Antonio Bernardo (humanist)

Antonio Bernardo (c. 1430 – 1504×1512) was a Venetian professor of civil law, humanist and official. He is known for his antisemitism.

Life

Bernardo was born around 1430 to Andrea Bernardo. He studied at the University of Padua and earned a doctorate. He was first elected to public office in 1454, when he served as advocatus proprii.^[1] In 1462, he was appointed extraordinary professor of civil law at Padua with a salary of 30 ducats a year.^[1]^[2] That same year, he married Elena di Carlo Quirini. Their two sons were presented for the balla d'oro [de] in 1487 and 1490.^[1]

Around the time he was named professor, Bernardo was named to a panel of three judges to resolve a property dispute between the abbey of Santa Maria delle Carceri [it] and the communes of Vighizzolo and Gazzo. On 30 November 1463, he was elected podestà of Padua. For his service to the Republic in Padua, he was made a Knight of Saint Mark.^[2]

In 1471, Bernardo was one of the electors of the Doge Nicolò Tron. From 1484 to 1486, he was podestà of Vicenza, during which time he expelled the Jews from the city.^[1] An inscription celebrates him for this and for founding the local mount of piety.^[2] In 1489, he was the podestà and captain of Treviso.^[1] In September 1497, he attended the funeral of the Milanese ambassador in Venice.^[2] In 1497–1498, he was captain of Bergamo. He was a member of the Council of Ten on three occasions (1495–1496, 1499–1500, 1501–1502).^[1] During his second term, he served for some months as head of the council, in which capacity Marino Sanudo records him ranting against the Jews in September 1500.^[2]

In 1502, Elena died and Bernardo had a memorial stone erected for her in the Sanctuary of the Vision [it] in Camposampiero. In September, Bernardo was among those elected to examine the legacy of the late doge Agostino Barbarigo. In November 1503, he was a candidate to be the ambassador to Pope Julius II, but was not elected.^[2] The last mention of him in surviving records is as a candidate for Procurator of Saint Mark on 5 May 1504. By 23 June 1512, he was dead.^[1]

Works

There are records of two surviving speeches attributed to Bernardo, the Oratio in doctoratu Albertini Baduarii and Oratio pro doctoratu Jacobi Molini in gymnasio patavino, delivered at the graduations of Albertino Badoer and Jacopo Molino at Padua.^[1]

Bernardo is reputed to have written a lost commentary on the first part of the Digest.^[2] The funeral oration for Doge Cristoforo Moro has also been attributed to him.^[1]

His fame was such that, according to Francesco Sansovino, his portrait was hung in the hall of the Great Council of Venice.^[2] Bartolomeo Pagello addressed an elegy to him and he was one of the dedicatees of Alessandro Benedetti's Diaria de bello carolino.^[1]

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j King 1985, p. 339.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Caravale 1967.

Bibliography

Caravale, Mario (1967). "Bernardo, Antonio". Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, Volume 9: Berengario–Biagini (in Italian). Rome: Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana. pp. 304–305. ISBN 978-8-81200032-6.
King, Margaret L. (1985). Venetian Humanism in an Age of Patrician Dominance. Princeton University Press.

[FOOTNOTEKing1985339-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j King 1985, p. 339.

[FOOTNOTECaravale1967-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Caravale 1967.

[1]

[2]