Musings on the Successes and Shortcomings of Piccolomini’s Methods

Given that Piccolomini’s two astronomical treatises were republished and reprinted together or independently in Italian at least eighteen times over a period of 55 years (including at least two putative pirate editions), that De la Sfera del Mondo was translated into French in 1550 and both treatises were translated into Latin (1568), it seems safe to conclude that—at the level of sales, at least—they should be considered as a success. The composition of these works was a bold, innovative and, one might argue, generous gesture on Piccolomini’s part that appears to have been well-received across Europe.