Born in Florence, c. 1586; died in Mexico in 1666. he entered the Society of Jesus and before he had concluded his philosophical studies he went to Mexico, where he studies the Indian languages, especially the Nahuatl and the Othomí, which he mastered fully. He was made secretary of the province and wrote "Arte de la Lengua mexicana con la declaración de todos sus adverbios, printed at Mexico in 1645"; "Vocabulario copioso de la Lengua mexicana"; "Gramática de la Lengua Otomæ"; "Vocabulario Otomí"; "Sermones en Lengua mexicana." His letters to the bishop of Puebla, Juan de Palafox, also deserve mention. Only the first named work has been printed. It is a much esteemed contribution to Mexican linguistics and a rare book.
SOTWELL, Bibliotheca Jesuitica (Rome, 1676); BERISTAIN, Biblioteca hispano-americana; LUDEWIG, Literature of Am. Aboriginal Language (1858).
AD. F. BANDELIER