Valla, Lorenzo
Part of The Encyclopedia of Southern Italy.
Valla, Lorenzo: (b. 1406, Rome; d. 1457, Rome). Scholar. He moved to Naples in 1435 where he became a teacher of rhetoric. He was soon moving in the upper social circles and became a good friend of King Alfonso I. Returning to Rome, he served as a canon at the church of St. John Lateran. His outspoken opinions earned him the enmity of many other scholars and he was ordered by the pope to leave Rome. Returning once more to Naples, he became, in 1448, private secretary to King Alfonso I. He soon found himself embroiled in a theological dispute resulting in a summons from the archbishop of Naples to appear before an assembly of the city’s clergy. Condemned by the assembly to be burned at the stake, he escaped and made his way to Rome to appeal to the pope. His appeal was successful and, instead of punishment, he was given a new appointment as a professor of rhetoric, restored to his position as a canon at St. John Lateran and appointed secretary to the pope. He authored many Latin sermons, commentaries on the New Testament, and Latin translations of Thucydides, Herodotus, and Homer.