Giambattista Gelli

Who was Giambattista Gelli?

Giambattista Gelli was a Florentine humanist man of letters, from an artisan background. He is known for his works of the 1540s, Capricci del bottaio and La Circe, which are ethical and philosophical dialogues. Other works were the plays La sporta and L'errore.

In his historical writings, Gelli was influenced by the late 15th-century forgeries of Annio da Viterbo, which purported to provide evidence from ancient texts to show that Tuscany had been founded by Noah and his descendants after the Deluge.