NICOLETTI, GIOVANNI (JOHANNES AB IMOLA) - Enciclopedia Cattolica, Vol. VIII, p. 1092

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

NICOLETTI, GIOVANNI (Johannes ab Imola). - Canonist and civil lawyer, born in Imola (not in Bologna, as had once been believed) between 1367 and 1376, died in Bologna on 13 March 1436.

He studied in Bologna and received his doctorate there in 1397 in both canon and civil law; in 1399 he obtained the chair of canon law in the same city; in 1402 he moved to teach in Ferrara and later in Padua, before finally returning to Bologna, where he remained until his death.

He was a prolific writer in both Roman and canon law and enjoyed great fame among his contemporaries, being called the monarch of both laws. His principal works are the Commentaria in Clementina (1st ed., Venice 1485) and In tres libros Decretalium (1st ed., 1498); as well as those In primam et secundam Infiniti Digestique novi partes (Bologna 1580), in addition to many Consilia, Repetitiones, Tractatus, some of which remain unpublished.

BIBL.: J. F. Schulte, Die Geschichte der Quellen und Literatur des canonischen Rechts, II, Stuttgart 1877, pp. 297 ff.; D. Staffa, De Iohannis ab Imola vita et operibus, in Apollinaris, 10 (1937), pp. 76 ff., (with extensive references to the works and editions); A. van Hove, Prolegomena, 2nd ed., Malines-Rome 1945, p. 497.