Biringuccio, Vannocio

Biringuccio, Vannocio (vän-nô`chō bērēn-gt`chō), 1480–c.1539, Italian metallurgist. He is best known for his practical manual of metallurgy, De la pirotechnia (1540, tr. 1942). As a young man Biringuccio learned about metallurgy through visits to forges and foundries. He directed an iron mine and forge near Siena and was master of its arsenal and mint. Exiled twice because of changing regimes, he served in Venice and Florence as a caster of cannon and as a fortifications engineer. He was later called to Rome to head the papal foundry.