author
Cicco Simonetta
1410–1480
A brilliant power broker of Renaissance Milan, he helped shape the Sforza court and left behind one of the earliest known works on cryptography. His life mixes politics, diplomacy, and a dramatic fall from favor worthy of a historical novel.
1 Audiobook
Les règles de Cicco Simonetta pour le déchiffrement des écritures secrètes
by Cicco Simonetta
About the author
Born in Calabria around 1410, Cicco Simonetta became one of the most influential officials in fifteenth-century Italy. He served the Sforza rulers of Milan as a secretary, diplomat, and close adviser, building a reputation for sharp intelligence, administrative skill, and political judgment.
Simonetta played a major role in the government of the Duchy of Milan, especially under Francesco Sforza and later Galeazzo Maria Sforza. He is also remembered for writing an early treatise on deciphering coded messages, which gives him a special place in the history of cryptography as well as Renaissance statecraft.
His career ended brutally after a shift in court politics: he was arrested and executed in Pavia on October 30, 1480. That mix of learning, influence, and sudden downfall has made him a memorable figure in the story of Renaissance Italy.