antica corsiva

calligraphy

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June 18, 2026

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Antica corsiva was a script developed by Italian humanists around 1400. They mistakenly believed it was an ancient Roman script, but it was actually derived from Carolingian minuscule. Niccolò Niccoli combined the fluidity of contemporary handwriting with the inclined strokes of this script to create antica corsiva, which became the basis for italic printing types.1

This script, later known as cancellaresca corsiva, evolved from the antica corsiva perfected by scribes in the papal chancery. By the 16th century, it was widely used for the spread of knowledge. Ludovico degli Arrighi's 16th-century rendition featured distinctive plumelike ascenders and leftward-swinging descenders, creating a lively yet disciplined appearance. It was revived in the 20th century as italic for decorative use.2

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italic script
…the lettera antica in his antica corsiva, which became the model for italic printing types. As in modern italic fonts, the form of a is distinctive, and f, g, k, and a long thin s are more or less reminiscent of black-letter cursive. For his headings Niccoli preferred Roman capitals…
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…the lettera antica in his antica corsiva, which became the model for italic printing types. As in modern italic fonts, the form of a is distinctive, and f, g, k, and a long thin s are more or less reminiscent of black-letter cursive. For his headings Niccoli preferred Roman capitals…
Read More

cancellaresca corsiva
…preceding century out of the antica corsiva, which had been perfected by the scribes of the papal chancery. As written by the calligrapher and printer Ludovico degli Arrighi of Vicenza in the early decades of the 16th century, the cancellaresca corsiva can range from eye-arresting contrasts of Gothic-like thick and…
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…preceding century out of the antica corsiva, which had been perfected by the scribes of the papal chancery. As written by the calligrapher and printer Ludovico degli Arrighi of Vicenza in the early decades of the 16th century, the cancellaresca corsiva can range from eye-arresting contrasts of Gothic-like thick and…
Read More