Francesco Algarotti

Laura Favero Carraro (Università degli Studi di Padova)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.6.1: Italian Writing and Culture, 453-present.
Vol. editors: Carla Bregman (Independent Scholar - North America), Jo Ann Cavallo (Columbia University)

Dates

Born 11 Dec 1712
Died 3 May 1764
Activity 1732-1764

Places

Born in Italy
Active in Italy

Activities

Primary

Essayist

Resources

Algarotti's Works

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Francesco Algarotti was born in Venice in 1712 and died in Pisa on May 4th, 1764.

After studying at the University of Bologna, he gained European fame with his first work Newtonianesimo per le dame, ovvero Dialoghi sopra la luce e i colori (1737), in which he exposed Newton's theories on light and colours A member of the Royal Society, he was a cosmopolitan and eclectic writer, popular in many European courts. Among his works a series of treatises on language (Sopra la necessità di scrivere nella propria lingua, 1750), opera (Saggio sopra l'opera in musica, 1755), architecture (Sopra l'architettura, 1756), Horace, (Sopra Orazio, 1760), painting (Sopra la pittura, 1762). In the style of the period he also published Viaggi di Russia, a vivacious but rich of details collection of

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133 words

Citation: Carraro, Laura Favero. "Francesco Algarotti". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 September 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5830, accessed 23 November 2024.]