ABSTRACT
Francesco Giorgi,1 or Zorzi, of Venice (1466-1540) entered the Franciscan Order probably in early life, though there is little documentary evidence about his early years. His main published works were the De harmonia mundi,2 first edition in 1525 (Plate 8), and the Problemata, 1536. These show clearly enough the influence upon him of the Florentine Neoplatonic movement. Giorgi’s Cabalism, though primarily inspired by Pico, had been enriched by the new waves of Hebrew studies of which Venice, with its renowned Jewish community was an important centre. Giorgi’s outlook, as compared with that of Ficino and Pico, has an added Christian intensity, through his Franciscan training. And, like Reuchlin, he can draw upon richer sources of Hebrew religious literature than were available to Pico. Cabalist writings had flooded into Venice and other parts of Italy through the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492.
