Andrea Navagero | |
|---|---|
 Andrea Navagero (1516) | |
| Born | 1483 Venice, Republic of Venice |
| Died | 8 May 1529 (aged 46) Blois, France |
| Burial place | Murano, Italy |
| Alma mater | University of Padua |
| Occupations | |
Andrea Navagero (1483 – 8 May 1529) was a Venetian diplomat and writer. Born to a wealthy family, he gained entry to the Great Council of Venice at the age of twenty, five years younger than normal at the time. He dedicated himself to the translation of classic Greek and Latin manuscripts at the Aldine Press printing office, garnering a reputation as a scholar and a skilled writer. In 1515, on the request of general Bartolomeo d'Alviano, he was appointed the caretaker of a library containing the collection of the scholar Bessarion; this library would later become the Biblioteca Marciana. At the same time, he was designated Official Historian of the Republic of Venice.
As a result of his high standing among Venetian scholarly circles, he was named the Venetian ambassador to Spain in 1523, and navigated the volatile diplomatic climate caused by the conflict between Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Francis I of France. During this time, he provided many highly detailed descriptions of Spanish cities and landmarks. He was imprisoned by Charles in December 1526, but released in a prisoner exchange the following April; before returning home to Venice, he traveled to Paris to acquaint himself with the royal court of Francis.
By the time Navagero arrived back in Venice in September 1528, he had grown disillusioned with politics and wished to return to translating manuscripts and cultivating his prized gardens. Much to his dismay, however, he was appointed ambassador to France in January 1529. After traveling through the Alps to meet Francis I in Blois that May, he fell gravely ill and died on 8 May 1529.