
Pietro (also known as Pier and Piero) Candido Decembrio (in Latin, Petrus Candidus Decembrius) (1399–1477) was an Italian
humanist and author of the Renaissance, and one of those involved in the rediscovery of ancient literature.
Life
The son of the humanist Uberto Decembrio, Piero Candido Decembrio was born in
Pavia, and named after his father's employer
Peter of Candia. He was a pupil of his father's friend and teacher
Manuel Chrysoloras in Florence. In 1419 he became secretary to
, Duke of Milan, and served in this post for nearly thirty years, continuing as secretary of the
Ambrosian Republic after the Duke's death. When
Francesco Sforza came to power in the city, Decembrio lost his position. He then found work in the chancery of
Pope Nicholas V, but with several other humanists, he left after the accession of
Pope Callixtus III and travelled instead to the Neapolitan court of
Alfonso the Great of Aragon.
After Alfonso's death in 1458 he returned to Rome as secretary to
Pius II and then to Milan in 1460. In 1466 he was granted a pension by the
Duke of Ferarra. In 1477 he died in Milan and is buried in the
Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio.
He produced a Latin version of Plato's ''
Republic
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
'' and attempted a continuation of Virgil's ''
Aeneid''. His grave lists 127 works.
See also
*
Decembrio - family of scholars Uberto Decembrio (- 1427), secretary to the Milanese duke Giangaleazzo Visconti (+ 1402) and to Peter of Candia (later counter Pope with the name Alexander V 1409/1410). Contact to Chrysoloras during his stay in Milan (1400-1403), engagement in the ...
References
External links
A fragment of his continuation of the Aeneid
Italian Renaissance writers
Italian Renaissance humanists
1399 births
1477 deaths
Writers from Pavia
15th-century Italian poets
15th-century Italian writers
15th-century Latin writers
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