Paolo Paruta

Bust of Paolo Paruta (created by Luigi Ferrari )

Paolo Paruta (born May 14, 1540 in Venice , † December 6, 1598 in Venice) was an Italian historian , political theorist and statesman who served the Republic of Venice as a diplomat for most of his life .

Life

Born in Venice as the son of a respected family who had been accepted into the city's nobility in 1381, Paruta was interested in literature and philosophy from an early age. He studied in Padua , devoted himself in particular to history and political science and held various political functions in the Republic of Venice. For example, he worked as a secretary for a Venetian member of the Council of Ten .

In 1562 Paruta accompanied ambassador Michele Suriano to the court of Emperor Maximilian II and appeared as the official historian of the Republic of Venice. As successor to Luigi Contarini , Paruta was officially appointed historian of the republic in 1580. He was Provveditore of the Chamber of Loans (1580), Commissario del Cadore (1589), Savio del gran consiglio (1590), Governor of Brescia (1590-92) and Ambassador to the Pope in Rome (1592-95). In 1596 Paruta was appointed Provveditore of St. Mark's Basilica and Provveditore delle Fortezze ( fortress commander ) in 1597.

From 1592 to 1595 he was the Venetian ambassador in Rome . Paruta was able to soften the anti-Venetian attitude of the Pope, especially since the Venetian Senate had approved Giordano Bruno's extradition in 1593 . In the negotiations on the public absolution of Henry IV , he campaigned for the King of France, who was first recognized by the Republic of Venice, with great success. At the end of October 1595 Paruta returned from Rome to Venice, in November he presented his report ( Relazione ) in the Senate, in which he emphasized the dual role of Pope Clement VIII as vicar of Christ and as secular prince. A few more assignments followed as special ambassadors, together with other nobles.

Works (selection)

La legazione di Roma di Paolo Paruta , Ed. Giuseppe De Leva, Volume 2, 1887

• Dialogue della perfezione della vita politica (1572–1579): Defends political activity as a noble occupation and emphasizes (in contrast to Niccolò Machiavelli ) that a statesman must adhere to certain moral principles
• Storia della guerra di Cipro (published 1599): deals with the surrender of Cyprus to the Ottoman Turks
• Discorsi politici (published 1599): detailed discussion of the Venetian government
• Istoria Veneziana (published 1605): continuation of the history of the Republic of Venice begun by Pietro Bembo . Covers the years from 1513 to 1551.
• Giuseppe De Leva (ed.): La legazione di Roma di Paolo Paruta (3 volume) ( it ). Regia deputazione veneta di storia patria, Venezia 1886-1887.
  • La legazione di Roma di Paolo Paruta ( it ), Volume 2. Regia deputazione veneta di storia patria, Venezia 1887.

literature

• Ilan Rachum, Atlantis-Verlag 1991: Encyclopedia of the Renaissance , ISBN 978-3-7611-0725-6
• Gino Benzoni:  Paruta, Paolo. In: Raffaele Romanelli (ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 81:  Pansini – Pazienza. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 2014.
• Paruta, Paolo . In: Encyclopædia Britannica . 11th edition. tape 20 : Ode - Payment of Members . London 1911, p. 877 (English, full text [ Wikisource ]).

Web links

• Literature by and about Paolo Paruta in the catalog of the German National Library
• Publications by Paolo Paruta in the Opac des Servizio Bibliotecario Nazionale
• Standard entry in the Opac of the Servizio Bibliotecario Nazionale
• Paruta, Paolo. In: Enciclopedie on line. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
• Catholic Encyclopedia (English)