Politian was born as Angelo Ambrogini in…

Politian was born as Angelo Ambrogini in Montepulciano, in central Tuscany in 1454.

His father Benedetto, a jurist of good family and distinguished ability, had been murdered by political antagonists for adopting the cause of Piero de' Medici in Montepulciano; this circumstance had given his eldest son, Angelo, a claim on the House of Medici.

At the age of ten, after the premature death of his father, Politian had begun his studies at Florence, as the guest of a cousin.

Here he has learned the classical languages of Latin and Greek.

From Marsilio Ficino he has learned the rudiments of philosophy.

At thirteen he began to circulate Latin letters; at seventeen he wrote essays in Greek versification; and at eighteen, he published an edition of Catullus.

He wins he title of homericus adulescens in 1470 by translating books II-V of the Iliad into Latin hexameters.

Lorenzo de' Medici, the autocrat of Florence and the chief patron of learning in Italy at this time, takes Politian into his household, makes him the tutor of his children, and secures him a distinguished post at the University of Florence.

During this time, Poliziano lectures at the Platonic Academy under the leadership of Marsilio Ficino, at the Careggi Villa.