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Marco Gerolamo Vida
Cremona 1480/1485 - Alba 27 th September 1566
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by Daniele Ciani
(Translated by Alexis Jade Ciani)
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Marco Gerolamo Vida (1), poet and humanist, son of Guglielmo and Leona Oscasala, was born in Cremona before 1490 (2). His parents were poor but of noble origins (3). During his childhood he lived in Cremona, here he started his studies, which he continued with great results in Padova, maybe Bologna and finally for a long time, Mantova. He was admitted, still at young age, to the Canonical Congregation of the Regulars of San Marco. He moved to Rome (4), where he become the bishop of San Giovanni in Laterano. He was talented with latin verses (5) and for this Pope Leone X assigned him the Priory of San Silvestro in Frascati. It is here that he created his major work: la Christiade, a poem in latin exameters in a collection of six books (4) and the Scacchia Ludus, in two books. He was nominated Bishop of Alba from Pope Clemente VII, on the 6th of February 1533, as a retribution for his litery merits. After the Pope's death he probably moved permanently to Alba where he lived evere since. He took part in the "Council of Trento" indicted by Pope Paul the Third in 1545. He died in Alba on the 27th of September 1566 (6).
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- He was babtized with the name of Marco Antonio which he changed to Marco Gerolamo when he become a member of the Order of the "Canonici Regolari Lateranensi".
- We don't know with precision his date of birth, probably around the year 1480, nor do we know the place of birth; if tradition held true then he should have been born at the family's property in San Bassano.
- Some of his relatives became members of council of Cremona. His mother, Leona, was a member of the Noble family of the "Oscasali".
- Around 1510.
- He was called "il Virgilio cristiano", the Christian Virgilius.
- He was buried in the funereal monument in the right side of the Cathedral.
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 Scacchia Ludus: it's a short poem in latin exameters,of virgilian inspiration, portraying a game between Apollo and Mercury, in the presence of all the other Gods of Olimpus, during the celebration of the marriage between Ocean and Earth. Mercury, as the winner, Was given the "caduceus" trophy. After falling in love with the"chess" nimph, Mercury gave her the chessboard and teached her the game, and from this the game took her name. This Book had great distribution and during the next centuries was translated in many languages. Even if thi work was created in 1513, it was publicated anonimously just in 1525 and two years later in authorized edition.
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Chess Archeology 
