as an instant download. Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more — all for only $19.99...

Italian poet, b. at Arezzo, 18 February, 1626; d. at Pisa 1 March, 1698. After taking his degree in medicine, he entered the service of the Colonna family at Rome as a tutor, and held the position five years. In 1654 he went to Florence, where he acted as physician to the Grand dukes Ferdinand II and Cosimo III. He was constantly engaged in experiments intended to improve the practice of medicine and surgery, and yet found leisure for much literary work. He was an active member of several of the academies of the time, and, as an associate of the Crusca, aided in preparing its important Vocabolario. He taught in the Studio at Florence in 1666, as lettore publico di lingua toscana and was one of the first members of the Arcadia. His writings include a number of scientific documents, e.g. "Osservazioni intorno alle vipere", "Esperienze intorno alla generazione degl' insetti", "Consulti medici", etc. Other writings are his "Lettere"; the dithyrambs, "Bacco in Toscana" and "Arianna Inferma", besides a number of lyrics, some of which are Petrarchian and others burlesque in their tone; and an unedited Vocbolario aretino. The "Bacco in Toscana" is the best example of the dithyramb in Italian, and, although deformed occasionally by obscure imagery and diction, it remains one of the best works of the seventeenth century.

Sources

Opere (Venice, 1712); Opusculi di storia naturale (Florence, 1858-63); Bacco in Toscana, with the author's notes (Florence, 1685); IMBERT, Il Bacco in Toscana (Città di Castello, 1890); IDEM, Francesco Redi in Nuova Antologia (October, 1895).

About this page

APA citation. Ford, J. (1911). Francesco Redi. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12687b.htm

MLA citation. Ford, Jeremiah. "Francesco Redi." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12687b.htm>.

Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Thomas J. Bress.

Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. June 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.

Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is webmaster at newadvent.org. Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.

Copyright © 2023 by New Advent LLC. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

CONTACT US | ADVERTISE WITH NEW ADVENT