Orazio Bianchi was born in
Rome,
Papal States, in the last quarter of the 17th century, and studied law under
Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina, becoming a friend of
Pietro Metastasio and a member of the
Accademia dei Quirini. He moved to
Milan, where he practised law, at the same time teaching
Greek and
Latin at the
Scuole Palatine. His friendship with the publisher
Filippo Argelati triggered a period of literary scholarship. By 1721, he was employed full-time as the principal proofreader for the Palatine Society, which had been formed to publish
Muratori's
Rerum Italicarum Scriptores. In 1722, he was asked by the Ambrosian librarian,
Giuseppe Antonio Sassi, to compare manuscript versions of the
Historia miscella of
Paul the Deacon with current printed editions. For this, he spent many hours in the
Ambrosian Library and
chapter archives of
Monza. Bianchi then became involved in developing commentaries on the text of some of the chronicles printed in the early volumes, such as those of
Jordanes,
Eutropius, and
Paul the Deacon. His enthusiasm for the task brought him into conflict with both the Ambrosian librarian, Giuseppe Antonio Sassi, and with Muratori himself, who found his commentaries too long-winded. However, his edition of Paul the Deacon's
Historia Langobardorum is rich in detail and precise, and draws on contemporary Greek and Latin historians and has been praised by later editors. Delays in the production process from 1733 led to Bianchi being put on half pay, so he found a role in the
Duchy of Milan's administration, culminating in his appointment as secretary of the
Royal Council. He practised as a lawyer, and eventually held the posts of Professor of
Municipal Law,
Auditor General of the armies of the emperor in Italy, and perpetual
Podestà of Milan. He continued to involve himself with literary scholarship, working with Argelati on his anthology of Latin poets, where he provided Italian translations of the poetry of
Statius and of
Claudian under the pseudonym
Academico Quirino. He produced an edition of the works of
Sigonius, including the first printed edition of the
Historia ecclesiastica, the manuscript of which he had tracked down in Rome. He translated
Miles gloriosus, Plautus’ longest comedy, into Italian verse stressed on the
antepenult (
Il Capitan Bravo). He was incapacitated by a
stroke in 1753. He died at the beginning of 1756. His wife and son were left in difficult financial straits by his death. == References ==