Petrarch

Italian scholar and poet (1304-1374) · Italy · Academics · Died at 69

Petrarch is read about 1,730 times a day, in 113 languages.

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He found a cache of ancient letters and set off a civilisation. Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero sparked the 14th-century Italian Renaissance and gave humanism its vocabulary - then his sonnets became the template Europe copied for centuries.

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A life in dates

1374Died19 July 13741373“Continued work and application form my soul's nourishment. So soon as I commenced to rest and relax I should cease to live. I know my own powers.”In their words28 April 1373Letter to Giovanni Boccaccio (28 April 1373) as quoted in Petrarch : The First Modern Scholar and Man of Letters (1898) edited by JamesRead the whole statement

1354“Rarely do great beauty and great virtue dwell together.”In their wordsDe remediis utriusque fortunae (1354), Book IIRead the whole statement

1336“To-day I made the ascent of the highest mountain in this region, which is not improperly called Ventosum.”In their words26 April 1336Letter to Dionigi di Borgo San Sepolcro (26 April 1336), "The Ascent of Mount Ventoux" in Familiar Letters as translated by James HarveyRead the whole statement

“I rejoiced in my progress, mourned my weaknesses, and commiserated the universal instability of human conduct.”In their words26 April 1336Letter to Dionigi di Borgo San Sepolcro (26 April 1336), as translated by James Harvey Robinson (1898)Read the whole statement

“My brother, waiting to hear something of St. Augustine's from my lips, stood attentively by.”In their words26 April 1336Letter to Dionigi di Borgo San Sepolcro (26 April 1336), as translated by James Harvey Robinson (1898)Read the whole statement

1304Born20 July 1304

Also in Deutsch

Photos 8

Altichiero, ritratto di Francesco Petrarca

"Il Petrarca con le osservationi di Messer Francesco Alunno". Venezia, Francesco Marcolini da Forlì, 1539

56. Francesco Petrarca oratore di Francesco da Carrara si confonde al cospetto del Veneto Senato, 2 Ottobre 1373

Antonio sinibaldi (cop.) e francesco di antonio del chierico (ill.), vite (e opere scelte) di petrarca e dante di leonardo bruni, firenze 1476 (bnf) 01

Antonio sinibaldi (cop.) e francesco di antonio del chierico (ill.), vite (e opere scelte) di petrarca e dante di leonardo bruni, firenze 1476 (bnf) 02

Antonio sinibaldi (cop.) e francesco di antonio del chierico (ill.), vite di petrarca e dante di l. bruni, firenze 1476 (bnf), coperta con smalti di antonio del pollaiolo 01

Antonio sinibaldi (cop.) e francesco di antonio del chierico (ill.), vite di petrarca e dante di l. bruni, firenze 1476 (bnf), coperta con smalti di antonio del pollaiolo 02

Arquà Petrarca Punto di vista di un'aquila

In their own words 10

Petrarch

10 statements, newest first

Continued work and application form my soul's nourishment. So soon as I commenced to rest and relax I should cease to live. I know my own powers.
Apr 28, 1373, Letter to Giovanni Boccaccio (28 April 1373) as quoted in Petrarch : The First Modern Scholar and Man of Letters (1898) edited by James, Own words
Rarely do great beauty and great virtue dwell together.
1354, De remediis utriusque fortunae (1354), Book II, Own words
To-day I made the ascent of the highest mountain in this region, which is not improperly called Ventosum.
Apr 26, 1336, Letter to Dionigi di Borgo San Sepolcro (26 April 1336), "The Ascent of Mount Ventoux" in Familiar Letters as translated by James Harvey, Own words

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Petrarch

Child Francesca

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About this person

Born Francesco di Petracco on 20 July 1304, Petrarch came up as an Italian scholar and poet at the edge of something new. His rediscovery of Cicero's letters is credited with igniting the 14th-century Italian Renaissance and founding Renaissance humanism. In the 16th century, Pietro Bembo used Petrarch's works - along with Boccaccio's and, to a lesser extent, Dante's - to build the model for modern Italian; the Accademia della Crusca later endorsed him as the standard for Italian style. His sonnets were admired and imitated across Europe during the Renaissance, becoming the model for lyrical poetry. He also developed the concept of the "Dark Ages". He died 19 July 1374.

Country

Italy

Academics from Italy 6

Alessandro Orsini69.6

Parmenides69.2

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