Francisk Skorina

(Polatsk 1485/1490 – 1591 unknown)
Belarusian humanist, physician, translator, and book printer

Son of a wealthy merchant in Polatsk, then a major trade centre of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Skaryna probably completed his first studies in an orthodox religious school. In 1504, he enrolled in the University of Krakow and in December of 1506, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree. In the same period, he began working with a printed press and, in particular, with the very first editions of text written with Cyrillic characters. In 1512, after passing all required tests, he received a doctorate in medicine at the University of Padua.
In 1517, he published twenty-two volumes of the Old Testament in the “Rutena” language, known as the Biblja ruska, this is the first Slavic version of the Bible “in the vernacular”.
Skaryna is considered the father of the press in the Slavic world and the author of a cultural revolution that implemented itself through the dissemination of texts translated into languages accessible to a large portion of the population.

Skorina (Skaryna Francysk)

The restoration of the Francisk Skorina canvas has been supported by Solarsls Jsc, and Vincenzo Trani (Console Onorario della Repubblica di Belarus a Napoli)