Italian Academies and their Networks, 1525-1700

Simone Testa holds an MA in History from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland and a Phd in Italian Literature from Royal Holloway (University of London, England) on political discourse in sixteenth-century Italy. He has been working on the Italian Academies Database (http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/ItalianAcademies/About.aspx) for two consecutive phases, while teaching at various institutions in Britain. He has been Visiting Research Fellow at the John Rylands Research Institute at the University of Manchester, UK; the Newberry Library in Chicago, USA; and the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin, USA. This is his second book.

“Testa’s book is not only a stimulating read but also a vast source of information, confronting readers with different fields that they may not have considered before. The notes to the main text fill almost one-quarter of the entire book, which, combined with the rich bibliography and index, make it a ‘database on paper’—though this database is wisely restricted to some aspects of the Italian academies project.” (Bernd Kulawik, Accademia de lo Studio de L’Architetture, accademia-vitruviana.net, July 22, 2018)“The work is easy to navigate, thanks to the useful index of all academies discussed. … Testa’s book, itself the product of a collaborative network of scholars, offers a wealth of information on early modern intellectual networks in Italy. Together with the Italian Academies Database, it will be a valuable tool for any scholar interested in this phenomenon, as it makes visible the complex academic network across the Italian peninsula, connecting books, people, and cities.” (Anna-Luise Wagner, Modern Language Review, Vol. 113, April, 2018)“The book itself aims to explore, in greater depth, particular individuals and their networks in the circulation of knowledge. … This book contains much useful information. Anyone studying one or more Italian academies will want to look at it and certainly will want to use the database on which it is based.” (Pamela O. Long, ISIS, Vol. 108 (4), 2017)“The book is interesting, has a good deal of information, and makes its case. The author provides the original for translated passages and full bibliographical citations including pagination for articles in collective volumes. … it is a useful book with much information about Italian academies.” (Paul F. Grendler, Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 70 (1), 2017)

• 1. Introduction.- 2. Representing Italian Academies (1569–2006).- 3. Politics, Geography, and Diplomacy in Venetian Academies.- 4. Italian Academies and Their Facebooks.- 5.  The Italian Academic Movement and the Republic of Letters.- 6. Conclusion.