A poet and humanist, he spent most of his life in Rome, where he enjoyed the patronage of important figures, such as the cardinals Ippolito de’ Medici and Alessandro Farnese. His admirers included Annibal Caro, who spoke these words on his death: “I don’t know when and how I will ever feel happy again.” He was buried with other members of his family in the funerary monument created by the sculptor of Reggio Emilia Bartolomeo Spani in the Cathedral of Modena in 1516.