DELLA VALLE, FEDERICO

born c. 1560, , Asti, Piedmont died 1628, Milan Italian dramatist and poet, recognized in the 20th century as a major literary figure. Little is known of his life at the Savoy court in Turin and in Milan, where in 1628 three of his tragedies were published. The intensely lyrical La reina di Scozia (written in 1591; The Queen of Scotland) centres on Mary Stuart's last hours, when, despite her longing to see again her native Scotland, she resigns herself to martyrdom. Against similar backgrounds of corrupt and ferocious courts, the biblical heroines of his other two tragedies, Judit (Judith) and Ester (Esther), also fight uncompromisingly for their faith in a world where the only redemption is offered by God in heaven. Della Valle's tragic outlook also underlies his tragicomedy Adelonda di Frigia (1595; Adelonda of Phrygia), in which the heroine's ideals are contrasted with a barbarous reality.