Francesco Angeloni

Francesco Angeloni (1587-1652) was an Italian writer, historian, and collector of classical antiquities.

Born in Terni in Umbria — a region of Italy at that time part of the Papal States — he studied in Perugia then moved to Rome where he served as secretary of cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini, nephew of pope Clement VIII.

Angeloni dedicated most of his life in collecting antique coins, medallions, books, paintings, and archaeological artifacts and achieved fame in Europe with the publication in 1641 of his edition of the Historia Augusta, a history of ancient Rome since Julius Caesar to Constantine the Great, illustrated with antique coins of the times. He also wrote comedies and novels and noticeably, in 1646, a Storia di Terni, a history of his hometown.

In his house, Angeloni raised and educated Giovanni Pietro Bellori, who also became a well-known antiquarian and archaeologist.