The "Accademia" was founded in Florence in 1583, and has since been characterized by its efforts to maintain the purity of the Italian language. "", which means "bran" in Italian, helps convey the metaphor that its work is similar to winnowing, as also does its emblem depicting a sifter for straining out corrupt words and structures (as bran is separated from wheat). The academy motto is ""Il più bel fior ne coglie"" ('She gathers the fairest flower'), a famous line by the Italian poet Francesco Petrarca. In 1612, the "Accademia" published the first edition of its dictionary, the "Vocabolario degli Accademici della Crusca", which has served as the model for similar works in French, Spanish, German and English.