Ferrari, Francisco Bernardino

Ferrari, Francisco Bernardino an Italian archaeologist, was born at Milan in 1576, Entering the Congregation of St. Ambrose, he studied philosophy and divinity, as well as the Latin and Greek languages, and was admitted doctor. Borromeo, archbishop of Milan, appointed him to travel into various parts of Europe to purchase the best books and MSS. to form a library at Milan. Ferrari passed over part of Italy and Spain, and collected a great number of books, which laid the foundation of the famous Ambrosian Library. About 1638 he was appointed director of the College of the Nobles, lately erected at Padua, which office he discharged two years, and then, on account of indisposition, returned to Milan. He died at Milan Feb. 3, 1669. Among his writings are, De Antiquo Eccles. Epistolarum Genere libri tres (Milan, 1613): -De Ritu Sacrarum Ecclesiae Catholicae concionum libri tres (Milan, 1620; Utrecht, 1692, cum praefatione Joannis Georgii Graevii) :- De Veterum acclamationibus et plausu libri septem (Milan, 1627; also in vol. vi of Graevius's Thesaur. Antiq. Rom.). His writings are full of learning; he is very judicious in his conjectures, and exact in his quotations.-Du Pin, Bibl. des Auteurs Eccles. 17:109 (Amst. 1711).