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 Drammatiche, which laid the first foundation of his character as a writer; Un Traité della Sfera; Una Teoria delle Planeti; 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.

FRANCESCO, of the same family with the preceding, was born in the year 1520, and taught philosophy with success for the space of twenty-two years, at Siena, Perugia, and Padua. He afterwards retired to Siena, where he died in 1604, at the age of eighty-four. This city went into mourning on the occasion of his death. His works are,—Some Commentaries upon Aristotle, printed at Mayence, 1608, in 4to; and Universa Philosophia de Moribus, printed at Venice, 1583, in folio. The latter is his principal work. He laboured to revive the doctrines of Plato, and endeavoured also to imitate the manners of that philosopher. He had as his principal rival the famous Zabarella, whom he excelled in facility of expression and neatness of discourse, but to whom he was much inferior in point of argument.