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…