Giuseppe Maria Bernini

A Capuchin missionary and Orientalist, b. near Carignan in Piedmont; d. in Hindustan in 1753. For many years he was a missionary in the East Indies, and acquired a remarkable knowledge of the languages and dialects of India. In his travels through the country he made a special and careful study of the manners, customs, and religious beliefs and practices of the people. The results of his studies were collected in his work: "Notizie laconiche di alcuni usi, sacrifizi, ed idoli nel regno di Neipal, raccolte nel anno 1747". This work has never been published, but is preserved in manuscript in the library of the Propaganda at Rome, and in the museum of Cardinal Borgia. Bernini also wrote "Dialogues", in one of the Indian languages, also preserved in manuscript in the Propaganda; a translation of "Adhiatma Ramayana"; one of "Djana Sagara", and a collection of historical studies under the title, "Mémoires historiques" (Verona).

Dizionario Biografico Universale (Florence, 1840). A very mediocre translation of the Notizie into English has been published in Asiatic Researches, II.

Eneas B. Goodwin.