Anton Maria Salvini

Born in Florence, at the age of 12, he began studies under Jesuits. Among his fellow students was future cardinal Giovanni Battista Tolomei and future bishop of Florence, Ansaldo Ansaldi (1651–1719). In 1669, he was sent to the University of Pisa to study jurisprudence. He became a member of the Accademia degli Apatisti, founded by Agostino Coltellini (1613-1693). At Pisa, he studied under Bartolomeo Cheti. In 1679, he graduated with a doctorate in canon and civil law. He was sent to work under a lawyer Andrea Poltri, but passed the time reading and studying texts. He was not functioning well or interested in being a lawyer, but he gained the reputation of a scholarly polyglot, knowing multiple languages. Francesco Redi is said to have commented that: Ei da un colmo bicchieri e traboccante/ in si dolce contegno il cuor mi tocca/Che por ridirlo no saria bastante/El mio Salvin, che ha tanta lingua in bocca.[1] He befriended Benedetto Menzini and Carlo Dati, who had also studied under Redi. With the support of Cardinal Leopoldo de Medici, in 1677 he was appointed professor of Greek language at the Florentine Accademia. He was soon admitted as member of the prestigious Accademia della Crusca. In 1680, he took to the vestments of a secular abbott. He became a prolific translator of Greco-Roman classics.[2]

Among Salvini's pupils was Antonio Francesco Gori. Salvinia, a genus of floating fern commemorates his name.