Tommaso Fazello

Born at Sciacca in Sicily, Fazello studied at Palermo and entered the Dominican Order. He next studied at Rome and at Padua, where he received his doctorate. At Rome, he became friends with the humanist scholar Paolo Giovio, who encouraged him to write a history of Sicily. Returning to Palermo, Fazello undertook to teach philosophy and at the same time kept up his religious exercises. He so devoted himself to his studies that eventually he gave up all but one meal a day and reduced the number of hours he slept each night. His history of Sicily, De rebus siculis decades duae (Palermo, 1558), which was his only publication, included material on the ancient history and antiquities of Sicily, showing an immense personal knowledge of topography that allowed him to identify, on the basis of ancient authors, many of the major sites of Sicily. His work is still considered fundamental for the study of ancient Sicily.

• Fazello, Tommaso (1558). "De rebus Siculis decades duae, nunc primum in lucem editae. His accessit totius operis index locupletissimus" (in Latin). Palermo. apud Ioannem Matthaeum Maidam et Franciscum Carraram. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
• Fazello, Tommaso (1573). "Le due deche dell'historia di Sicilia" (in Italian). Translated by Remigio Nannini. Venezia. appresso Domenico, & Gio. Battista Guerra fratelli. Retrieved 23 November 2019.