Torelli (Giuseppe)

Autograph letter signed ('Giuseppe Torelli'), in Italian, mentioning the huge costs for publishing his work Archimede, announcing he has finished another work called Elementorum Prospective. Lib. II and expressing his regrets that the prohibitive costs ("oltre cento zecchini") will prevent this work too from being published, two pages, in very good condition, 4to, Verona, 8 January 1772; with an autograph poem ('Perche' men de l'usato ora risplende') by Torelli, one page, in very good condition, 4to. (2)

***Giuseppe Torelli studied law at the University of Padua. Having inherited a considerable fortune, once he returned to Verona he was able to devote himself to the studies of the sciences, in particular mathematics, but also history, philosophy, art, antiques and literature. He learned Greek, Latin, Hebrew, English, French and Spanish. After decades of writing, he worked on a new edition of the works of Archimedes, both in Greek and in Latin. The book was published posthumously in 1792 in Oxford (Clarendon Press), edited by astronomy professor Robertson. He also translated various classical authors into Italian including Aesop (the Fables), Theocritus, Catullus, Plautus and Virgil (the first two books of the Aeneid). He was also known for his studies on Dante.