education in the republic of venice 679
the Venetian government publicly endorsed humanism in the middle of
the 15th century by creating an elite state school to teach the new human-
istic curriculum. in 1446 the government appointed and paid a teacher to
teach “grammar, rhetoric, and other subjects appropriate to the chancery
and to write well” to 16 boys who served the government in small ways
and were intended to become secretaries.11 in 1460 the government added
a second master, Gian Mario filelfo (1426–80), a well-known humanist in
his time and the son of the highly talented and visible humanist fran-
cesco filelfo (1398–1481), to teach poetry, oratory, and history. Some of
the most famous humanist scholars of the century succeeded Gian Mario
filelfo, as the Scuola di San Marco, as it was called, became an excellent
humanistic school. the number of boys in the school rose to 53 in 1486,
then was reduced to 30.12
historians see the founding of the Scuola di San Marco as a major event
in the educational and intellectual life of the city. it marked the first time
that the state founded a school. it signaled the government’s embrace of
humanism. and although non-Venetian humanists still could not hold
offices in the government, the two positions at the Scuola di San Marco
were attractive and highly visible. the government could now appoint
learned outsiders to prominent teaching positions where they might teach
and enrich the city’s intellectual life.
the government funded another school consisting of a single teacher
who taught logic and aristotelian philosophy. the Scuola di Rialto,
sometimes called the school of philosophy, began about 1408. the Sen-
ate normally appointed a Venetian patrician known for his expertise in
aristotelian philosophy or logic.13 Young Venetians, including nobles,
attended the lectures, studied at the university of padua, and then pur-
sued careers in government.
Scholars differ somewhat about how fully Venice embraced human-
ism. Manlio pastore Stocchi sees the Venetian reception as incomplete
and partial. he argues that the noble pupils of barzizza and Guarini
were not fully dedicated to the new culture; consequently, they did not
11 “grammaticam, rethoricam et alias scientias aptas ad esercitum cancellarie ac belle
scribere”; arnaldo Segarizzi, “cenni sulle scuole pubbliche a Venezia nel XV e sul primo
maestro d’esse,” Atti del Reale Istituto Veneto di scienze, lettere ed arti 75 (1915–16), 641.
12 James bruce Ross, “Venetian Schools and teachers fourteenth to Early Sixteenth
century: a Survey and a Study of Giovanni battista Egnazio,” Renaissance Quarterly 39
(1976), 521–66, is an excellent guide to the Scuola di San Marco and other matters.
13 bruno nardi, Saggi sulla cultura veneta del quattro e cinquecento, ed. paolo Mazzantini
(padua, 1971), pp. 3–98; and Ross, “Venetian Schools,” pp. 529–32, 557, 561–66.