A D V E N T U R E S in C Y B E R S O U N DGiambattista della Porta : 1535 - 1615
Giambattista della Porta also Giovani Battista (John Baptist), (Born: 1 Nov 1535 in Vico Equense (near Naples), Italy Died: 4 Feb 1615 in Naples, Italy) was educated at home where discussions on scientific topics frequently took place. His father, from 1541, was in the service of Emperor Charles V and della Porta was well educated by private tutors. Charles V was Holy Roman emperor and king of Spain at this time and his empire extended across Europe to the Netherlands, Austria and the Kingdom of Naples. Della Porta travelled widely in Italy, France and Spain always returning to his estate near Naples where he was able to study in peace. He never needed to earn a living as the wealth of the family seems to have been sufficient to allow della Porta to devote himself to study. In 1579 della Porta moved to Rome and entered the service of Luigi, cardinal d'Este, and frequented the court of Duke Alfonso II d'Este at Ferrara. He also lived in Venice while working for the Cardinal. In fact he was one of a number of dramatists who worked for the Cardinal, like Torquato Tasso, the greatest Italian poet of the late Renaissance. Della Porta, however, also undertook scientific work for the Cardinal, making optical instruments for him while in Venice. Della Porta's work was wide ranging and, having studied refraction in De refractione, optices parte (1593), he claimed to be the inventor of the telescope although he does not appear to have constructed one before Galileo. Other topics he wrote on include cryptography in De furtivis literarum (1563), mechanics and squaring the circle. He was the first to propose adding a convex lens to the camera obscura. He described a steam engine in De' spiritali (1606) and he was the first to recognise the heating effect of light rays. Della Porta formed a society, Accademia dei Segreti dedicated to discussing and studying nature, which had regular meetings at his home. This Society was closed down by the Inquisition about 1578 after they examined della Porta. In 1585 he joined the Jesuit Order but his support of the Roman Catholic Church did not prevent the Inquisition from banning publication of his work between 1594 and 1598. Della Porta's major work is Magia Naturalis (1558), in which he examines the natural world claiming it can be manipulated by the natural philosopher through theoretical and practical experiment. The work discusses many subjects including demonology, magnetism and the camera obscura. Della Porta also published Villae (1583-92), an agricultural encyclopaedia and De distillatione (1609), describing his work in chemistry.
Giambattista della Porta, also called Giovanni Battista (John Baptist) Della Porta (b. 1535? d. Feb. 4, 1615, Naples), Italian natural philosopher whose experimental research in optics and other fields was undermined by his credulous preoccupation with magic and the miraculous. Della Porta founded the Accademia dei Segreti, which was later suppressed by the Inquisition, and in 1610 he took part in the reconstitution of the Accademia dei Lincei. He traveled widely in Italy, France, and Spain. His major work is Magia naturalis (4 books, 1558; "Natural Magic"; 2nd ed., in 20 books, 1589), in which he treats the wonders and marvels of the natural world as phenomena underlain by a rational order that can be divined and manipulated by the natural philosopher through theoretical speculation and practical experiment. The work discusses such topics as demonology, magnetism, and the camera obscura (prototype of the camera), which made della Porta one of the pioneers in the use of the lens. His other works include: De furtivis literarum notis: Vulgo de ziferis (1563); Arte del ricordare (1566); Villae (1583-92), an agricultural encyclopaedia; De humana physiognomonia (1586); De refractione, optices parte (1593); Pneumaticorum (1601), which was augmented in the Italian translation (De' spiritali, 1606) with a description of a steam engine anticipating that of Thomas Savery of 1698; Caelestis physiognomoniae (1601), a confutation of judicial astrology; and De distillatione (1609), containing various chemical discoveries.
