PONTANO, GIOVANNI

(1426-1503)

Italianhumanistand diplo-mat. He was a native of Umbria and was educated at Perugia, but in 1447 he accepted an appointment at the court of King Alfonso ofNaples. He worked as a tutor at the court and later served as ambas-sador and as secretary in the royal chancery. Despite his political du-ties, Pontano was a prolific writer. His efforts in poetry and dialogue form are undistinguished, but his political and moral works show an impressive ability to illustrate his philosophical conclusions with apt instances taken from his own political experience. Between 1468 and 1493 he produced treatises on the ideal prince, on obedience, on bravery, on liberality, and on beneficence. He was a strong defender of monarchy as the best form of government. In addition to his pub-lished writings and his official career, Pontano was the principal or-ganizer of an important RenaissanceAcademyat the royal court.