Life and creativity of Francesco Petrarca

Francesco Petrarca was born on July 20, 1304, in Arezzo, a small town in Tuscany, where his father seeks asylum after being expelled from Florence as a white gull. Petrarca 's father was expelled from his native city of Florence "as a member of the so-called White Guilds party, together with Dante, with whom he was a personal friend, and with 600 other prominent citizens on 27 January 1302. In fact, Francesco Petrarca 's father was born with the name Pietro di Parenzo, but later as a notary, he was nicknamed Petrarca (a modification of his first name, which he later perceives as a surname). The mother is poet is Eleuthe Kanidjiani. Seven months after birth she and her newborn settled in the town of Inchiza, located not far from Florence, where she lived in her father's house. There was born in 1307 the brother of the poet Gerardo.

image source

In the summer of 1311 the family of Petrarca settled in Pisa, where he lived for nearly a year. The following year (1312), he moved to the south-west town of Avignon, where, from 1305, the Papal Court was established in which the father, benefiting from the patronage of a Cardinal, friend of the White Guilds, succeeded in gaining a prestigious position. As the city of popes appears to be overcrowded Petrako is forced to settle with his family in the suburb of Carpentra, where the family resides during the period 1312 - 1316. In Avignon, Francesco began studying grammar, rhetoric and dialectics diligently under the direction of Covenabole to Prato, a faithful friend of his father who was also an exile from Florence. In 1316 the teenage student arrives at the University of Montpellier, where, without much desire, he has four years right. In 1320, after losing his mother (1319), he succumbed to his father's will and along with his younger brother, Gerardo, and a friend moved to the University of Bologna where he continued his legal training. In 1326, after the death of their father, Francesco and Gerardo left Bologna. In a difficult economic situation, the two brothers decided to enter the Minority / Small Brothers Monk Order. Before devoting themselves entirely to monastic life, they returned to Avignon to live a little longer as free worlds. There, in the Church of Saint Clair, on April 6, 1327, Francesco will see among the praying community the one who will inspire his fiery love affairs and which he will adore and praise under the name of Laura. At the same time Francesco Petrarca began writing his first poems.

Immediately after returning to "Avignon", Petrarca leaves her jurisprudence and devotes herself to the zealous study of classical culture. The urge to turn to the ancient authors began with him during his studies in Bologna, where he met some well-known intellectuals and poets who wrote not in Latin, but in the overwhelming Tuscan language. As a student, Francesco reads Vergilius, Ciceron, Horatius, Ovidius, Titus Livius, Seneca, and Quintinian with unceasing interest. Later, he says, "I am passionate about my passion: my thirst to read the books of the ancient is inexhaustible." Thus, over time, literature fills almost all of Petrarca 's life. In his first works, Francesco imitates his favorite antique writers, Vergilius and Cicero, but soon, thanks to his extraordinary diligence, he creates his own lyrical expression and style, which will provide him immense glory among the next generation of Renaissance poets in Italy and Europe. In 1330, Francesco Petrarca acquired a clergyman who earned him sufficient income to lead a decent life. He became a family priest of the wealthy family of Cardinal Giovanni , ​​whom he served loyally until 1337, and then, until 1347, as an incoming confessor. In the thirties of the 14th century, Petrarca made trips to meet all the invitations. He travels a lot, conducts responsible diplomatic missions of important personalities, wanders wide to satisfy his personal aspirations to get to know more people and countries.