Hanno (elephant)

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.

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. Hanno died two years later from complications of a treatment for constipation with gold-enriched laxative.[1]

  1. ^ "Hanno (elephant)".