Italian Historians

Italian Historians of Antiquity

Ennius (239 BC - 169 BC) – Called the “Father of Roman Poetry”. His most important work is Annales, an epic poem on the early history of the Ancient Rome.

Cato the Censor (234-149 BC) – The first writer of Latin prose and the first author of a history of Italy in Latin.

Sallust (86-34 BC) – The earliest Roman historian whose complete works survive. The best known are The Jugurthine War, The Conspiracy of Catiline and Histories.

Titus Livius or Livy (59 BC - 17 AD) – One of the most important historians of ancient Rome, together with Pliny the Elder and Tacitus.

Marcus Velleius Paterculus (c. 19 BC - c. 31 AD) – Roman historian best known for his Compendium of Roman History.

Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) – The most important historian of ancient Rome. His Natural History is considered the world's first encyclopedia. He coined the two expressions, “Take it with a grain of salt” and “Fortune favors the bold”.

Tacitus (c.  56-120 AD) – Considered one of the greatest Roman historians. His two most important works are his Annals and Histories.

Suetonius (c. 69-126 AD) – Roman historian, best known for his Lives of the Caesars and Lives of Illustrious Men.

Florus (c. 70-145 AD) – Roman historian and poet, best known for writing an Epitome of Roman History.


Italian Historians of Late Antiquity

Sextus Aurelius Victor (c. 320 - c. 390) – Four historical works are attributed to him: Origo Gentis Romanae, De Viris Illustribus Romae, De Caesaribus and Epitome de Caesaribus, which are collectively known as Historia Romana.

Sofronius Eusebius Hieronymus or Jerome (347-420) – One of the most important early Christian writers and one of the four Latin Doctors of the Church. His most important historical works are his Chronicle and the biographical De Viris Illustribus.

Sulpicius Severus (c. 360 - c. 420) – Ecclesiastical writer known for his Chronicle and for his Life of St. Martin of Tours.

Cassiodorus (c. 485-580) – Statesman, scholar and monk. A prolific writer of histories, letters, panegyrics and theological works. Inventor of the world's first scriptorium. He enjoined his monks to collect and copy ancient manuscripts, thereby preserving the ancient works of both secular and Christian authors for posterity.

Gregory of Tours (c. 538-594) – Bishop and historian. His most notable work was his History of the Franks.

Secundus of Trent (5th century - 612) – His lost History of the Acts of the Langobards was a primary source for Paul the Deacon's Historia Langobardorum.


Italian Historians of the Middle Ages

Jonas Bobiensis (c. 600 - c. 659) – Monk and hagiographer. Best known for his Life of St. Columbanus.

Anastasius Bibliothecarius (c. 810 - c. 879) – Best known as one of the attributed authors of the Liber Pontificalis, the most important collections of papal biographies.

Thomas the Archdeacon (c. 1200-1268) – The most important chronicler of medieval Dalmatia. His Historia Salonitana is an essential source for the history of Dalmatia and the city of Spalato.

John the Deacon (c. 940 - c. 1018) – He compiled the Chronicon Sagornini, he oldest chronicle of the Republic of Venice.

Gregory of Catino (c. 1060 - c. 1133) – One of the most accomplished monastic historians of his age. His Chronicon set the tone for the writing of monastic history in 12th century Italy.

Giovanni Villani (1280-1348) – Best known for writing the Nuova Cronica on the history of Florence. The work contains the first introduction of statistics as a positive element in history.


Italian Historians of the Renaissance

Leonardo Bruni (c. 1370-1444) – Regarded as the first modern historian. He was the earliest person to write using the three-period view of history: Antiquity, Middle Ages, and Modern. His History of the Florentine People has been called the first modern history book.

Poggio Bracciolini (1380-1459) – Scholar, historian and writer. He authored numerous dialogues, essays, treatises, epistles and a History of Florence.

Flavio Biondo (1392-1463) – One of the first historians to use a three-period division of history (Ancient, Medieval, Modern) and was also one of the first archaeologists. His greatest works were Italia illustrata and the Historiarum ab inclinatione Romanorum imperii decades.

Pietro Martire d'Anghiera (1457-1526) – He wrote the first accounts of explorations in Central and South America in a series of letters and reports, collectively called the Decades. His De Orbe Novo describes the first contacts of Europeans and Native Americans, Native American civilizations in the Caribbean, North America and Mesoamerica, and includes the first European reference to India rubber.

Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) – Diplomat, politician, historian, philosopher, writer, playwright and poet. His most important historical work is Florentine Histories.

Polidoro Virgili (1470-1555) – Scholar, historian, priest and diplomat. Called the “Father of English History”.

Francesco Guicciardini (1483-1540) – One of the major political writers of the Italian Renaissance. His masterpiece, The History of Italy, paved the way for a new style in historiography.

Paolo Giovio (1483-1552) – Physician, historian, biographer and bishop. Best remembered as a chronicler of the Italian Wars. His chief works include the Historiae, the Vitae and the Elogia.

Antonio Pigafetta (c. 1492 - c. 1531) – Explorer, navigator, geographer and writer. His surviving journal is the source for much of what is known about the voyage of Magellan and Elcano.

Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574) – His Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects is considered the first important book on art history and still remains the most famous and most-read work of the older literature of art.

Onofrio Panvinio (1529-1568) – Called the “Father of All History”. One of the most important Roman historians of his time.


Italian Historians of the Counter-Reformation and Baroque Period

Caesar Baronius (1538-1607) – Best known for his Annales Ecclesiastici, considered by some to be the greatest history of the Church ever written.

Giovanni Baglione (1566-1643) – His Lives of Painters, Sculptors, Architects and Engravers is to this day an important historical source for artists living in Rome during Baglione's lifetime.

Giovanni Lucio (1604-1679) – The first Dalmatian historian to practice source criticism. He wrote works on the history of Dalmatia and the city of Traù.

Giovanni Pietro Bellori (1613-1696) – The most important art historian of the 17th century. His Lives of the Artists was influential in consolidating and promoting the theoretical case for classical idealism in art.

Filippo Baldinucci (1625-1697) – Considered one of the most significant biographers and art historians of the Baroque period.


Italian Historians of the Settecento

Lodovico Antonio Muratori (1672-1750) – A leading scholar of his age. Noted for his discovery of the Muratorian fragment, the earliest known list of New Testament books. His major work, Rerum Italicarum scriptores, is a large collection of sources on Italian history dating from 500 to 1500.

Daniele Farlati (1690-1773) – Best known for Illyricum Sacrum, a historical work dealing with history of the Catholic Church in the Balkans.

Giovanni Domenico Mansi (1692-1769) – Scholar, historian, theologian and bishop. Best known for his massive works on the councils of the Catholic Church.

Serafino Cerva (1696-1759) – Historian, theologian and bishop. Wrote numerous works on the history of the Republic of Ragusa. His most famous work is the Bibliotheca Ragusina, containing 453 biographies of notable Ragusans.

Giovanni Pietro Francesco Agius de Soldanis (1712-1770) – Historian, linguist and priest. His major historical work is a history of Gozo in Malta.

Girolamo Tiraboschi (1731-1794) – The first historian of Italian literature. His major work, Storia della letteratura italiana, traces Italian literature from the time of the Etruscans to the end of the 17th century.


Italian Historians of the Napoleonic Period and Risorgimento

Vincenzo Cuoco (1770-1823) – Remembered for his Historical Essay on the Neapolitan Revolution of 1799.

Carlo Troya (1784-1858) – Historian and politician. Author of numerous works on Italian history.

Cesare Cantù (1804-1895) – Author of numerous novels, histories and historical essays. His masterpiece is the Universal History, which is considered the best work of its kind in Italian and perhaps in any language for its lucidity and rapidity of narration, unity of plan, justness of proportion and literary art.

Francesco De Sanctis (1817-1883) – One of the most important historians of Italian literature in the 19th century.


Italian Historians of the Modern Period

Bernardo Benussi (1846-1929) – One of the greatest Istrian scholars of the period. His major work, L'Istria nei suoi due millenni di storia, was the first attempt by a contemporary historian to organically trace the history of Istria in detail.

Gioacchino Volpe (1876-1971) – Historian and politician. One of the major Italian historians of the first half of the 20th century. Remembered for his works on the history of Italy.

Alessandro Dudan (1883-1957) – The most important historian of Italian art in Dalmatia.

Attilio Tamaro (1884-1956) – Historian, diplomat and journalist. Best known for his historical works on the Italian dominions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Giuseppe Praga (1893-1958) – Wrote more than one hundred books and articles on history, especially Dalmatian history. His major work is the History of Dalmatia.