Nikola Vitov Gučetić
Croatian scientist
Nikola Vitov Gučetić (Italian: Nicolò Vito di Gozzi, Latin: Nicolai Viti Gozzii; 1549–1610) was a Ragusan statesman, polymath, philosopher, science writer and author of one of the first scientific dissertations regarding speleology.
Life
Gučetić was born in Ragusa (now Dubrovnik, Croatia), into the Gučetić (Gozze) noble family, being kin of the earlier writer Đivo Gučetić (1451–1502). He received most of his education in Dubrovnik and Italy. He was the central person in the cultural life in Dubrovnik in his time and owned probably the biggest private library in town.
Rarely traveling outside the limits of town, he was occupied by trade, finances, and other official duties for the city-state. Elected Rector of the Republic of Ragusa seven times at the turn of the 17th century, he devoted his life to the prosperity of the city.
Pope Clement VIII awarded him an honorary doctorate in philosophy as well as master's degree in theology. Gozze was highly regarded for his works related to philosophy, politics, sociology, and pedagogy.
Gučetić married Marija Gundulić-Gučetić, who was a philosopher too, and wrote La querelle des femmes u renesansnom Dubrovniku. The dedication written in her husband's book Discorsi di m.
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