He studied
Grammar in
Florence i.e.
Latin language, with the priest Paolo Sassi da Ronciglione with whom he remained until May 22, 1487 when he went to the school of
Ugolino di Vieri. Then in 1491 he joined the circle of
Poliziano disciples. Just following his master's example he also decided to change his
Patronymic inherited from his father's thick hair, which he translated Latinically into crinito (curly). From Pietro Baldi del Riccio (that is, “son of the curl”) he became for everyone Pietro Crinito or Petrus Crinitus. After Poliziano's death, he gave lectures in
Santo Spirito, Florence Studio and then began a long series of peregrinations that took him to
Bologna,
Ferrara,
Venice,
Padua,
Rome and
Naples. He finally returned to Florence where, under the patronage of
Bernardo Rucellai, he joined the
Platonic Academy that met at the Orti Oricellari. He published in 1504 the Commentarii de honesta disciplina, a mammoth
Essay of erudition in 25 books that, along the lines of
Aulus Gellius, dealt with
Linguistics,
Politics,
Jurisprudence, and
Religion institutions. Despite some brilliant insights, however, the work is confusing and at times obscure, and the author often falls into the ridiculous or fabulous. The following year De Poetis Latinis in five books came out, which set out in 93 short chapters to encyclopedically catalogue Latin writers from
Livius Andronicus to
Sidonius Apollinaris, which, while full of inaccuracies, is by far the first modern
Biography compilation of classical authors. Although a learned and committed
Renaissance humanism his work, like his life, was not exactly marked by intellectual rigor. Lapidary about him is the judgment of Giovan Battista Corniani: He died just 32 years old of
Pneumonia after a singular accident: In addition to a collection of his Latin
Prose and
rhymes, two other works were printed posthumously: in 1527 the Poematum libri duo, or the life of
Sallust, and, in 1552, the commentary on Book XVI of
Cicero Familiari. Unpublished is his Zibaldone preserved today in manuscript at the
Bavarian State Library in
Munich. ==References==