Alfonso de Ulloa facts for kids
Alfonso de Ulloa (born 1529 – died 1570) was a Spanish writer and publisher who lived in Venice, Italy. He was known for translating books from Spanish into Italian and for publishing many works. His most famous work is an Italian translation of a biography about Christopher Columbus. This original biography was written in Spanish by Columbus's son, Ferdinand Columbus, but it is now lost.
Contents
About Alfonso de Ulloa
Alfonso was born in Cáceres, a region in Spain called Extremadura. His family came from Galicia. He studied in Toledo, another city in Spain. Around 1546, Alfonso moved to Venice, a famous city in Italy.
In Venice, he started working for Diego Hurtado de Mendoza. Mendoza was the ambassador for the Holy Roman Emperor in Venice. An ambassador is like a country's representative in another country. While working there, Alfonso probably met Mendoza's librarian, Arnoldus Arlenius, who also translated old Greek and Roman books.
Ulloa's Work as a Translator and Publisher
Alfonso de Ulloa became very busy translating books from Spanish into Italian. By 1552, he was mainly focused on this work. He translated many important Spanish books into Italian, making them available to more readers.
Some of the famous Spanish books he translated included:
- La Celestina
- La cárcel de Amor by Diego de San Pedro
- Poems by Garcilaso de la Vega
- La Diana by Jorge de Montemayor
He also translated Italian books into Spanish, like Il Duello (The Duel) by Girolamo Muzio.
Alfonso often wrote books praising important leaders and military campaigns of his time. In 1558, he published a biography of Emperor Charles V shortly after the emperor died. He worked with different printing companies, especially Gabriele Giolito's firm.
Later Life and Death
In 1567, Alfonso was put in prison in Venice. He was accused of doing something wrong related to publishing a book. He was sentenced to prison for life and died in jail in 1570.
Works by Alfonso de Ulloa
Alfonso de Ulloa was a very productive writer and translator. Here are some examples of the types of works he was involved with:
Spanish Texts He Published or Edited
- Tragicomedia de Calisto y Melibea (1553) (A version of La Celestina)
- La cárcel de amor by Diego de San Pedro (1553)
- Poetry of Garcilaso de la Vega (1553)
- El Orlando Furioso by Ariosto (1553)
- Works by Petraca (1567)
- La Diana by Jorge de Montemayor (1568)
Translations from Spanish to Italian
- Works of Antonio de Guevara
- History of the Turks by Vasco Diaz Tanco
- Silva de varia lección by Pedro Mejía (1553)
- Vita dell'Ammiraglio (1571) (This was the important biography of Christopher Columbus, based on his son's writings.)
Translations from Portuguese to Italian
- Decades of Asia by João de Barros
- History of the Oriental Indies by Fernão Lopes de Castanheda
See Also
In Spanish: Alfonso de Ulloa para niños
