Aldus Manutius

Aldus Manutius
Aldus Pius Manutius
Born	Aldo Manuzio Fifteenth century
Died	1515
Nationality	Venetian
Other names	Aldus Manutius the Elder
Occupation	humanist who became a printer and publisher
Known for	founding the Aldine Press at Venice

Aldus Pius Manutius (Italian: Aldo Manuzio; 1449 – February 6, 1515) was an Italian humanist who became a printer and publisher when he founded the Aldine Press at Venice. He is sometimes called "the Elder" to distinguish him from his grandson Aldus Manutius the Younger.

His publishing legacy includes the distinctions of inventing italic type, establishing the modern use of the semicolon, developing the modern appearance of the comma, and introducing inexpensive books in small formats bound in vellum that were read much as modern paperbacks are.

Manutius was born in Bassiano, in the Papal States, in what is now the province of Latina, some 100 km south of Rome, during the Italian Renaissance period.

His family was well off and Manutius was educated as a humanistic scholar, studying Latin in Rome, under Gasparino da Verona, and Greek at Ferrara, under Guarino da Verona.

In 1482 he went to reside at Mirandola with his old friend and fellow student, the illustrious Giovanni Pico. There he stayed two years, pursuing his studies in Greek literature. Before Pico moved to Florence, he procured for Manutius the post of tutor to his nephews, Alberto and Leonello Pio, princes of Carpi. Alberto Pio supplied Manutius with funds for starting his printing press and gave him lands at Carpi.