In his youth, Piero was trained in mathematics, which most likely was for mercantilism. Three treatises written by Piero have survived to the present day: "", "De quinque corporibus regularibus" ("On the Five Regular Solids") and "De Prospectiva pingendi" ("On Perspective in painting"). The subjects covered in these writings include arithmetic, algebra, geometry and innovative work in both solid geometry and perspective. Much of Piero's work was later absorbed into the writing of others, notably Luca Pacioli. Piero's work on solid geometry was translated in Pacioli's "Divina proportione", a work illustrated by Leonardo da Vinci. Biographers of his patron Federico da Montefeltro of Urbino record that he was encouraged to pursue the interest in perspective which was shared by the Duke.