Matteo Ricci
His "magnum opus" was a history of the Jesuits. Another important work by Venturi was the publication of previously unpublished writings of Matteo Ricci, one of the founders of the Jesuit China missions. The "Opere storiche del P. Matteo Ricci, S.J" (Historical Works of Father Matteo Ricci, S.J.) appeared in two volumes in 1911 and 1913, and included Ricci's letters as well as his "Commentarj della Cina" (Commentary on China), the Italian manuscript that had been previously published only in the expanded and edited Latin version of Nicolas Trigault (as "De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas"). However, Venturi's lack of knowledge of Chinese made it necessary for Fr. Pasquale d'Elia to produce another, better annotated edition of Ricci's manuscripts (known as "Fonti Ricciane") some 30 years later, in the 1940s.