Bertoli, John Dominick

, an Italian antiquary of the last century, was born of a noble family, at Mereto inthe Frioul, March 13, 1676, and after studying at Venice, | was ordained a priest in 1700. The same year he became canon -coadjutor of the patriarchal church of Aquileia, and soon after titular. He had already acquired a decided taste for the study of antiquities, and was in a country abounding with objects to gratify it, most of which, however, had been greatly neglected, and even destroyed by the ignorant inhabitants, who converted every remains of antiquity in stone to the common purposes of building. To prevent this for the future, Bertoli formed a society of men of learning and similar taste, who began with purchasing every valuable relic they could find, and placed the collection in the portico of the canons’ house, where it soon became an object of curiosity, not only to travellers, but to the Aquileians themselves. At the same time he copied, or caused to be copied, all the monuments in the town, and in the whole province, and entered into an extensive correspondence with many eminent characters, particularly Fontanini, to whom he liberally communicated his discoveries, in hopes they might be useful to that learned prelate; but he having deceased in 1736, Bertoli resolved to take upon himself what he had expected from him, and was encouraged in this design by Muratori and Apostolo Zeno. Accordingly he began to publish a series of memoirs and dissertations on subjects of antiquity, which he wrote at his native place, Mereto, where he resided for such periods as his official duties at Aquileia permitted. In 1747 he was elected a member of the Columbarian society of Florence, and next year of that of Cortona, and died a few years afterwards, but the date is not ascertained in either of our authorities. His principal publication is entitled “Le Aritichita di Aquileja profane e sacre,” Venice 1739, fol. He had made preparations for a second and third volume, but did not live to complete them. Several of his letters and dissertations relative to this work, and to various subjects of antiquity, are printed in Calogera’s valuable collection, vols. XXVI. XXXIII. XLIII. XLVII. XLVIII. &c. others are inserted in the Memoirs of the Columbarian Society of Florence, and in similar collections. ¹