Baldassare Castiglione
| Baldassare Castiglione | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
December 6, 1478 near Casatico, which is near Mantua |
| Died | February 2, 1529 (aged 50) Toledo, Spain |
| Occupation | Courtier, diplomat, soldier, author |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Literary movement | Renaissance |
| Giuliano de' Medici | |
|---|---|
| Duke of Nemours | |
Giuliano de' Medici, defender of women in Castiglione's Book of the Courtier, painted by Raphael.
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| Born |
March 12, 1479 Florence, Republic of Florence |
| Died | March 17, 1516 (aged 37) Florence, Republic of Florence |
Baldassare Castiglione (Italian: [baldasˈsaːre kastiʎˈʎoːne]; December 6, 1478 – February 2, 1529), count of Casatico, was an Italian courtier, diplomat, soldier and a prominent Renaissance author, who is probably most famous for his authorship of The Book of the Courtier. The work was an example of a courtesy book, dealing with questions of the etiquette and morality of the courtier, and was very influential in 16th century European court circles.
Castiglione was born into an illustrious family at Casatico, near Mantua (Lombardy), where his family had constructed an impressive palazzo. The signoria (lordship) of Casatico (today part of the commune of Marcaria) had been assigned to an ancestor, Baldassare da Castiglione, a friend of Ludovico III Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua, in 1445. The later Baldassare was related to Ludovico Gonzaga through his mother, Luigia Gonzaga.
In 1494 at the age of sixteen Castiglione began his humanist studies in Milan, studies which would eventually inform his future writings. However, in 1499 after the death of his father, Castiglione left his studies and Milan to succeed his father as the head of their noble family. Soon his duties included officially representing the Gonzaga court; for instance, he accompanied his marquis for the Royal entry at Milan of Louis XII. He traveled quite often for the Gonzagas; during one of his missions to Rome he met Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino; and in 1504, a reluctant Francesco Gonzaga allowed him to leave and take up residence in that court.
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