Francesco Franceschi (died c. 1599) was a

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in the

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...

. His roots were in

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...

, though the bulk of his work was done in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

. Franceschi was known for the high quality of his engravings, which were done using metal plates rather than wooden, a common inexpensive alternative in the period. Evelyn Tribble describes in detail his 1565 edition of Ludovico Ariosto's '' Orlando Furioso'', which was influential for some

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publishers, and which is heavily and ornately illustrated, including an engraving before every

canto The canto () is a principal form of division in medieval and modern long poetry. Etymology and equivalent terms The word ''canto'' is derived from the Italian word for "song" or "singing", which comes from the Latin ''cantus'', "song", from the ...

and an engraved frame surrounding the argument (Tribble 88). Franceschi was also known for printing music. According to the ''New Grove'', he printed the works of

Gioseffo Zarlino Gioseffo Zarlino (31 January or 22 March 1517 – 4 February 1590) was an Italian music theorist and composer of the Renaissance. He made a large contribution to the theory of counterpoint as well as to musical tuning. Life and career Zarlin ...

and several volumes of writing on music. Two probable relatives, Giovanni Antonio de' Franceschi (who worked in both Palermo and Venice) and Giacomo Franceschi of Venice, printed music as well. File:De Franceschi.jpg File:De Franceschi 2.jpg

References

* Boorman, Stanley: "Franceschi e’ Franceschi, ''Grove Music Online'' ed. L. Macy (accessed December 18, 2005), . *Tribble, Evelyn B. ''Margins and Marginality: The Printed Page in Early Modern England.'' University of Virginia Press, 1993. {{DEFAULTSORT:Franceschi, Francesco Italian printers 1599 deaths 16th-century Italian businesspeople Year of birth unknown