Dino Provenzal, Writer, Livorno
By TuscanyVillages at October 29, 2011 | 7:42 am | 0 Comment
Dino Provenzal (1877 – 1972) Writer Livorno Dino Provenzal was born in Livorno into a family of five generations of teachers. He received an excellent education in classics and graduated from the University of Pisa in 1900. Provenzal continued in his family tradition by becoming a high school teacher, working in fourteen different cities across Italy during his
Bonagiunta Orbicciani, Poet, Lucca
By TuscanyVillages at October 29, 2011 | 7:41 am | 0 Comment
Bonagiunta Orbicciani (1230 – 1300) Poet Lucca [caption id="attachment_2152" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Bonagiunta Orbicciani was born here in Lucca"][/caption] The 13th century poet Bonagiunta Orbicciani was born in Lucca, and is known today for his forty surviving compositions, including sonnets, canzones and ballads. Orbicciani’s poems were
Dario Niccodemi, Playwright, Livorno
By TuscanyVillages at October 29, 2011 | 7:40 am | 0 Comment
Dario Niccodemi (1874 – 1934) Playwright Livorno Born in Livorno, Dario Niccodemi spent his childhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina where his parents had emigrated. After meeting the actress Gabrielle Réjane, he moved to Paris where he wrote Il rifugio (1909), L'aigrette (1912) and I Pescicani (1913). He returned to Italy in 1915 and had a great success with his
Francesco Domenico Guerrazzi, Writer & Politician
By TuscanyVillages at October 29, 2011 | 7:40 am | 0 Comment
Francesco Domenico Guerrazzi (1804 – 1873) Writer and Politician Livorno Francesco Domenico Guerrazzi was an Italian writer and patriot active in the Italian Risorgimento in the 19th century. Born in Livorno, he studied law in Pisa before turning his attention to politics and literature. His republican and nationalist activities repeatedly led to imprisonment or
Giovanni Boccaccio, Poet & Scholar, Florence
By TuscanyVillages at October 29, 2011 | 7:39 am | 0 Comment
Giovanni Boccaccio (1313 – 1375) Poet and Scholar Florence The great Italian poet and scholar of the middle ages, Giovanni Boccaccio, grew up in Florence. He spent his early years working with his father in the banking business, and eventually studied law, despite the fact that neither of these fields appealed to him as much as his literary interests. Today he
Guittone d’Arezzo, Poet, Arezzo
By TuscanyVillages at October 29, 2011 | 7:38 am | 0 Comment
Guittone d'Arezzo (c. 1230 – 1294) Poet Arezzo Founder of the Tuscan school of courtly poetry, Guittone d’Arezzo was born near the city of Arezzo. After 1256 he was an exile from Arezzo due to political conflict and his sympathies with the Guelf party. He travelled throughout Tuscany and saw how the different types of poetry common in the middle ages, including
Pietro Aretino, Poet, Arezzo
By TuscanyVillages at October 29, 2011 | 7:36 am | 0 Comment
Pietro Aretino (1492 – 1556) Poet Arezzo [caption id="attachment_2158" align="alignleft" width="245" caption="Self Portrait of Pietro Aretino painted by Titian"][/caption] Italy’s fiery writer and poet of the Renaissance, Pietro Aretino, was born the son of a shoemaker in Arezzo. Deciding this was not a grand enough origin, he adopted the name Aretino and
Dante Alighieri, Poet & Scholar, Florence
By TuscanyVillages at October 29, 2011 | 7:34 am | 0 Comment
Dante Alighieri (1265 – 1321) Poet and Scholar Florence Tuscany was home to Italy’s three great writers from the Middle Ages: Dante Alighieri, Petrarch and Boccaccio. Italy’s famed writer, Dante Alighieri was born in Florence in 1265. His epic poem La commedia, later named La Divina Commedia (The Divine Comedy), is one of the masterpieces of world literature.
Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch)
By TuscanyVillages at May 25, 2010 | 9:02 pm | 0 Comment
1304 – 1374 Poet Arezzo Francesco Petrarca, known as Petrarch in English, was one of Italy’s great scholars, poets, and writers of the middle ages. Petrarch was born in Arezzo, but his family moved to Avignon in the south of France when he was young. His father, a lawyer, insisted Petrarch study law, even though his interests were in Latin and literature.
Carlo Collodi
By TuscanyVillages at April 25, 2010 | 10:37 am | 0 Comment
1826-1890 Writer & Journalist Florence Italian author and journalist Carlo Lorenzini is better known today by his pen name Carlo Collodi, taken from his mother’s native village. Born in Florence, Carlo grew up in Collodi, a small village between Pistoia and Lucca, where both of his parents worked. He started his writing career as a journalist in support
