BANDINI (ANGELO MARIA), a learned Italian was born at Florence on the 25th September 1726. Having been . left an orphan in his infancy, he was supported by his uncle, Joseph Bandini, a lawyer of some note. He was educated among the Jesuits, and discovered an early passion for the study of an tiquities. A desire which he also manifested to dis tinguish himself as a poet, was fortunately checked by the ill success of his first attempt ; and, from that period, he devoted himself principally to literary history and archaiological science. The celebrated Dr Lami, with whom he had the good fortune to contract a friendship, assisted him with his counsels, and encouraged him to persevere in that path, to which his genius seems to have directed him.
In the year 1747, Bandini undertook a journey to Vienna, in company with the Bishop of Volterra, to whom he acted in the capacity of secretary. He was introduced to the Emperor, and took the op portunity of dedicating to that monarch his Specimen Litteraturce Florentine!, which was then printing at Florence. The following year he returned by the way of Venice, Padua, Ferrara, and Bologna, and united himself in friendship with the learned men in all these cities. Having resided sometime at Flo rence, he repaired to Rome, and entered into orders, passing the whole of his time in the library of the Vatican and in those of the Cardinals Passionei and Corsini. At that time, the famous obelisk of Augustus was dug out of the ruins of the Campus Martins. Bandini, by the order of Benedict XIV., undertook to describe and explain this curious monument; but finding that the air of Rome was injurious to his health, he returned to Florence. In 1750, he was • selected by Alexander Marucelli to take charge of the valuable library, which his uncle, the Abbe Francis Marucelli, had left, and which, according to the will of the founder, was to be open to the public. But he had scarcely entered upon the duties of this charge when the proprietor died, after bequeathing all his effects to the library, and appointing the Abbe Bandini perpetual librarian and his testamentary exe cutor. It required two years to liquidate the suc cession, and to form the complete catalogue of this vast library, which was at length opened to the pub lic in the year 1752. In 1756, he was prefer red by the Emperor to a prebend at Florence, and appointed principal librarian to the Laurentian li brary. During forty-four years he continued to dis
charge the duties of this situation, and died in 1800, generally esteemed and regretted. On his deathbed he founded a public school, and bequeathed, the re mainder of his fortune to other charitable purposes.
The first work by which Bandini became known as a man of letters was his Dissertatio de veterum Saltationibus, which he wrote at the age of twenty two, and which was inserted by his learned friend Lami in the fifth volume of the works of Meursius, published in 1745. The most remarkable of his other works are, 1. Specimen litteraturce Florentine seculi XV. &c. 2 vols. 8vo. 2. De Obelisco Augusti . saris, e Campi Martii nuderibus nuper eruto, 1750, fol. 3. Collectio veterum aliquot Monumentorum ad historiam, procipue litterariam pertinentium. 1752, 8vo. 4. Elogio dell' ab. Francisco Marucelli fonda tore della publica libreria Marucelliana. 1754, 4to.
6. De vita et scriptis Joan. Bapt. Donii Patricii Florentini, libri V. adnotationibus illustrati ; accidit Vusdem Donii litterarium commescium nuns primum sn lucem editum. 1755, fol. 7. Vita di Filippo Strozzi. 1756, 4to. 8. Vita del cardin. Niccolo da Prato. Eod. an. 4to. 9. From 1763 to 1766, he employed himself in publishing successively the works of some of the minor Greek-poets, which he enriched with notes and various readings. These were Callimachus ; the two poems of Nicander on poisons and antidotes ; the Phenomena of Amtus ; the poems of Musieus ; those of Colluthus on the rape of Helen, and Tryphiodorus on the taking of Troy ; Theognis, Phocylides, and the golden verses of Pythagoras. The Greek text of these poems was carefully collated with the best manuscripts ; and there were added translations, in Italian verse, by Ant. Mar, Salvini. 10. Catalogus codicum manu scriptorum Grcecorum, Latinorum, et Italorum, biblio theca Laurentiance. 8 vols. fol. 11. Bi bliotheca Leopoldina Laurentiana, sive Catalogus Ma nuscriptorum, qui jussu Petri Leopoldi in Laurentia num translati suet. S vols. fol. 12. De Florentini Juntarum Typographia, ejiea qui censorious.
1791, 2 ,parts, 8vo. See Biographic Universdle, Tom. III. (IL)