Alberto Fortis
Alberto Fortis (1741–1803), was a Venetian writer, naturalist and cartographer.
Life
Born Giovanni Battista Fortis[1] (his religious name was Alberto[2]) in Padua on either 9 or 11 of November 1741. He journeyed extensively in Venetian Dalmatia. His best known work is Viaggio in Dalmazia (Travels into Dalmatia), originally published in 1774 and first published in London in 1778.[3][4]
The highlight of the book is the description of "Morlachia", a term used by Fortis for the rural Dalmatian interior to distinguish it from the coastal towns under the influence of Venice. This term was criticized by the Croatian writer Ivan Lovrić, who wrote Notes on 'Travels in Dalmatia' of Abbe Alberto Fortis, accusing Fortis of many factual errors, which he attempted to rectify.[5] Travels into Dalmatia played an important role in bringing the Dalmatian culture to the attention of Europe during the rise of Romantic notions about folklore. Dalmatian hinterlands became epitomized by Hasanaginica, a folk ballad that was first written down by Fortis.[6]
In 1795 Fortis was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in London. He died in Bologna eight years later on 21 October 1803.[3]
Work
- Travels into Dalmatia; containing general observations on the natural history of that country and the neighbouring islands; the natural productions, arts, manners and customs of the inhabitants: in a series of letters from Abbe Alberto Fortis, first published in London by J. Robson, 1778.[7]
- A poetical sketch of the revolutions that have happened in the natural history of our planet intended as a specimen of a philosophical and theological poem, first published in London by B. White, 1786.[8]
Notes
- ↑ International Musicological Society Congress 1990, p. 1454.
- ↑ International Musicological Society. Congress (1993). Actas del XV Congreso de la Sociedad Internacional de Musicología: culturas musicales de Mediterraneo y sus ramificaciónes, Madrid/3-10/IV/1992. La Sociedad.
- 1 2 Ciceran 2011.
- ↑ Addison's Rare Books & Bindery.
- ↑ Maggs 1989, pp. 546–563.
- ↑ Wolff 2003, pp. 191–192.
- ↑ Fortis 1778.
- ↑ Fortis 1786.
References
- Addison's Rare Books & Bindery, 1774. Viaggio in Dalmazia. 1st Edition with 15 folding plates. Very Rare, OneRareBook.com, retrieved September 2011 Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - Ciceran, Marisa (22 September 2011) [2008], Alberto Fortis, Istria on the Internet, retrieved 29 September 2011 External link in
|publisher=(help) - Fortis, Alberto (1778), Travels into Dalmatia; containing general observations on the natural history of that country and the neighboring islands; the natural productions, arts, manners and customs of the inhabitants: in a series of letters from Abbe Alberto Fortis., London: J. Robson
- Fortis, Alberto (1786), A poetical sketch of the revolutions that have happened in the natural history of our planet : intended as a specimen of a philosophical and theological poem, London: B. White
- International Musicological Society Congress (1990), Kongressbericht, 3, Bärenreiter
- Maggs, Barbara W. (October 1989), "Three Phases of Primitivism in Portraits of Eighteenth-Century Croatia", Slavonic and East European Review, 67 (4): 546–563
- Name Origin Research staff (2011), Last name: Abate, Internet Surname Database, retrieved September 2011 Check date values in:
|access-date=(help); External link in|publisher=(help) - Wolff, Larry (2003), Venice and the Slavs: The Discovery of Dalmatia in the Age of Enlightenment, Stanford University Press, pp. 191–192, ISBN 0-8047-3946-3