MARTINI, ANTONIO. - Archbishop of Florence, translator and commentator of the Bible, b. at Prato on 20 April 1720, d. at Florence on 31 Dec. 1809.
He completed his secondary studies at the local Liceo Cicognini; he took his degree in letters at Pisa in 1748. Appointed in 1751 by King Charles Emmanuel III as president of the Congregation of the 12 priests attached to the basilica of Superga, he directed that institute of advanced ecclesiastical learning laudably until 1765, the year in which he obtained from the King exemption with the title of councillor of state and a pension on the abbey of St. James in Bessa, so as to be able to devote himself with greater leisure to the translation and commentary of the Bible. Responding to the invitation of Cardinal Vittorio Amedeo delle Lanze, he thus intended to fulfil the wish of Benedict XIV, expressed also in the brief of 13 June 1757, which permitted translations of the Bible into the vernacular, provided they were furnished with notes drawn from the holy Fathers and learned Catholic authors.
For the fortunes of his translation, which appeared between 1769 and 1778, counterfeited by the Jansenists, v. BIBBIA. The definitive edition, published at Florence between 1702 and 1792, has been reproduced down to the present day and also survives in the version commented upon and brought up to date by M. Sales and G. Girotti (so far 10 vols., Turin 1918-42).
After having been proposed by Victor Amadeus III for the episcopate of Bobbio, he was appointed by Pius VI to the archbishopric of Florence, which he held from 25 April 1781 until his death.
Besides the Holy Bible (Naples 1771-81 and many other editions), approved by a brief of Pius VI of 17 March 1778,
M. wrote among other things: Istoria e concordia evangelica spiegata al popolo (Florence 1812; in Latin, Milan 1829); Istruzione sopra il Simbolo degli Apostoli (Milan 1814); Responsio atque declaratio contra libr. ab episc. Collensi circa quaestionem de decisivo voto prael. (1787), in which he denies parish priests the decisive vote. General edition: Opera omnia (10 vols., Milan 1830; 32 vols., Venice 1833-35).
Bibliography7 worksanon. (according to Guasti, to be identified as G. Tavelli), Apologia del breve del sommo pontefice Pio VI a mon. M. arctiv. di Firenze, ovv
BIBL.: anon. (according to Guasti, to be identified as G. Tavelli), Apologia del breve del sommo pontefice Pio VI a mon. M. arctiv. di Firenze, ovvero dottrina della Chiesa sul leggere la S. Scrittura in lingua volgare (Pavia 1784; of a Jansenistic nature); C. Guasti, Storia aneddota del volgarizzamento dei due Testamenti fatto dall'ab. M., in Rassegna naz., 25 (1885), pp. 235-282; Hurter, V, p. 693; S. Minocchi, Italiennes (versions) de la Bible, in DB, III, coll. 1032-1034; A. Vitti, s. v. in Enc. Ital., XXII, p. 444 f.; G. Piovano, La versione e il commento della Bibbia di A. M., in Scuola catt., 67 (1929, II), pp. 337-47 (with bibl.).
De, Ambroggi Pietro. “Martini, antonio.” In Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. VIII, coll. 210–211. Città del Vaticano: Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1952. https://azioneromana.com/article/martini-antonio.
MLA
De, Ambroggi Pietro. “Martini, antonio.” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. VIII, Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1952, coll. 210–211. Azione Romana, https://azioneromana.com/article/martini-antonio.
BibTeX
@incollection{ec8_martini_antonio,
author = {De, Ambroggi Pietro},
title = {Martini, antonio},
booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica},
volume = {VIII},
pages = {210--211},
note = {Cited by column},
publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico},
address = {Città del Vaticano},
year = {1952},
url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/martini-antonio}
}
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