Antiquari Jacopo

Jacopo was probably the son of the physician Stefano Antiquari. After studying under Giovanni Antonio Campano, who taught at Perugia from 1452 to 1459, he entered the service of the papal governor of that city, Giovanni Battista Savello, and accompanied him to Bologna when he was transferred there in 1468. In the early 1470s he moved to Milan, possibly on the invitation of Bartolomeo Caldo, secretary to duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza. Antiquari served as secretary to the dukes, with supervision over appointments to ecclesiastical benefices. He chose to remain at Milan even after the French removed Lodovico (il Moro) Sforza in 1500. Antiquari was a protector, adviser, and confidant of the greatest literary figures of his day, most notably Angelo Poliziano. He is mentioned in Erasmus’ Ciceronianus as one of the many writers who could not meet the exacting standards of the Ciceronians.