Francesco Partini da Rovereto (1500-1569), medico imperiale. La sua attività di cura e le sue reti professionali

The article sheds light on both the medical activity of Francesco Partini from Rovereto (1501-1569), and his friendship- and professional networks. After taking a degree in Medicine at the ‘Collegio dei Medici’ of Venice, he was employed as city physician by the Government of Rovereto in 1531. Later on, in 1557, he was appointed personal physician for Ferdinand I’s son, Maximilian, King of Bohemia and future Emperor. Partini managed to land such a sought-after position thanks to his friendship with Giulio Alessandrini and Pietro Andrea Mattioli, who had already become court physicians in the early 1550s. Documental evidence kept in the Verwaltungsarchiv of the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek of Vienna shows that Partini was awarded the noble title by the Emperor, and perhaps he fulfilled diplomatic tasks on his behalf. Despite these commitments beyond the Alps, Partini maintained his connections with his homeland and continued to manage his family holdings after moving to Vienna, as documents retained in the Archivio Storico of the Civic Library “Girolamo Tartarotti” of Rovereto, testify to. The register of eighty medical consultations (‘consilia medica’), handwritten by Partini from 1536 at least until 1567, allows us to outline the features of his medical practice. Although not straying either from Galenic-Hippocratic tradition or from the humoral theory, Partini was able to belie ancient authors when disagreeing with them, and, as medical humanist, used to discuss passages of their works in a critical sense. Such a characteristic is for instance visible in a piece of advice addressed to Bernardino Count of Thun. The ‘consilia’ compiled by Partini distinguish themselves by a great attention to clinical signs, in the wake of the studies by Giovanni Battista Da Monte (d. 1551). Partini’s consultations contain an accurate description of (1) the symptoms complained of by the patients, (2) the physical aspect of the body (colour and texture of skin, hair, build, …), and (3) the outside appearance of its secretions (urines, feaces, catarrh, …). Such a thorough observation led the practitioner both to formulate diagnoses as precise as possible and to prescribe the relevant therapies. Partini’s collection of pieces of advice attests a close dialogue with his colleagues. Such a frequent exchange entailed his firm conviction that it was possible to improve one’s knowledge, and even to find more effective therapeutic methods through discussion. He consulted some of the most eminent physicians of his time, such as Giovanni Battista Da Monte, Giulio Alessandrini and others, in order to receive a confirmation of the diagnoses he made and/or the therapies he prescribed. The most of the subjects treated by Partini belonged to the imperial family or its entourage, such as the Madruzzo, the Truchsess von Waldburg, and the Oztrosich. Exactly the high socio-political rank of his patients could have represented another reason why Partini used to ask for his colleagues’ help. In fact, the constant search for confirmation to his diagnostic hypotheses and pharmaceutical prescriptions did not only betoken his professional reliability, but it could also imply his fear of disappointing his patients’ expectations. Contradicting one of them, who were also his ‘domini’, could affect his career and even compromise the privileges he had acquired. In conclusion, Partini had to integrate his scholarly erudition with a goal-oriented strategy aimed at preserving as well as conquering the trust both of his patients and of the Emperor.