Iovianus Pontanus
| Giovanni Pontano | |
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Bust of Pontano by Adriano Fiorentino, in the Museo di Sant'Agostino di Genova
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| Born | 1426 or 1429 Cerreto di Spoleto, Duchy of Spoleto (now in Umbria) |
| Died | 1503 Naples |
| Nationality | Spoleto |
| Other names |
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| Occupation | poet, humanist |
| Known for | Accademia Pontaniana, poetry |
Giovanni Pontano (1426–1503), later known as Giovanni Gioviano or Latin: Ioannes Iovianus Pontanus, was a humanist and poet from the Duchy of Spoleto, in central Italy. He was the leading figure of the Accademia Pontaniana after the death of Antonio Beccadelli in 1471, and the academy took his name.
Pontano was born at Cerreto in the Duchy of Spoleto, where his father was murdered in one of the frequent civil brawls which then disturbed the peace of Italian towns. His date of birth is given in various sources between 1421 and 1429; it is often given as 1426, but may have been 1429.
His mother escaped with the boy to Perugia, and it was here that Pontano received his first instruction in languages and literature. Failing to recover his patrimony, he abandoned Umbria, and at the age of twenty-two established himself at Naples, which continued to be his chief place of residence during a long and prosperous career. He here began a close friendship with the distinguished scholar, Antonio Beccadelli, through whose influence he gained admission to the royal chancery of Alphonso the Magnanimous. Alphonso discerned the singular gifts of the young scholar, and made him tutor to his sons, notably Alfonso, who would reign for a single year but whose energies in the decade 1485-95 brought the Renaissance to Naples in many fields, from poetry to villas, from portrait sculpture to fortifications. Pontano's connection with the Aragonese dynasty as political adviser, military secretary and chancellor was henceforth a close one; he passed from tutor to cultural advisor to Alfonso. The most doubtful passage in his diplomatic career is when he welcomed Charles VIII of France upon the entry of that king into Naples in 1495, thus showing that he was too ready to abandon the princes upon whose generosity his fortunes had been raised.
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