How it began
Francesco Griffo, born in Bologna in 1450, designed and cut roman, Greek and the first italic fonts for the Venetian printer and publisher Aldus Manutius. Aldus used the new type in books published in 1501, among them an edition of Virgil, in whose introduction he credited Griffo, and an edition of Martial. The name italic comes from Italy, where the style was developed.
How it works
Italic is a cursive type style based on calligraphic handwriting. A true italic has its own letterforms, which distinguishes it from oblique type, where upright letters are simply slanted. Early italics were used for informal texts. Over time the role changed, and italics came to be used within other text for emphasis, for the titles of standalone works, for foreign words and for certain technical terms.
Who pushed back
The partnership between Griffo and Aldus ended in a public falling out. They disputed the credit for Griffo's type designs, and Griffo objected to Aldus's attempts to hold a monopoly over the types. After Aldus died in 1515, Griffo set up his own print shop and asserted his claim to authorship of the Aldine fonts. Griffo reportedly killed his son-in-law in a confrontation and disappeared from the record in 1518.
What lasted
The collaboration between Griffo and Aldus strongly influenced later type design. In Spain the italic became known as letra grifa, after Griffo. A style first used mainly for informal texts took on a wider role over time, and it is now used alongside upright type for emphasis, titles of works and foreign words.
