Cronoprostasi felsinea, overo Le Saturnali vindicie del parlar bolognese, e lombardo, dove le origini erudite di molte voci, e forme di dire di lui proprie si svelano da ben fondate ragioni, ed autorità valevoli approvate. E conchiudesi, che quell'istesso idioma non deve posporsi a qualunque altro d'Italia più celebrato. Discorso di Ovidio Montal'Albani Prof. Filos. Coll. e Dottor di Leggi. All'illustrissimo Senato di Bologna

THE BOLOGNA DIALECT

4to (191x135 mm). 64 pp. Collation: A-H⁴. Woodcut city of Bologna's arms on the title page. Later wrappers. Margins cut short only occasionally minimally affecting the printed marginalia and page numbers, slightly uniformly browned.

First edition (a second edition appeared in the same year with the addition of an appendix entitled Le astrologiche ricercate dell'anno 1654) of this sort of etymological dictionary of the Bologna dialect.

Montalbani published two works on the dialect of Bologna, his hometown: Diologogia overo delle cagioni, e della naturalezza del parlare, e spetialmente del più antico, e più vero di Bologna (‘Diologogia, or On the Causes and Naturalness of Speech, and Especially of the Oldest and Most Authentic Dialect of Bologna', 1652) and the present work (‘Chronoprosthasis of Bologna, or the Saturnalian Vindications of the Bolognese and Lombard Languages'), which were later incorporated into the the Vocabolista bolognese (1660), published under the anagrammatic pseudonym of Gio. Antonio Bumaldi. The overarching theme of his dialectological writings is his assertion of the dignity of the Bolognese language, as well as his belief that Italian emerged from the fusion and evolution of Latin and Lombard.

Ovidio Montalbani was born in Bologna in 1601 into a wealthy family of silk merchants. He studied philosophy under V. Montecalvi and medicine with B. Ambrosini, graduating in 1622. Before reaching the age of 25, he obtained permission from the Senate of Bologna to give public lectures in logic, which he did until 1628, then moving on to the chair of theoretical medicine until 1632 and that of mathematics from 1633 to 1651. The following year, he was finally assigned to the chair of moral philosophy, which he held until 1665. From 1629 to 1664, he was commissioned to compile the annual astrological notebook of the University of Bologna. The notebook, which was an official publication of the University and was affixed in a public place, constituted an essential tool for medical practice, since, according to the Aristotelian and Hippocratic medical tradition, it recorded the main astral events and established the most auspicious days for carrying out therapies. Montalbani gave the notebook a personal touch, preceding the usual astrological part with learned introductions on various topics such as botany, hydrology, meteorology, astronomy, history, linguistics, and ethics. He was dean and, from 1664, prior of the College of Physicians. He also held various positions in the College of Philosophers. He actively participated in the cultural life of the city, forming friendships and scientific and cultural partnerships with various figures, including F. Liceti, L. Legati, and T. Dempster. He was also a close friend of the Genoese scholar A. Aprosio, who mentioned him several times in his Bibliotheca Aprosiana. In 1624, together with C.A. Manzini, the astrologer C. Ghirardelli, and the mathematician A. Muratori, Montalbani founded the Vespertini Mathematical Academy, whose meetings were held at dusk at his home. He was also a member of the academies of Indomiti and Gelati. In 1657, he took on the role of custodian of the Aldrovandi Museum, overseeing the publication of Dendrologia, the last volume of U. Aldrovandi's work. Montalbani died in Bologna in 1671 (cf. R. Marchi, Montalbani, Ovidio, in: “Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani”, vol. 75, Rome, 2011, s.v.).

Italian Union Catalogue, IT\ICCU\VEAE\002769; Frati, 6945.

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