DELFIN, PIETRO. - General of the Camaldolese, b. in Venice in 1444, d. there on 15 Jan. 1525. A religious in 1480, he cultivated letters and theology, keeping in touch with the most illustrious men of his time, especially with the humanists. Elected general in 1480, he remained in office until his death; from 1514, however, his authority was purely nominal, because in that year Leo X entrusted the effective government of the Order to two vicars.

A man of gentle character, he left a free hand to d. Basilio Nardi, more adventurer than monk, and did not have sufficient energy to carry out the religious reform that he nonetheless desired. An irreconcilable and ungracious opponent of Savonarola, in his Dialogus in Ieronymum Ferrariensem he went so far as to call for the condemnation to the stake of the friar of S. Marco. His letter collection is very rich, in part published by Giacomo da Brescia (Venice 1524), which to elegance of style joins theological doctrine and an abundance of historical information.

Bibliography6 works

BIBL.: I. B. Mitterelli-A. Costadori, Annales Camalduleses. Venice 1790, pp. 40-41; Hurter, II, coll. 1362-63; I. Schnitzer, Peter D., Munich 1926 (on p. 366 ff. the edition of the libel against Savonarola); id., Savonarola, Italian trans. by E. Rutili, I. Milan 1931, pp. 130, 145, 190, 211, 292, 419; II, ibid. 1931, pp. 107, 306; A. Giabbani, Camaldolesi, Camaldoli 1944, pp. 149-50.

Antonio Piolanti

@incollection{ec4_delfin_pietro, author = {Piolanti, Antonio}, title = {Delfin, pietro}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {IV}, pages = {1355}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1950}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/delfin-pietro} }

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Delfin, Pietro

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