Francesco Silvestri

Francesco Silvestri da Ferrara (1474 – 19 September 1528) was an Italian Dominican theologian. He wrote a notable commentary on Thomas of Aquinas's Summa contra gentiles, and served as Master General of his order from 1525 until his death.

Life Francesco Silvestri was born at Ferrara in 1474. At the age of fourteen he joined the Dominican Order. In 1516 he was made a master in theology. Later he was appointed by Pope Clement VII vicar-general of his entire order, and on 3 June 1525, in the General Chapter held at Rome, he was elected Master General. Leandro Alberti, his traveling companion, remarked that Silvestri was a man of "remarkable mental endowments," and that "nature seemed to have enriched him with all her gifts."

( 1516): a monumental commentary on Thomas's , and the one for which Silvestri is principally remembered. a commentary on Aristotle's .