Annibale Caro

The humanist Annibale Caro was a key figure in the artistic life of Rome under Pope Paul III, and prepared the programme of Paul III's monument in St Peter's. He was a poet of considerable distinction and a friend of Michelangelo. He is best remembered for his translation into Italian of Vergil's Aeneid. Born in Civitanova Marche in 1507, he spent most of his life in Rome, where he died in 1566. He was buried in the church of San Lorenzo in Damaso, with a fine monument incorporating a marble bust by Giovanni Antonio Dosio.

This bust was commissioned after his death in 1566, probably by his brothers, from Antonio Calcagni (1536-1593), the principal sculptor working on the embellishment of the cathedral of Loreto. Calcagni, who had his foundry in the nearby town of Recanati, was one of the most accomplished sculptors in bronze of the sixteenth century and excelled in portrait sculpture.