Il natural desiderio di sapere - Pontifical Academy of Sciences

FEDERICO CESI, THE FIRST ACADEMY, AND UMBRIA 67age to rescue from the harassments of affairs and annoyances thatmake it all the way up here from Rome to seek me out and botherme, in this central refuge and hiding place of Umbria (Umbriaemeditellium), where I would long for nothing else than to collectmyself peacefully and give myself entirely to study. As I seek in thebreezes and cool recesses of Acquasparta defense against the summerheat, here I temper the rigor of the winter cold in two ways:on the inside, by melting it with the liquor pressed from the vinesthat grow among the rocks, the junipers and the mastic trees ofthese mountains; on the outside by moving myself closer to thelively fireplace ... 94And after Narni, the equally important Terni which, already in the1500s had welcomed a branch of the Cesi family, one of whose descendents,Anastasio de Filiis, was one of the four founders of the Academy, and another,Angelo de Filiis, served for many years as the Academy librarian.Another founder, Jan Heckius, was often a guest of the de Filiis in Terni.Next, as mentioned earlier, Todi; without a doubt one of the most significantplaces for Umbria’s relationship with the Cesi family, Federico himself,and the Academy. Federico nourishes an authentic affection for Todiand a lively interest for the life of the city, as evidenced, among other things,by his acceptance of the office of Prior of the city, offered him on severaloccasions. 95 ‘My debt to Your Lordships and to your entire city’ writesFederico Cesi to the Priors of Todi on 13 April 1624,grows in the utmost as I enjoy continuous demonstrations of affectiontoward my person, which, being on all sides assailed by yourgreat kindness, knows all the more the obligations and the continuousfavors, and since all of this is indelibly impressed in my memory,so it always suggests to me with what readiness and fervor I mustapply myself in the service of your entire City. 9694 Federico Cesi to Giovanni Faber, 5 December 1617, in Carteggio, pp. 620-621, cit.and translated into Italian in G. Gabrieli, Federico Cesi Linceo nella sua ‘Abadia angelica’presso Narni, op. cit., p. 146.95 G. Gabrieli, I Cesi in Todi. Documenti cesiani negli archivi todini, in ‘Latina gens’,XIX, 1941, in Contributi, vol. I, pp. 150-169, where particular attention is given to theCesi’s association with Todi with special emphasis on the town’s long lasting and effectiverelationship with the various generations of the House of Cesi but above all withAngelo Cesi and later Federico. Analogous considerations are found in Id., Umbriacesiana e lincea, Appunti per un itinerario linceografico, op. cit., pp. 181-186.96 Federico Cesi ai Priori di Todi, 13 April 1624, in Carteggio, p. 865.