SEVERANO, GIOVANNI. - Priest of the Oratory, born at S. Severino Marche (Macerata) in 1562, died in Roma on 26 February 1640; he entered the Congregation of the Oratory on 15 October 1588.
His long life was truly pious. The devout practice of the Seven Churches prompted him to provide an account of them that took archaeological recollections into consideration, and he therefore wrote: Sacred Memories of the Seven Churches of Rome and of Other Places Found along Their Roads (Roma 1630). In 1629 A. BOSONE (v.) had been entrusted with reviewing this work and had judged it «full of much erudition, learning, and singular piety». In its 740 pages, besides the churches of the sacred itinerary, it also contains information on many other, lesser ones. In turn, S. rendered a service to the memory of Bosio by overseeing the publication of his monumental work, which constitutes the foundation of all studies on the catacombs, Underground Rome, issued in 1634 (although the date on the title page is 1632) through the solicitude of Card. Francesco Barberini. S. confined himself to minor alterations and a few additions, especially in Book IV, which was added on the basis of a mass of notes by Bosio and other authors. On the other hand, Bosio had omitted everything dealt with by S. in the book on the Seven Churches. Despite criticism concerning other material that might have been included, the service rendered by S. to scholarship was truly outstanding.