Lorenzo Calvelli following the footsteps of Cyriac of Ancona through Athens
What did Athens look like in April 1436? Which ancient monuments were still standing when Cyriac of Ancona first climbed the Acropolis? How did he move through the city and what traces of the classical past captured his attention? These are some of the questions guiding the research that Lorenzo Calvelli, BSA Visiting Fellow, has been developing in preparation for his public lecture on Monday 15 December.
Cyriac of Ancona was an Italian merchant, traveller and early humanist who crossed the Mediterranean in the first half of the fifteenth century, recording ancient buildings and copying inscriptions. His notebooks preserved some of the earliest modern descriptions of many classical sites, including Athens.
Drawing on manuscripts, early printed books and the rich epigraphic collections of the BSA library, Calvelli is reconstructing the topography of fifteenth century Athens and the fragmented urban landscape that Cyriac encountered. His work sheds new light on the inscriptions copied by the Italian humanist during that visit and on the striking accuracy of his descriptions of monuments such as the Parthenon, the choragic monument of Lysicrates and several sites along the slopes of the Acropolis. The project has greatly benefited from discussions with Robert Pitt, former Assistant Director of the BSA.
A further part of Calvelli’s investigation focuses on the broader manuscript tradition and on the modern transmission of Cyriac’s work. By examining archival dossiers, early scholarly correspondence and rare copies of the Commentaries, he is tracing the long history of how Cyriac’s observations circulated between Italy, Europe and the wider Mediterranean world. Combined with fieldwork in Athens and direct comparison with surviving monuments, this research aims to reconstruct the sequence of Cyriac’s itinerary and to reassess the value of his autoptic records for the study of ancient epigraphy and topography.
We look forward to seeing many of you at Lorenzo’s Visiting Fellow Lecture next week!