Italian family of hardstone engravers, active in Milan from the mid-16th century to the early 17th. Bartolomeo Saracco, a hardstone engraver, is mentioned in documents between 1561 and 1578, and had five sons who worked as glyptic artists: Giovanni Ambrogio Saracco (b. 1540-41), Simone Saracco (b. 1547-8), Stefano Saracco (b. 1550-51; d. before 1595), Michele Saracco (b. after 1550) and Raffaello Saracco (b. after 1550; d. before 1595). In early 1573 Giovanni Ambrogio, Simone and Stefano offered to go to Munich to work for Albert V, Duke of Bavaria. Giovanni Ambrogio and Stefano specialized in producing vessels of sculptural form for which they actually ground the material. Simone's art, which was rated more highly, consisted in carving the intaglio decoration. The move to Munich did not come about, however, and the family workshop remained in Milan. //