Francesco Maria II della RovereHouseDella RovereFatherGuidobaldo IIMotherVittoria FarneseFrancesco Maria II della Rovere (20 February 1549 – 23 April 1631) was the last Duke of Urbino. BiographyBorn at Pesaro, Francesco Maria was the son of Guidobaldo II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, Count of Montefeltro and Vittoria Farnese, Princess of Parma. He was raised between 1565 and 1568 at the Royal court of Philip II of Spain.
Guidobaldo II della RovereGuidobaldo II della Rovere (2 April 1514 – 28 September 1574) was an Italian condottiero, who succeeded his father Francesco Maria I della Rovere as Duke of Urbino from 1538 until his death in 1574. He was a member of the House of La Rovere. Guidobaldo was an important patron of the arts in general, and of Titian in particular, commissioning his own portrait, and buying Titian's Venus of Urbino.
UrbinoUrbino (UK: , Italian:; Romagnol: Urbìn) is a comune (municipality) in the Italian region of Marche, southwest of Pesaro. It is a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of Federico da Montefeltro, duke of Urbino from 1444 to 1482. The town, nestled on a high sloping hillside, retains much of its picturesque medieval aspect.
Ranuccio Farnese (cardinal)Ranuccio Farnese (11 August 1530 – 29 October 1565) was an Italian prelate of the Farnese family, who was Cardinal of Santa Lucia in Selci from 1545 to his death in 1565. Son of Pier Luigi Farnese, the illegitimate son of Pope Paul III, Farnese was created Cardinal at the age of 15 by his grandfather the pope: he was nicknamed the cardinalino ("little cardinal") for his young age.
Antonio Musa BrassavolaAntonio Musa Brassavola (variously spelled Brasavola or Brasavoli; 16 January 1500 – 6 July 1555) was an Italian physician and one of the most famous of his time. He studied under Niccolò Leoniceno and Giovanni Manardo. He was the friend and physician of Ercole II, the duke of Este. He was also the consulting physician of Kings Francis I, Charles V, Henry VIII and PopesPaul III, Leo X, Clement VIII and Julius III.
MathematicianA mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. HistoryOne of the earliest known mathematicians was Thales of Miletus (c. 624 – c. 546 BC); he has been hailed as the first true mathematician and the first known individual to whom a mathematical discovery has been attributed.
John DeeJohn Dee (13 July 1527 – December 1608 or March 1609) was an English mathematician, astronomer, teacher, astrologer, occultist, and alchemist. He was the court astronomer for, and advisor to, Elizabeth I, and spent much of his time on alchemy, divination, and Hermetic philosophy. As an antiquarian, he had one of the largest libraries in England at the time.
PaduaPadua ( ; Italian: Padova; Venetian: Pàdova, Pàdoa or Pàoa) is a city and comune (municipality) in the autonomous region of Veneto in northernItaly, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, 40 kilometres (25 miles) west of Venice and 29 km (18 miles) southeast of Vicenza. With a population of 208,202 as of 2026, Padua is the 3rd-largest city in Veneto. It is also the economic and communications hub of the area.
FerraraFerrara (; Italian: [ferˈraːra] ; Emilian: Fràra [ˈfraːra]) is a city and comune (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. As of 2016, it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated 44 kilometres (27 miles) northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km (3 miles) north.
MedicineDiagnosis, treatment, and prevention of illnessThe Doctor by Sir Luke Fildes (1891)Medicine is the science and practice of caring for patients, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment and palliation of their injury or disease, while promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practices which evolved to maintain and restore health through the prevention and treatment of illness and infection.
Pope Marcellus IIPope Marcellus II (Italian: Marcello II; 6 May 1501 – 1 May 1555), born Marcello Cervini degli Spannocchi, was head of the Catholic Church and leader of the Papal States from 10 April 1555 to his death, 22 days later. Marcellus succeeded Pope Julius III. Before his accession as pope he had been Cardinal-Priest of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme.
Conrad DasypodiusConrad Dasypodius (1532 – 26 April 1600) was a Swiss astronomer, mathematician, and writer. He was a professor of mathematics in Strasbourg, Alsace. He was born in Frauenfeld, Thurgau, Switzerland. His first name was also rendered as Konrad or Conradus or Cunradus, and his last name has been alternatively stated as Rauchfuss, Rauchfuß, and Hasenfratz. He was the son of Petrus Dasypodius (Peter Hasenfuss) (1490–1559, or Peter Hasenfratz), a humanist and lexicographer.
HumanismHumanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the agency and the individual and social potential of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" has changed according to successive intellectual movements that have identified with it. During the Italian Renaissance, Italian scholars inspired by Greek classical scholarship gave rise to the Renaissance humanism movement.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.