Antonio Brucioli (M / Italy, 1498-1566), scholar

Antonio Brucioli (1498-1566) was an Italian scholar, humanist, religious thinker, publisher, and writer, best known for his translation of the Bible into Italian. Antonio Brucioli was born in Florence [Italy] around 1498. He studied philosophy, Latin and Greek and joined the circle of humanists and scholars who met in the Orti Oricellari. Forced to leave Florence in 1523 for his opposition to the Medici family, fled to Lyon where he met Sante Pagnini and studied Hebrew with him. He also briefly visited Germany, and became familiar with the ideals of the Reformation. In 1527 he was back to Florence to take part in establishing the Republic, but quickly fell afoul of the dominant Savonarolan faction and was banned from the city. He finally settled in Venice where he would spend most his life, working as a publisher, often subjected to charges of heresy by the Inquisition. In 1555 his translation of the Bible was condemned by Pope Paul IV; Brucioli was forced to recant and spent most of the remainder of his life under house arrest and in extreme poverty. Antonio Brucioli claimed he translated the entire Bible in Italian from the original languages (Hebrew and Greek). In reality, his version of the Old Testament follows very closely more the Latin translation by Sante Pagnini than the Hebrew text, and his version of the New Testament is based on the Latin translation by Erasmus (1516). His translation of the Bible, however, was the first to openly reject the authority of the Vulgate.Brucioli also published Biblical commentaries where he heavily used the works of Martin Bucer. Brucioli died in Venice [Italy] on December 5, 1566.