Equicola, Mario (c. 1470-1525)

Italian humanist and courtier. He was secretary to Isabella d'Este, and his letters and accounts of his travels with her give a valuable insight into Italian court life in the early 16th century. His treatise De natura de amore/ On the Nature of Love (1525) shows the influence of Renaissance Neo-Platonism derived from Ficino.

Born at Alvito, Calabria, Equicola was mainly associated with the house of Este. As early as 1505 he composed a treatise on the phrase ‘Nec spe nec metu’ (‘neither in hope nor in fear’), which was Isabella d'Este's favourite motto, and in 1519 she appointed him her secretary. In this capacity he travelled with her on a pilgrimage to St Mary Magdalene at Sainte-Beaune; his account of the trip still survives. He also became involved in the quarrel between Isabella and her son Federico d'Este. He died in Mantua.