“Prisciani, who was he?”
Pellegrino Prisciani was born around 1435; at first he practiced as professor of nodaria at the Ferrara Studio in 1455-56, then following in his father’s footsteps he embarked on a public career at the court of Borso and that of his brother Ercole I, becoming a prominent figure above all as a politician, historian and scholar. Multifaceted figure of court humanist, since the time of Borso, as an expert in astrological studies, he was among the inspirers or perhaps the true erudite creator of the complex plot of the frescoes of the Salone dei Mesi in the Schifanoia palace, a monumental astrological calendar, where he worked as superintendent (1469-70). In 1501 he was sent to Rome as a diplomat, probably to follow the marriage negotiations between Alfonso and Lucrezia Borgia, for which he himself held the wedding celebration (as he had done in 1473 for Ercole and Eleonora d’Aragona). A versatile man, he was the duke’s usual interlocutor in matters of architecture, especially theatrical. At the request of Hercules I, interested in re-proposing classical performances, Prisciani conducted an investigation on ancient theater, eventually writing a treatise, Spectacula, dating back to around 1499 or 1501-1505. But his most important work, also for the attention to the cartography and the deepening of the aspects of the territory, are the Historiae Ferrariae or Annales Ferrarienses. He died in January 1518 in Ferrara. Since 2003, the Govoni family offers its guests the opportunity to stay in 6 Suites (real apartments ranging from 26 square meters to 67 square meters) housed in the building that was the home of Pellegrino Prisciani, located in the current Via Garibaldi, duly entitled “Prisciani Art Suite”, a few steps from the Hotel Annunziata.
Writed by MASSIMO BERSANI, receptionist Hotel Annunziata
