Francesco Priscianese
by BRITTO, Giovanni, Woodcut
This woodcut was made after a drawing by Titian. It is from “La Lingua Romana”, published in Venice, 1540.
Francesco Priscianese was born in the small town of Pieve di Presciano in the diocese of Arezzo. At first he remained in his native area as a priest. Then, in the 1530s, he came to Rome. There he mainly occupied himself with the Latin language and quickly made a name for himself as a philologist. Before 1540 he wrote a Latin grammar book, and Aretino helped him find a Venetian publisher for it. His portrait is taken from this work. This was also the book in which he printed a letter to his friends Lodovico Becci and Luigi del Riccio, in which he describes spending an evening with Titian.