Luigi Tansillo

Luigi Tansillo (* 1510 in Venosa, Province of Potenza, † December 1, 1568 in Teano ) was an Italian poet.

Life

Tansillo grew up in Venosa and pursued a military career in the service of the Spanish viceroy of Naples. He took part in the war against the Turks and later became governor of Gaeta.

Work

The author of numerous love sonnets is one of the most important Italian poets of the 16th century. His works include Il vendemmiatore ( 1532), a pastoral poetry, which was famous for occasional profanity, Clorinda ( 1547), which is characterized by its relationship to nature, and Lagrime di San Pietro, a religious poetry, (1585 posthumous). In his 24 Capitoli he treats with humor both our own experiences, as well as social issues. Tansillo was a younger friend of the Spanish poet Garcilaso de la Vega and Boscan. He also influenced poets outside Italy.

He wrote of nature and feeling poems in the style of Petrarchism with early Baroque influences and an unfinished Baroque epic.