New Advent
 Home   Encyclopedia   Summa   Fathers   Bible   Library 
 A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z 
New Advent
Home > Catholic Encyclopedia > P > Giovanni Poleni

Giovanni Poleni

Please help support the mission of New Advent and get the full contents of this website as an instant download. Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more — all for only $19.99...

Marquess, physicist, and antiquarian; b. at Venice, 23 Aug., 1683; d. at Padua, 14 Nov., 1761; son of Marquess Jacopo Poleni. He studied the classics, philosophy, theology, mathematics, and physics. He was appointed, at the age of twenty-five, professor of astronomy at Padua. In 1715 he was assigned to the chair of physics, and in 1719 he succeeded Nicholas Bernoulli as professor of mathematics. As an expert in hydraulic engineering he was charged by the Venetian Senate with the care of the waters of lower Lombardy and with the constructions necessary to prevent floods. He was also repeatedly called in to decide cases between sovereigns whose states were bordered by water-ways.

His knowledge of architecture caused Benedict XIV to call him to Rome in 1748 to examine the cupola of St. Peter's, which was rapidly disintegrating. He promptly indicated the repairs necessary. He also wrote a number of antiquarian dissertations. In 1739 the Academy of Sciences in Paris made him a member, and later the societies of London, Berlin, and St. Petersburg did the same. The city of Padua elected him as magistrate, and after his death erected his statue by Canova. Venice also honoured him by striking a medal.

The following are his principal works: "Miscellanea" (dissertations on physics), Venice, 1709; "De vorticibus coelestibus", Padua, 1712; "De motu acquæ mixto", Padua, 1717; "De castellis per quæ derivantur fluviorum latera convergentia", Padua, 1720; "Exercitationes Vitruvianæ" Venice, 1739; "Il tiempo di Diana di Efeso", Venice, 1742.

Sources

ANON, Memorie per la vita del Signor G. P. (Padua, 1762); FOUCHY, Eloge, Mém. de l'ac. des Sc. hist. (Paris, 1763).

About this page

APA citation. Fox, W. (1911). Giovanni Poleni. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12204b.htm

MLA citation. Fox, William. "Giovanni Poleni." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12204b.htm>.

Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Thomas J. Bress.

Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. June 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.

Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is webmaster at newadvent.org. Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.

Copyright © 2023 by New Advent LLC. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

CONTACT US | ADVERTISE WITH NEW ADVENT