Onofrio Panvinio (1530, Verona – 1568, Palermo), was an Augustinian monk and one of the most celebrated antiquarians of the sixteenth century. He studied both in Rome and Naples, and, in 1559, traveled to Germany to pursue his historical research. He also served as librarian to Cardinal Alessandro Farnese and, in 1556, was appointed corrector and reviser of the books in the Vatican Library. He was considered one of the greatest church historians and archaeologists of his time. In 1565, he published an archaeological map of ancient Rome. At this time, he also worked closely with the French engraver Étienne Duperac on a number of antiquarian projects. Julius Scaliger, a contemporary of Panvinio’s, dubbed him “pater omnis historiae”, or “the father of all history”.
Panvinio’s Antiquitatum Veronensium libri octo was published for the first time in 1647 by the printer Paolo Frambotti in Padua. This book was probably still unfinished by the time of Panvinio’s death and, for this reason, was edited and printed posthumously. Panvinio's own Veronese origins were an important motivation for his study of the city's Roman antiquities. Part of an established and affluent Veronese family, the author's pride in the historical heritage of his native land is evident throughout this book. The Johns Hopkins University's copy of the Antiquitatum Veronensium is a rare first edition of Panvinio's work.
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