Bernardo Tasso facts for kids
Bernardo Tasso (born November 11, 1493 – died September 5, 1569) was an Italian courtier and poet. He was born in the Republic of Venice. He is also known as the father of the famous poet Torquato Tasso.
Biography
Bernardo Tasso worked for many years as a secretary for the Prince of Salerno. His wife, Porzia de Rossi, came from important families in Naples. Their son, Torquato Tasso, who became a great poet, was born in Sorrento in 1544.
When Torquato was a child, the Prince of Salerno had problems with the Spanish government in Naples. The prince was declared an outlaw and lost his lands. Bernardo Tasso also faced trouble because he worked for the prince. He and his son were declared rebels.
Bernardo's sister, Bordelisia Tasso, became a nun in a monastery in Bergamo.
Bernardo moved to Rome, and his son Torquato joined him there around 1552. In 1556, Bernardo learned that his wife Porzia had died. Sadly, Porzia's property did not go to her son, Torquato. Her daughter, Cornelia, married someone not as high-ranking as her family, influenced by her mother's relatives.
After this, Bernardo worked for different noblemen. One of them was Duke Guidobaldo II, who helped educate Torquato. Later, when Bernardo worked for Duke Guglielmo Gonzaga of Mantua, he was made governor of Ostiglia.
In 1557, Bernardo Tasso was happy to accept a job at the court of Urbino. There, he would read parts of his long poem, Amadigi, to the duchess and her ladies. He also discussed famous writers like Homer and Virgil with the duke's librarians. He even traveled to Venice to oversee the printing of his poem.
Bernardo Tasso passed away in Ostiglia, which was part of the Duchy of Mantua at that time.
Work
Bernardo Tasso wrote many different kinds of poems. He wrote psalms, eclogues (poems about country life), sonnets, and odes. His odes were the first Italian poems written in the style of the Roman poet Horace. His lyric poems were published in Venice in 1555 under the title Amori.
His most important work is L'Amadigi. This is a long epic poem with 100 parts, called cantos. It was inspired by a Spanish story about a knight called Amadis de Gaula. Bernardo Tasso did not finish L'Amadigi himself. His son, Torquato, completed it later. The full poem was published in 1587 with the title Floridante.
See also
In Spanish: Bernardo Tasso para niños
