Alciato, Andrea

(1492-1550)

   Italian jurist and writer from Milan who taught in Bologna, Ferrara, Avignon, and Pavia, where he died. His most successful text was the Liber Emblemata, the first book of emblems to be published in the 16th century. The first edition appeared in Augsburg in 1531, and it was reprinted between 1532 and 1790 in at least 130 editions in various languages. Alciato's inspiration was the Hieroglyphica of Horus Apollo, a manuscript dating to the fifth century, discovered by a monk on the Greek island of Andros in 1419. At the time of discovery, the Hieroglyphica was erroneously believed to be a Greek translation of an Egyptian text that explained the meaning of hieroglyphs. The text sparked great interest on the subject, particularly among the literati of Florence. Alciato's Emblemata, like the Hieroglyphica, sought to explain a pictographic language. It provided a series of emblems accompanied by short poems that elucidated their allegorical meaning. The book was widely used by artists as a source for allegorical representation.