Designed by Hermann Zapf in 1948 and cut in metal by August Rosenberger at D. Stempel AG. Released in 1950 and later adapted for the Linotype machine. [Linotype] Accompanied by the lighter and more narrow Aldus-Buchschrift for text sizes and the Greek Heraklit. Michelangelo (Greek: Phidias) and the heavier Sistina are display complements. Kompakt, Virtuosa (Greek: Frederika), Saphir and even Gilgengart were all advertised as distant relatives of the greater Palatino family.

Many digital versions, including authorized (URW Palladio, Zapf Calligraphic 801) and unauthorized versions (Book Antiqua). A revised version with Cyrillic and Greek is included both in Windows (Palatino Linotype) and Mac OS (Palatino). Completely reworked in 2005 as Palatino Nova.