Biringuccio, Vannoccio (1480-c. 1539)

Sienese metallurgist. His fame rests on his Pirotechnia, published posthumously in 1540, a lavishly illustrated book that gives detailed accounts of such processes as the mining and extraction of ores, the blast furnace, the manufacture of cannon and gunpowder, and the production of glassware.

His Pirotechnia was widely read. There were ten editions of the work before 1678, including translations into English and French, keeping it in use as a practical text well into the 18th century.

The son of a Sienese official, Biringuccio began his career in the arsenal of Pandolfo Petrucci, ruler of Siena. After a period of exile during which he worked in Parma, Ferrara, and Venice, he returned to Siena in 1530. In 1538, shortly before his death, he entered the service of Pope Paul III in Rome as superintendent of the papal arsenal.