PAOLO (

See also:

• GIROLAMO (1450-1486)

GIROLAMO GASPARE)5 (1532-1600)  was the only child of Gian Battista, and was born on the 4th of July 1532 . Like his father, he maintained a large correspondence with many persons of learning and note . In 1541 Francesco Contarini, procurator of St Mark's, brought from Brussels a MS. of Villehardouin's History of the Conquest of Constantinople, which he presented to the Council of Ten . In 1556 they publicly ordered its translation into Latin, and gave the commission to Paolo Rannusio . His father also seems to have taken much interest in the work, for a MS. vernacular translation by him exists in the Marciana . Paolo's book was not completed 2 Brunet's statements on the subject are borrowed, and not quite accurate . The detail in Cigogna seems to be accurate, but it is vague as to the deficiencies of the earlier editions . 3 All of these are in the British Museum . 4 All at the British Museum . 5 This person and his son affected the spelling Rannusio . till 1573, many years after the father's death, and was in fact a paraphrase enlarged from other sources, thus, according to Cigogna's questionable judgment, " converting the dry story of Villehardouin into an elegant (fiorita) historical work." It was not published till 'bog, nine years after Paolo's death; nor was it ever really reprinted, though it became the subject of a singular and unintelligible forgery .