Maffei, Giovanni Pietro

Maffei, Giovanni Pietro a noted Italian Jesuit, was born at Bergamo about 1536; was for a time professor at Genoa, became in 1564 secretary of the government at that place, and in 1565 joined the Jesuits, among whom he gained a great reputation. Brought to the notice of cardinal Henry, of Portugal, he was called to Lisbon. He died in Tivoli in 1603. Maffei wrote De vita et moribus Sancti Ignatii Loyole (Venet. 1685, and Berg. 1747): — Historiarumn indicationuns libri 16; rerum a Societate Jesu in Oriente gestarum volumen (Florentiae, 1588; often reprinted): — De rebus Japonicis libri v. At the request of Gregory XIII he wrote a history of the reign of that pope, which remained in MS. until 1743, when it was published at Rome by Carlo Coquetines. A History of India, written by request of cardinal Henry, was published without Maffei's name, though he was its author. His collected works, accompanied by a biographical sketch, were published under the style J. P. Maffei Opera omnia Latine scripta nunc primum in unum corpus collecta (Verona, 1747, 2 vols. 4to). — Herzog, Real-Encyklop. 8:660.