This paper, based on a preliminary inquiry about the circulation of Girolamo Aliotti’s writings, deals with the diffusion of humanist practices and its transformation into a dominating cultural movement. It is argued that this evolution was obviously a matter of very famous lay litterati, but also of more peripheral literary networks, that involve notaries, physicians, school teachers but also secular and regular clerics, living in the numerous urban centers of fifteenth century Italy. Additionally, the paper analyzes the very important and specific function of miscellanea manuscript as vector and mark of this process.