Antonio De Ferrariis died on the 22 nd of November 1517 in Lecce. His grave can be found in the Church of Saint John the Baptist (or of the Rosary), in the historical centre of Lecce (Via Giuseppe Libertini). Near the church, there is a street named after him. In the upper part of Antonio De Ferrariis' memorial, there is his marble bust and below it, two tablets. We have to thank Marquis Michele Arditi if we have Galateo's cenotaph. Indeed, he supported its construction at his own expense in 1788. It is not that easy to see the grave due to a spiral staircase recently built. The first tablet, according to the tradition, is a Latin epitaph written by Galateo himself before his death. The inscription reads as follows: "QUI NOVIT MEDICAS ARTES ET SIDERA COELI / HAC GALATEUS HUMO CONDITUS ILLE JACET. / QUI MARE, QUI TERRAS ANIMO CONCEPIT ET ASTRA: / CERNITE, MORTALES, QUAM BREVIS URNA TEGIT".
The second tablet, also in Latin, is a detailed summary of Antonio De Ferrariis' life.
- Photos and main text by Caterina Di Pietro @, Laura Vetrugno @ (January 2018)
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Sitography