Dalmatian Connections in Francesco Filelfo's Letters

This article discusses the presence of Dalmatia in the epistolarium of the prolific fifteenth-century humanist Francesco Filelfo. Addressed to the most prominent humanists, prelates and rulers of his age, the more than two thousand Greek and Latin epistles, written between 1427 and 1477, are an important source for early modern history. The first part examines the way in which Filelfo presents his historical and geographical knowledge of Dalmatia, a region that faced both the interference of the Venetian Republic and the expansion of the Ottoman Empire. The second part focuses on Filelfo’s personal relations with people originating from or living in Dalmatia, both in the Republic of Dubrovnik and in the cities under Venetian rule: Filelfo’s own son Senofonte, who spent the last decade of his life in Dubrovnik (Ragusa), where he married Jakobina Turčinović; archdeacon Mato Vidov Gozze (Mato Gučetić); and finally Girolamo Genesio, one of the teachers of Marko Marulić.

Publication year:2018