Giovanni Battista Gallizioli

Giovanni Battista Gallizioli or Gallicciolli (17 May 1733 – 12 May 1806) was an Italian philosopher, hebraist, orientalist, historian, archaeologist and philologist, catholic priest and citizen of the Republic of Venice.

Born in Venice in 1733 from Paolo and Adriana Grismondi, Giovanni Battista Gallizioli received a first instruction from Jacopo Scattaia, a mediocre preceptor. In 1749 he entered the clergy and began his wide studies, ranging from theology to philosophy, from history to ancient literature, especially to the eastern languages, especially Hebrew (his master was the rabbi Simchah ben Abraham Calimani), the Syriac and the Chaldean. He also gained knowledge of English and French as well as of mathematics and geometry.

For a time he was employed as a private teacher, but in December 1782 he was called to take the Greek and Hebrew chair in Venice. There is no documentary evidence that, as claimed by some biographers, Gallicciolli rejected the chair of Oriental languages at the University of Parma. Certainly he rejected the proposal of Andrea Querini who wanted him at the University of Padua. He accepted, however, to teach Greek for free to the masters of the Patriarchal Seminary of Venice.

Until the end of his existence, he was divided between his activities of scholar and philologist and priest in San Cassiano, his native parish.

From the very beginning, Galliccioli distinguished himself, in Venice and outside, as a great connoisseur of Jewish language and culture. Between 1774 and 1805 he was in close contact with Giovanni Bernardo De Rossi, with whom he had an epistle of philological questions. He was also a friend of Jacopo Nani and Andrea Memmo, for whom he studied ancient inscriptions and codes.

The first important publication that emphasized his relevance, especially in the patristic era, was S. Gregorii papae I cognomento Magni Opera omnia, an edition of the works of Saint Gregory the Great printed between 1768 and 1776. In the introduction, the author underlined the innovations on which the work was based, focusing on the coding of the Biblioteca Marciana codes and those of the bishop of Torcello Giovanni Nani.

He died in Venice in 1806.

• S. Gregorii papae I cognomento Magni Opera omnia, between 1768 and 1776
• Gallizioli, Giovanni Battista (1788). Della vita degli studi e degli scritti di Gulielmo Grataroli filosofo e medico. In Bergamo: dalla Stamperia Locatelli.
• Giovanni Battista Gallicciolli (1795). Delle memorie Venete antiche, profane ed ecclesiastiche. Appresso Domenico Fracasso.