Giovanni Battista Ramusio

Giovan Battista Ramusio (* July 20, 1485 in Treviso, † July 10, 1557 in Padua ) was an Italian humanist, historian and geographer.

Life

Ramusio first studied in Padua as a student of Pietro and Aldo Pomponazzi Manuzzio. Here he studied especially the Latin and Greek language and probably met some oriental languages, but devoted himself to the cosmography and geography. In 1505 he accompanied Alvise Mocenigo to Paris and represented as an envoy, the Venetian Republic at the French court over two years. Later he undertook further diplomatic trips, among others in Switzerland and Rome, probably to Puglia. In some products is believed that he was also in Egypt and North Africa. 1513 he was appointed chancellor in 1515 and secretary of the Venetian Senate. His responsibilities included the negotiations with Sebastiano Caboto. Ramusio was acquainted with Girolamo Fracastoro, he lived in the house from 1546 to 1550, Bernardo Navagero, Gasparo Contarini, Giacomo Gastaldi and Raimondi Torriani. Tradition has a correspondence with Pietro Bembo and Girolamo Fracastoro.

Works

Are obtained from Ramusio a preface to Quintilian and Livy, which appeared in the print shop of Aldo Manuzzio 1514 or 1519. Ramusio was known. Especially by the publication of the most important travel literature of his time in his monumental work Delle Navigationi e Viaggi, which was published by Giunti Probably since 1520 Ramusio has collected material for this publication. The first volume, which includes travel reports on Africa, but was not published until 1550, it was followed by a band about traveling to America, without giving the name of the publisher, but with a dedicatory letter to Ramusio Fracastoro. A band about traveling to Asia was published posthumously in 1559. This collection reached the 16th century numerous editions and contributed to today's awareness of many travel reports, including the Milione by Marco Polo, published the Ramusio in an edited version of it.