Antonio Proculiano (Anton Proçuli or Antun Prokulijan) was an Albanian¹ 16th century publisher and humanist in Venice and chancellor of Split. He originated from Tivar (Antivar).

Background

Antonio Proculiano is described as having originated in Antivar. He is mentioned in 1856:

“PROCULIANO ANTONIO – d origine Albanese cancelliere della comunità di Spalato Abbiamo di lui alla stampa due buone orazioni dette nel consilio di Spalato impresse nel 1567 in Venezia presso Domenico Ferri … “.²

Humanist and publisher

“Proculiano, Antonio, 16th century humanist from Bari; as city clerk he held the office in the Dalmatian cities of Split (1557-1563) and Šibenik (1564-1566). Proculian he made a notable contribution to Dalmatian and Croatian humanistic literature with his own oration, held in 1558 in the City Council of Split. The oration was in honor of the Split count Giovanni Battista Calbo, and was printed in Venice in 1567 with the title of Oratione al clarissimo m. Giovan Battista Calbo most worthy rector, et al magnificent community of Split. In it Proculiano recalls having read the manuscript of Marulić’s Davidiad calling him “Christian and Split Virgil

Antonio Proculianos travel to Venice to speak of the Albanians

“… about Antonio Proculiano from Antivari, that he has written to her that he would come to Venice for the entire month of June to tell you about the business and service of Albanians, which is very important and very certain; he will be able to make it come from outside the state of Venetians, anywhere in Italy, to speak and deal with the secrecy and caution that is appropriate.”³

Life and work

Among the numerous Renaissance panegyrics dedicated to the city of Split, the prose laudatio of the Split chancellor Antun Prokulijan (Antonio Proculiano) written in Italian stands out. This oration was published in 1567 in Venice, in Domenico Farri’s printing house, under the title Oratione al clarissimo m. Giovan Battista Calbo most worthy rector, and to the magnificent community of Split, called chancellor of that community by Antonio Proculiano. The oration is dedicated, as can be seen from the title, to the rector of Split and the Greater Council of Split.

The book studies the origin and life of Antun Prokulijan from Antivari, man of letters, humanist and chancellor. There is no reliable information on the date of his birth and death. Based on many scattered documents, many letters and similar sources preserved in Dalmatian, Montenegrin and Italian archives, his life can be at least partially reconstructed. Thanks to the oration pronounced and printed, it is known that Proculiano was municipal chancellor of Split from 1557 to 1563 and chancellor of the rector of Šibenik from 1564 to 1566.

Proculians contribution to Croatian and Dalmatian humanistic bibliography

Proculian’s oration represents an important contribution to the Croatian and Dalmatian humanistic bibliography and is also a document of great importance for the history of Split. His description of Split at that time is a precious document that can be useful to scholars for more detailed research into Diocletian’s palace and the temples remaining inside it.

The book also contains the facsimile of the original work printed in Venice in 1567, while only two copies are cataloged in Croatian public libraries: one in the University and National Library of Zagreb and the other in the Archaeological Museum of Split.

Temples of 1567

In 1567 Antonio Proculiano described four temples in Split dedicated to the god of medicin Aesculapius: the octogonal temple on the east dedicated to Jupiter (the present cathedral), the rectangular temple on the west (the present baptistry), a minor round temple on the south and a round-hexagonal temple on the north. ⁴

Published works

• Cartas de Jerónimo Bucchia a Nicolas Perrenot y al Cardenal Granvela
• Oratione al clarissimo m. Giovan Battista Calbo degnissimo rettor, et alla magnifica communita di Spalato / detta da Antonio Proculiano cancelliero di essa communità. Un’ altra Oratione del medesmo detta nel Consiglio di Spalato.
• Carta de Antonio Perculiano al Cardenal Granvela. 6 agosto 1551

References

1. https://www.google.se/books/edition/Dizionario_biografico_degli_uomini_illus/eMQ5AAAAcAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=albanese+di+spalato&pg=PA262&printsec=frontcover ↩︎
2. https://marulianum.knjizevni-krug.hr/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/onomasticon_degli_italiani.pdf ↩︎
3. http://www.archivodelafrontera.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Bertomeu-cartas-de-un-espia.pdf ↩︎
4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8538361/
   http://dantealighieri-split.hr/it/antun-prokulijan-2/ ↩︎