independent spirit, possessed with a high sense of honour. He held public office under the Cisalpine Republic, newly founded by Napoleon. His blank verse and Odi are perfect examples of their kind; his chief work is Il Giorno, in which he satirizes the 'jeunesse dorée " of his day. He also wrote Canzonette, a drama, prose dialogues, and critical essays. JACOPO VITTORELLI, born at Bassano, and held public offices at Venice; one of the last representatives of Arcadia ; wrote quantities of poems, among which some charming trifles. VITTORIO ALFIERI, born at Asti, in Piedmont, of a noble and well-to-do family; was educated very superficially (see Vita), at the Academy of Turin; at the age of 19 travelled extensively in Europe; returned to Tuscany to learn Italian; made over his property to his sister in order to free himself from allegiance to the King of Piedmont and devote himself to literature. In Florence he met Louise, Countess of Albany, wife of Charles Edward Stuart, and remained deeply attached to her for the rest of his life. He lived with her in Paris, and, when driven out of France by the Revolution, settled in Florence, where he died in 1803. His chief works are tragedies, severely restrained in style but relieved by flashes of splendid lyrical inspiration. Some of them are: Polinice, Antigone, Virginia, Oreste, Timoleone, Merope, Bruto Primo, Bruto Secondo, Maria Stuarda, Saul; in addition he wrote comedies, his Life, sonnets, odes, satires, and various translations, also Il Misogallo, a polemic against the French. His tragedies are inspired by high civic and political ideals; he was a great poet, but firstly a great citizen, always considering his art as a means to a noble end-the regeneration of Italian character; an ardent patriot. VINCENZO MONTI, born at Fusignano, near Ravenna; studied at Faenza and Ferrara; in 1778 went to Rome as secretary to Prince Braschi. In 1793 he wrote the Bassvilliana, attacking France; later became a friend of Marmont, Napoleon's A.D.C., with whom he went to Florence. He has been criticized for the instability of his political opinions, but his patriotism cannot be doubted. He became Secretary for Foreign Affairs at Milan, and later Secretary to the Directorate; on the fall of the Cisalpine Republic went to Paris and became Napoleon's poet and historiographer; Professor of Poetry at Pavia in 1802; died in Milan. He was a master of harmonious versification, and a deep scholar. His chief works are: Aristodemo, Galeotto, Caio Gracco, and Manfredi (tragedies); the Bassvilliana and the Mascheroniana, a poem celebrating Napoleon; La Bellezza dell'Universo, I Pensieri d'Amore, and shorter poems; also a translation of the Iliad, made with practically no knowledge of Greek, but remarkable for its interpretation of the spirit of the original. UGO FOSCOLO, born at Zante in the Ionian Islands; educated at Spalato; went to Venice about 1793, and later joined the French army; fought against Austria and Russia; at first hailed Napoleon as the liberator of his country, but, on the handing over to Austria of Venetia, at Campoformio, left the army in disgust; in 1806 Professor of Italian Eloquence at Pavia, but the chair was soon after suppressed. When the Austrians entered Italy in 1813 he fled to Switzerland, and in 1816 to London, where he lived and died in great poverty. His remains were conveyed to Florence and interred in Santa Croce 44 years after his death. His masterpieces of lyrical poetry are: Dei Sepolcri and Le Grazie, models of classical perfection. In addition he wrote two tragedies, critical essays on Italian literature, Ultime Lettere di Jacopo Ortis, and various translations. Foscolo was passionate, impulsive, and improvident, but a patriot and a great poet; in him the inspirations of Greece and Rome are happily blended; he was distinguished in every branch of literature and erudition, but pre-eminent as a lyrical poet. ALESSANDRO MANZONI, born at Milan; educated at Milan and Lugano; spent practically the whole of an uneventful life in Milan; a steady patriot. His ode, Il Cinque Maggio, inspired by the death of Napoleon, is one of his best-known poems. He wrote two tragedies, Il Conte di Carmagnola and the Adelchi, in which he shows himself a romanticist; his Inni Sacri show the same tendency. His great historical novel, I Promessi Sposi (1827), brought him European celebrity. Other writings are critical letters and essays. TOMMASO GROSSI, born at Bellano; studied at Pavia; lived in Milan; a friend of Manzoni; wrote Ildegonda and La Fuggitiva in verse, and in prose Marco Visconti. A good, not a great, poet. GIACOMO LEOPARDI, born at Recanati, near Ancona, of noble but impoverished family; was an invalid all his life, a weak constitution having been ruined by persistent overwork. In 1822 he escaped from the uncongenial atmosphere of Recanati to Rome, but was forced to return, as his father refused to support him away from home. However in 1833 he left home for good and led a wretched and penurious existence in Rome, Milan, Bologna, Florence, and Pisa. Finally he went to Naples, where he died in the home of his friend Antonio Ranieri. One of the greatest modern poets of Italy. His deep, unrelieved pessimism is justified by the depressing circumstances of his life, still further burdened by constant physical suffering. His chief works are: Canti, Paralipomeni della Batracomiomachia, a satire on contemporary Italy; in prose, Operette Morali, Pensieri, Studi filologici, Epistolario, 1812-1837. NICCOLÒ TOMMASEO, born at Sebenico, in Dalmatia; studied law in Padua ; settled in Florence, where he wrote for the Florentine "Antologia," but was forced to leave for political reasons; fled to Paris in 1834; on returning to Italy was imprisoned until the revolution of 1848, when he became a member of the Provisional Government; fresh political changes drove him into exile again; at Corfu, wrote Il Supplizio d' un Italiano; finally settled in Florence. His writings are varied: æsthetic, political, critical, religious, and philosophical. GIUSEPPE GIUSTI, born at Monsummano; studied at Pisa, and held office in the Tuscan Legislative Assembly; a political satirist and patriot. Two of his most famous poems are Il Dies Irae and Sant' Ambrogio. ALEARDO ALE ARDI, born at Verona; 1848 went to Paris to wake sympathy in the cause of Venetian liberty; Professor of Aesthetics and History in the Instituto di Belle Arti at Florence. He was imprisoned on several occasions for revolutionary tendencies; died at Florence. His Canti are patriotically inspired; also wrote Epistolario. GIOVANNI PRATI, born at Dasindo, near Trent; studied at Padua ; lived in Milan and Turin; was banished by the Austrians in 1848; last years spent in Rome in the Ministry of Public Instruction; Senator, 1841. He wrote glowing patriotic verse and lyrics of rare facility, also a short epic in blank verse, Edmengarda. GOFFREDO MAMELI, born at Genova ; an ardent patriot who died in action at Rome in 1849 at 21 years of age. He wrote deservedly popular patriotic verse. GIOSUÈ CARDUCCI, born at Val di Castello, in Tuscany; of extraordinary erudition and splendid poetical achievement; followed in inspiration and style the noblest classical traditions; also pre-eminent as a prose-writer; Professor of Literature at Bologna, 1860; died at Bologna. His works are: Juvenilia, 1858; Levia Gravia, 1867; Decennalia, 1870; Nuove Poesie, 1873; Odi Barbare, 1877-89; Rime e Ritmi, 1898; also literary studies of considerable importance. |