ABSTRACT
One of the leading mathematicians of his age and an influential patron and correspondent of young Galileo Galilei (1564-1642). Del Monte was born into a noble family. His father, Raniero, knowledgeable in architecture and astrology, was rewarded for his military services by the duke of Urbino with the fief of Montebaroccio, near Pesaro, which was inherited by his son. In 1564 Del Monte studied philosophy at Padua without taking a degree; on his return to the Duchy of Urbino, he was instructed in mathematics by Federico Commandino (1509-1579).
