In most art history classes, names like Giotto, Tintoretto, Donatello, Botticelli, Fra’ Angelico and of course Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci are synonymous with the Italian Renaissance. Yet, in most cases, the Italian masters were not known by their patronym, but by their nickname. Many of the great masters during this era were identified by a single name that sounded similar to a melodic hymn with two, three, four and sometimes five syllables accompanied by a vowel in the beginning, middle and end.
Even now when these names are mentioned, the sound rolls off the tongue and becomes good practice for beginners learning Italian for it allows students to hear which letters are stressed and properly pronounced.
