In the Cinquecento a genre of courtesy literature developed and resulted in the publication of a number of books of advice on the behaviour of men and women. The best-known book of this genre is Il Libro del Cortegiano by Count Baldassare Castiglione(1478–1529). The book consists of a series of fictional conversations by courtiers of Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, that took place in 1507, while Castiglione was himself serving as attaché to the Duke. Castiglione, who was painted by Raphael, was an Italian diplomat and writer who throughout his life held a number of posts in the great courts of Italy and Spain It was upon his observations of courtly life that he based his book, first published in Italian in 1528, and translated into English as The Courtier by Sir Thomas Hoby in 1561. It is written in the form of a dialogue, and is a treatise on the accomplishments and code of behaviour essential for the ideal male and female courtier. The book was translated into several European languages and became a primer of aristocratic manners, influencing Renaissance nobility and writers throughout Europe, including, notably, the English courtier-poet Sir Philip Sidney. Apart from its importance as a practical book of etiquette, Cortegiano is a record of an important period in Renaissance civilization.