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Also known as: Baptista
Mantuanus; Baptista Spagnoli; Baptista Spagnolo; Baptista Spagnuoli
Mantuanus; Baptista Spanuoli Mantuanus; Baptistae Mantuani; Battista
Spagnoli; Battista Spagnuoli; Giovanni Baptista Mantuanus; Johannes
Baptista Mantuanus; Mantuan; Mantuanus; Mantuanus Baptista
Memorial: 23 March
Profile
Son of Peter Spagnoli, a Spanish nobleman assigned to the court in Mantua.
Studied in Padua where a wild life put him briefly at the mercy of loan
sharks, and got him thrown out of his father's house. Drifted through
Venice. Experienced a conversion. Carmelite at age 16 at Ferrara. Elected
vicar-general of his congregation six times. Prior-general of the
Carmelites in 1513. Noted poet, writing over 55,000 lines of Latin verse;
has been criticized for excessive use of pagan mythological images in his
work, but was referred to as the Good old Mantuan by Shakespeare in Love's
Labour Lost. Eminent representative of Italian Christian Humanism.
Born: 17 April 1447 at Mantua, Italy
Died: 20 March 1516 at Mantua, Italy of natural causes
Beatified: 1890
Canonized: pending |
