Aldus Manutius

Lore & Background

Aldus Manutius was born close to Rome in Bassiano between 1449 and 1452. He grew up in a wealthy family during the Italian Renaissance and was sent to Rome to become a humanist scholar. In Rome, he studied Latin under Gaspare da Verona and attended lectures by Domizio Calderini in the early 1470s. From 1475 to 1478, he studied Greek in Ferrara with Battista Guarino. Most of his early life is rather unknown. According to John Addington Symonds, Manutius was granted citizenship of the town of Carpi on 8 March 1480, and in 1482 he traveled to Mirandola with his friend Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, where he stayed two years to study Greek literature. Pico recommended Manutius to become the tutor of his nephews, Alberto and Leonello Pio, princes of Carpi. At the end of the 1480s, Manutius published two works addressed to his pupils and their mother, Caterina Pico. Giovanni Pico and Alberto Pio's families funded the starting costs of his printing press and gave him lands in Carpi. Manutius determined that Venice was the best location for his work, settling there in 1490. In Venice, he met Andrea Torresano, and the two co-founded the Aldine Press.

Reader's Guide

Aldus Manutius's significance lies in his pioneering role in the dissemination of classical texts, particularly Greek works, at a time when few Greek titles were in print. Before Manutius, publishers rarely printed volumes in Greek due to the complexity of providing a standardized Greek typeface. He commissioned the creation of typefaces in Greek and Latin resembling humanist handwriting, which are the first known precursor of italic type. His introduction of the small portable book format, the enchiridia, revolutionized personal reading and is the predecessor of the modern paperback. The Aldine Press's reputation for meticulous, accurate publications attracted scholars such as Desiderius Erasmus, who sought out Manutius to publish his translations. Manutius also helped standardize punctuation, including the comma and semicolon. Despite his efforts to prevent piracy, his innovations were quickly copied across Italy. His legacy includes the preservation of rare manuscripts and the promotion of Greek studies through the New Academy, a group of Hellenist scholars he founded in 1502.

Did You Know?

• Manutius introduced the small portable book format called enchiridia, the predecessor of the modern paperback.
• He helped standardize the use of punctuation including the comma and the semicolon.
• The typefaces he commissioned are the first known precursor of italic type.
• Dutch philosopher Erasmus sought out Manutius to publish his translations of Iphigenia in Aulis.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"Aldus Pius Manutius (Italian: Aldo Pio Manuzio; c. 1449/1452 – 6 February 1515) was an Italian printer and humanist who founded the Aldine Press." — Aldus Manutius "On a placard placed by Aldus on the door of his printing office (tr. P. J. Angerhofer et al., 1995). Reported by Aldus in his preface to Cicero's rhetorical works (1514)." — Aldus Manutius