Hanno (elephant)

Hanno (Italian: Annone; c. 1510 – 8 June 1516) was the pet white elephant given by King Manuel I of Portugal to Pope Leo X (born Giovanni de' Medici) at his coronation.

Hanno, an Asian elephant, came to Rome in 1514 with the Portuguese ambassador Tristão da Cunha and quickly became the Pope's favorite animal.

[1] King Manuel had either received him as a gift from the Raja of Cochin, or had asked Afonso de Albuquerque, his viceroy in India, to purchase him.

Giovanni Battista Branconio dell'Aquila Privy chamberlain to the pope And provost of the custody of the elephant, Has erected this in 1516, the 8th of June, In the fourth year of the pontificate of Leo X.

According to Robert Greene, Aretino's audacious satire catapulted him to fame and, such was Leo's amusement, earned him a post in the papal service.

Sketch of Hanno and mahout , by Raphael , c.1514.
Woodcut of Hanno on pamphlet by Philomathes (Rome, c. 1514)
Sketch of Hanno, the elephant offered to the Pope by Manuel I of Portugal , from title page of Leitura Nova .
Sketch of Hanno's memorial fresco and epitaph .