Throughout much of the fifteenth century, Flavio Biondo (1392–1463) thrived as a humanist scholar, historian, and antiquarian, establishing the foundations of archaeological and geographical historical research. Born in Forlì, Romagna, in 1392, he began his studies as a notary before moving to Rome in 1433. There he served as papal secretary to Eugene IV (1444) and later under Nicholas V, Callixtus III, and Pius II. When he arrived in Rome, the city lay in a state of decay; the Forum Romanum was overgrown, its monuments neglected. Biondo studied ancient sources, including Pliny and Livy, to identify ruins throughout the city that matched their descriptions.

Biondo introduced the term “Middle Ages” to describe the period between Antiquity and the Renaissance. His historical methodology, which emphasized source research and empirical evidence, became the model for historians including Leonardo Bruni and Machiavelli. Although he was not a physician, his life demonstrated an important connection between health and longevity research during pre-modern Europe. His extensive experience in administrative and diplomatic work, manuscript creation, and ecclesiastical duties validates that intellectual labor was safer than manual trades during that period. The absence of medical records concerning his health status does not prevent one from observing his continued scholarly activities through his sixties. Through his combination of archaeological, geographical, historical, and philological approaches, he developed a new method for studying the past. His medical perspective shows that social standing and occupational protection contributed to his extended lifespan. As an historian, archaeologist, and proto-geographer, he established modern humanities through his precise methods in pre-modern times. Biondo died in Rome in June 1463 and was buried at Santa Maria in Aracoeli on the Capitoline Hill.