Pellegrino Antonio Orlandi (1660–1727) was an Italian writer and art historian, author of the Abecedario pittorico (‘ABC of Painting’).

[2] An expanded and corrected edition of the Abecedario followed in 1719, updated in part through correspondence with artists and collectors in Rome and Florence.

[1] In the meantime, in 1714, he had published the Notizie degli scrittori bolognesi e dell' opere loro stampate e manoscritte (‘Notes on the Bolognese writers and on their printed and manuscript works’).

New and augmented editions of the Abecedario continued to be published, however; that of 1753 included additional material written by Pietro Guarienti.

[3] Although the work would later be criticised for its inaccuracies, Lanitra Walker describes it in the Dictionary of Art Historians as having been ‘the most complete resource for information on artists during the 18th century.’[1]