Niccolo Fontana, known as Tartaglia, was born in Brescia in 1499 or 1500, the son of an honest mail rider Michele Fontana who was known as 'Micheletto the Rider'. Micheletto would ride his horse between Brescia and other towns in the district making deliveries. Although he was poor, Micheletto did his best for his wife, daughter and two sons, and Niccolo attended school from the age of about four years. Life might have been very different for Niccolo had tragedy not come when he was six years old, for at that time his father was murdered while out making deliveries. From being a child in a poor family, he was suddenly plunged into total poverty.
Niccolo was nearly killed as a teenager when, in 1512, the French captured his home town and put it to the sword. The French army was commanded by Gaston de Foix and they had suffered humiliation at the hands of some determined Brescia militia. They decided to teach the local inhabitants a lesson and retook Brescia during seven days of......
Join Now or Login to view the rest of this paper.
Approximate Word Count: 2076
Approximate Pages: 8 (260 words per double-spaced page) |