Original scientific paper
A Letter of Cyriacus of Ancona to Božo Nalješković of Dubrovnik
Irena Bratičević
orcid.org/0000-0002-3098-4165
; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Abstract
A letter in Latin from Ciriaco de Pizzicolli of Ancona (1391–1452) to Božo
Nalješković of Dubrovnik is published and interpreted in this paper for the first
time. A copy of this letter, deriving from the middle of the 15th century, has been
preserved in codex Cappon. 3 of the Vatican Apostolic Library. The letter is an
outstanding document of Ciriaco’s humanist interests and his enthusiasm for
Classical antiquities and for the Dubrovnik setting, as well of his distinctive Latin
prose. Sent to Božo Dobrićev Nalješković, one of the leading Dubrovnik cloth
merchants of the time, also known for his building of an opulent house in the town,
the letter praises the Nalješković family and provides a description of its richly
furnished home, as well as of the occasion on which Nalješković gave Ciriaco a
brass horse’s head that had been found in ancient Epidaurus (Cavtat). The year in
which the letter was written is not stated, but Ciriaco’s complex formulation used
to express a date in December is understood here as deliberate blending of the
Roman and the Christian manner of dating. As a result, it is possible to determine
that the letter was written on December 15. Since the archival records and his own
correspondence confirm that he certainly stayed in Dubrovnik in December 1443
and January 1444, it is suggested that the letter was written in 1443.
Keywords
Ciriaco de Pizzicolli of Ancona; Božo (Natale, Nalko) Nalješković; Renaissance humanism; antiquarianism; manuscript
Hrčak ID:
278019
URI
Publication date:
10.6.2022.
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