Antonio Lupis

Who was Antonio Lupis?

Antonio Lupis was a prolific Italian writer.

Born at Molfetta, the son of Flaminio Lupis and his wife Maria de Ceglia, both members of the local nobility, he spent his literary career in Venice.

He published numerous historical romances that found a welcoming public. La Marchesa d'Hunsley passed through eighteen printings before his death, and was reprinted as late as 1723. Turned into a drama by the poet Francesco Petrobelli, it continued to hold the stage for more than a century.

Some of his works turn upon moral reflections. He wrote a vita of Giovanni Francesco Loredan, founder of the Accademia degli Incogniti, of which Lupis was also a member. Another vita sketched the life of his friend, the painter Evaristo Baschenis. Lupis died at Bergamo. He published a book on morals titled Il Chiaro-oscuro di Pittura Morale, Apresso Giacomo Ferretti, Venice.