Caracciolo, Giambattista - Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. III, p. 445

Machine translation of the 1948–1954 Italian original. The original text is authoritative.

CARACCIOLO, GIAMBATTISTA. - A Theatine man of letters, mathematician, and historiographer, belonging to the dukes of San Vito, born in Naples on Dec. 29, 1695, died in Aversa in 1765. He took his vows on Jan. 1, 1712, in the convent of the Santi Apostoli in Naples, and there, having completed his studies, he taught

Article illustration — CARADOSSO - Detail of the bronze doors of the reliquary of the chains of St. Peter - Rome, S. Pietro in Vincoli.

philosophy. In 1723 he moved to Florence as a professor of theology and from 1730 held the chair of philosophy there, and later that of algebra at the University of Pisa. In 1750 he was elected procurator and in 1759 superior general of his Order. Clement XIII, after having appointed him consultor of Rites, created him bishop of Aversa on Feb. 16, 1761.

Main works: Le due Ifigenie d'Euripide in Aulide e in Tauri tradotte in verso toscano sciolto... (Firenze 1729); Divi Cajetani Thienei... vita (composed in 1731 for the Acta of the Bollandists, who preferred the Vita written by Antonio Caracciolo [v.]; the author, however, published it himself, Pisa 1738); De lineis curvis liber (ivi 1740); Problemata varia mathematica... (Firenze 1755); Gnomonice (Pisa 1756); Geometria Algebra universa... (Roma 1759).

BIBL.: A. F. Vezzosi, Scrittori dei Chierici regolari, I, Roma 1780, pp. 200-208. Francesco Andreu