Alessandro Verri
Encyclopedia
Alessandro Verri was an Italian
author.
Born in Milan
into an aristocratic family, as a young he participated in the Accademia dei Pugni, founded together his brother Pietro Verri
and their friends Cesare Beccaria, Alfonso Longo, Pietro Secchi, Giambattista Biffi and Luigi Lambertenghi. Later he collaborated to the magazine Il Caffè. In this period he wrote the Saggio sulla Storia d'Italia ("Essay on Italian History", 1761-1766).
Subsequently Verri moved to Rome where his main attention moved to theatre. He was one of the first Italian translators of Shakespeare. He wrote two tragedies: Pantea and La congiura di Milano ("The Conjure of Milan"), both published in 1779.
In 1782 he wrote the novel Le avventure di Saffo poetessa di Mitilene ("The adventures of Sappho, poet of Mitilene"), but his most famous work is the Notti romane al sepolcro degli Scipioni ("Roman Nights at the Scipiones' Sepulchre"), published in two parts in 1792 and 1804, in which the ghosts of illustrious men of the past (Cicero
, Caesar
and others) evoke the ancient Roman civilizations, stressing its violent background in contrast with the peaceful Christian civilization. A third part remained unpublished until 1967.
His other works include a translation of Daphne and Chloe (1812), the novel La vita di Erostrato ("Life of Herostratus
", 1815) and Vicende memorabili de' suoi tempi dal 1789 al 1801 ("Memorable happenings of His Times from 1789 to 1801", 1858). Also notable is his correspondence with his brother Pietro.
Verri died in Rome in 1816.
The younger brother of Alessandro Verri and Pietro Verri, Giovanni Verri, is supposed to be the natural father of the noted Italian novelist and poet Alessandro Manzoni
. Their other brother, Carlo
, was also a politician.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
author.
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
into an aristocratic family, as a young he participated in the Accademia dei Pugni, founded together his brother Pietro Verri
Pietro Verri
Pietro Verri was an Italian philosopher, economist, historian and writer.-Biography:Born in Milan, then under Austrian rule, to a conservative noble family, he received a strongly religious education, from which he began to rebel when he reached his twenties...
and their friends Cesare Beccaria, Alfonso Longo, Pietro Secchi, Giambattista Biffi and Luigi Lambertenghi. Later he collaborated to the magazine Il Caffè. In this period he wrote the Saggio sulla Storia d'Italia ("Essay on Italian History", 1761-1766).
Subsequently Verri moved to Rome where his main attention moved to theatre. He was one of the first Italian translators of Shakespeare. He wrote two tragedies: Pantea and La congiura di Milano ("The Conjure of Milan"), both published in 1779.
In 1782 he wrote the novel Le avventure di Saffo poetessa di Mitilene ("The adventures of Sappho, poet of Mitilene"), but his most famous work is the Notti romane al sepolcro degli Scipioni ("Roman Nights at the Scipiones' Sepulchre"), published in two parts in 1792 and 1804, in which the ghosts of illustrious men of the past (Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
, Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
and others) evoke the ancient Roman civilizations, stressing its violent background in contrast with the peaceful Christian civilization. A third part remained unpublished until 1967.
His other works include a translation of Daphne and Chloe (1812), the novel La vita di Erostrato ("Life of Herostratus
Herostratus
Herostratus was a young man and arsonist; seeking notoriety, he burned down the Temple of Artemis in ancient Greece.-Occurrence:On July 21, 356 BC, Herostratus set fire to the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus in what is now Turkey...
", 1815) and Vicende memorabili de' suoi tempi dal 1789 al 1801 ("Memorable happenings of His Times from 1789 to 1801", 1858). Also notable is his correspondence with his brother Pietro.
Verri died in Rome in 1816.
The younger brother of Alessandro Verri and Pietro Verri, Giovanni Verri, is supposed to be the natural father of the noted Italian novelist and poet Alessandro Manzoni
Alessandro Manzoni
Alessandro Francesco Tommaso Manzoni was an Italian poet and novelist.He is famous for the novel The Betrothed , generally ranked among the masterpieces of world literature...
. Their other brother, Carlo
Carlo Verri
Carlo Verri was an Italian politician.Born in Milan, he was the brother of literates Alessandro and Pietro Verri. During the Napoleonic suzerainty in Italy, he was deputy and prefect in the Italian Republic and the Kingdom of Italy. In the town of Biassono there is now a museum dedicated to him...
, was also a politician.