TONIO A celebrated Italian anti quary and historian. Ile was born at Vignola, near Modena, October 21, 1672. He studied theology and history in the University of Mo dena, and early attracted the attention and won the friendship of Father Bambini, the li brarian at the ducal palace, who fostered in him a taste for historical and antiquarian re search. In 168S took minor or ders, and in 1094 obtained the degree of doctor in canon and civil law. The same year he was appointed to the stall' of the Ambrosian Library at Milan. While there he published his two collections of previously unedited Greek and Latin fragments entitled Anecdote Gra-ca and A ricedota Latina. In 1700 he returned to Slodena at the invitation of the Duke, in order to become keeper of the ducal archives and librarian of the Este Library, Father Bacchini having resigned this last post. For fifty years Muratori toiled un ceasingly, collecting and editing medheval chroni cles and Italian historical records. His enemies,
chiefly the Jesuits, accused lihn of publishing and teaching heretical doctrines; but, appealing to Pope Benedict XIV., the learned antiquary and historian received full protection against such attacks. Ile was one of the foremost scholars of his day and had a European reputation. lle died on January 23, 1750. His works fill forty six folio volumes, the most important ones tie ing as follows: Rerum Italiearum Scriptores (25 vols., 1723-51). the standard collection of docu ments relating to Italian history; Antiquitatcs Italicir Medii .Eri. (6 vols., 1738-42) ; Annali d'Italia (12 vols.. 1744-49) ; and Antic/lite, es tensi (2 vols., 1717-40). Consult the biography by his nephew, G. F. Muratori, del celebre Lodovico Antonio Muratori (Venice, 1756) ; Troya, Studi intorno ayli annuli d'Italia del Muratori (Naples, 1877; new ed. 1001 et seq.).