PICCOLOMINI, ALESSANDRO, Archbishop of Patras, was a native of Siena, where he was born about the year 1508, being descended of an ancient and illustrious family, which came originally from Rome. He composed with success for the theatre; but he was more distinguished for his genius than for the purity of his manners and his regard to virtue. His charity was great, and chiefly exerted in relieving the necessities of men of letters. He left behind him a number of works in Italian, the most remarkable of which are,—various Opere Dramatiche, which laid the first foundation of his character as a writer; Un Traits della Sfera; Una Teoria delle Pianete; a translation of Aristotle's Art of Rhetoric and Poetry, in 4to; and Institutione Morale, published at Venice, 1575, in 4to, translated into French by Pierre de Larivey, and printed at Paris, 1581, in 4to. These, with a variety of other works, prove his extensive knowledge in natural philosophy, mathematics, and theology. He was the first who made use of the Italian language in writing upon philosophical subjects. He died at Siena on the 12th of March 1578, at the age of seventy.