1. Dates Born: Vico Equense, 12 miles south of Naples, 15 Nov. 1535. Early sources have various years for his birth, but Paparelli establishes 1535 beyond doubt.Died: Naples, 4 Feb. 1615 2. Father Occupation: Government Official The modest fortunes of the Porta family, who belonged to the ancient nobility of Salerno, were improved when his father, Nardo Antonio, entered the service of Emperor Charles V in 1541. Note that the branch of the family to which della Porta belonged was not noble. However, his mother was from the patrician family Spadafora. Clubb speaks of the father's considerable wealth in land and ships. Vico Equense was the habitat of the wealthy, and the villa there meant wealth. 4. Education Schooling: No University The nature of his formal education is unknown, but early accounts of his life suggested that he was self-taught. It appears more likely that his uncle (Spadafora) supervised his education. His informal education was the convivial discussion of scientific and pseudoscientific topics with the learned society that frequented his father's house. Only two of his teachers are known: Antonio Pisano, a royal physician in Naples, and Domenico Pizzimenti, a translator of Democritus. 5. Religion Affiliation: Catholic He was examined by the Inquisition about 1578, and he was forced to disband his Academy dei segreti. In 1592 all further publication of his philosophical works was prohibited. Apparently the ban did not include literary works, but he apparently did need prior permission. This ban was not lifted until 1598. By 1585 he had become a lay brother of the Jesuits, and his participation in charitable works of both the Jesuits and the Theatines in Naples demonstrates his devotion to the ideals of the Catholic reformation. 6. Scientific Disciplines Primary: Occult Philosophy, Astrology, Alchemy Subordinate: Optics, Mathematics, Meteorology Porta was a polymath who dabbled in nearly everything. One could also list Natural Philosophy and Physics as disciplines. Porta's first book, published in 1585 as Magiae naturalis, constituted the basis of a twenty-book edition of the Magia naturalis published in 1589, which is his best-known work and the basis of his reputation. His other published works include De furtivis literarum notis (1563), De humana physiognomonia (1586), Physionomonica (1588), De refractione optices (1589) and De distillatione (1610). He perfected the camera obscura. He wrote also on squaring the circle and on curved lines, as well as on hydraulic machines. Della Porta formed a personal museum of natural history which helped to spur the concept of public museums. 7. Means of Support Primary: Personal Means Secondary: Patronage Della Porta travelled extensively while he was young through Italy, France, and Spain. When he returned to Naples, he shut himself up in his villa and devoted himself to learning. He left a considerable estate. Is is not clear that he ever received a salary, though he did enjoy patronage and undoubtedly received gifts. 8. Patronage Types: Aristrocrat, Eccesiastic Official, Court Official Della Porta presented a copy of his book on cryptography, De furtivis literarum, 1563, to Philip II, and he dedicated the third edition of the early version of Magia, 1561, to Philip. In 1579, Cardinal Luigi d'Este invited della Porta to join his household in Rome. Della Porta accepted, moved to Rome, and supplied his patron with comedies. A bit later he went to the Cardinal's house in Venice and there made optical devices for him, including a parabolic mirror (so the sources claim). Then on to Ferrara. He was back in Naples in 1581, though still something of a client of the cardinal. It appears that the cardinal helped to save him from the Inquisition. Apparently the cardinal saw della Porta as an alchemist and hoped to get the philosophers' stone from him. Della Porta dedicated Physiognomia, 1586, to the cardinal. The cardinal died in 1587. Della Porta dedicated De distillazione, 1608, as well as De aeris transmutationaibus, 1610, and other late works to his new patron, Federico Cesi. In the early years of the 17th century, Rudolf II sent his chaplain to Naples to contact della Porta, hoping apparently to get some alchemical secrets from him. Della Porta himself spoke of favors he received from Rudolf and to him he intended to dedicate his Taumatologia. 9. Technological Involvement Types: Agriculture, Hydraulics, Military Engineering, Instruments, Pharmacology He experimented and published on agriculture. He published a book in 1606 on raising water by the force of the air. In 1608 he published on military engineering. He perfected the camera obscura. He compiled remedies, some of which were published. 10. Scientific Societies Memberships: Accademia dei Lincei, 1610-1615 He established the Accademia dei Segreti (or Academia secretorum naturae) some time prior to 1580. It met in his house in Naples, was certainly founded on the model of the earlier literary academies, and was devoted to discussion and study of the secrets of nature. It seems to have closed by order of the Inquisition. In 1604 Cesi traveled to Naples and often visited Porta. In the same year Porta wrote a compendium of the history of the Cesi family. The documented meeting of Cesi and Porta in 1604 was followed by a respectful correspondence which culminated in the enrollment of Porta among the Lincei on 6 July 1610. In 1611 he helped to establish the Accademia degli Oziosi, a leading literary academy in Naples. Sources
Compiled by: Richard S. Westfall Department of History and Philosophy of Science edited by Dr Russell Naughton
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