Paulus Jovius

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Paulus Jovius is the Latin name of Paolo Giovio (b. at Como, Italy, 19 April 1483; d. at Florence, 10 December., 1552), 16c prelate, bishop of Nocera, then Como. He was a follower of the Medici family, and wrote a biography of Pope Leo X soon after his death.

In 1513, he settled in Rome and won favor of Pope Leo X, and of Cardinal Guilio de' Medici, (later Clement VII), whom he helped duringthe sack of Rome. In 1528, he became a bishop of Nocera. After Clement VII's death, he retired to a villa on Lake Como, where he kept his paintings, antiquities, etc. His collection was one of the first to include pieces from the New World. (**This is from his file in Micropaedia Britannica Vol. 6.(Ready Reference))

He is mostly known as a historian, author of a celebrated work of contemporary history, Historiarum sui temporis libri XLV, of a collection of lives of famous men, Vitae virorum illustrium (1549‑57), and of Elogia virorum bellica virtute illustrium, which may be translated as Praise of Men Illustrious for Courage in War (1554).