born March 7, 1785, Milan, Italy
died May 22, 1873, Milan
Italian novelist and poet.
After spending much of his childhood in religious schools, Manzoni wrote a series of religious poems, Sacred Hymns (1815), and later two historical tragedies influenced by William Shakespeare , Il conte di Carmagnola (1820) and Adelchi (performed 1822). He is best known for the novel The Betrothed , 3 vol. (1827), a masterpiece of world literature and the most famous Italian novel of its century, in which, prompted by a patriotic urge to forge a language accessible to a wide readership, he employed a clear, expressive prose that became a model for many subsequent Italian writers. Manzoni's advocacy of a united Italy made him a hero of the Risorgimento ; his death prompted Giuseppe Verdi 's great Requiem .
Alessandro Manzoni, oil painting by Francesco Hayez; in the Brera Gallery, Milan.
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