Francesco Berni facts for kids
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Francesco Berni (born around 1497 or 1498 – died 1535) was a famous Italian poet. He is known for starting a special kind of poetry called "Bernesque poetry". This style of poetry was funny and serious at the same time, often making fun of things in a clever way.
Contents
About Francesco Berni
His Early Life
Francesco Berni was born in a town called Lamporecchio in Tuscany, Italy. This was either in 1497 or 1498. His father, Nicolò, was a doctor from a well-known family in Florence. However, his family was quite poor.
When Francesco was young, he moved to Florence. He stayed there until he was about 19 years old. During this time, he wrote a play about country life called Catrina.
His Time in Rome
In 1517, Francesco moved to Rome. He started working for Bernardo Dovizi, who was a very important church leader called a Cardinal. When the Cardinal died in 1520, Francesco had to find his own way.
Around the time a new Pope, Pope Adrian VI, was chosen, Francesco wrote some very clever and funny poems that made fun of people. Because of these poems, he had to leave Rome for a short time. Later, he came back and got a job as a secretary for Gian Matteo Giberti. Gian Matteo worked closely with Pope Clement VII.
Francesco found his job very boring and difficult. However, he became very popular in Rome. He was known as the most clever and creative person in a group of writers. This group enjoyed writing light and witty poems. People admired Berni's poems so much that funny or burlesque poems became known as poesie bernesche, named after him.
Later Life and Death
Around 1530, Francesco Berni got a better job. He became a priest (called a canon) in the main church in Florence. He died in Florence in 1535. There's a story that he was poisoned by Duke Alessandro de Medici. The story says Berni refused to poison the Duke's cousin, Ippolito de' Medici. But this story is not fully clear or proven.
What Kind of Poems Did He Write?
Francesco Berni is considered one of the best Italian poets who wrote funny or burlesque poems. His poems are known for being light, very witty, and easy to read.
His Famous Rewriting Project
Berni's biggest fame might come from his rewriting of another poet's work. This was Matteo Maria Boiardo's long poem called Orlando innamorato.
Another very popular poem, Orlando furioso by Ludovico Ariosto, had made people interested in Boiardo's older poem. Ariosto's poem actually continued the story and characters from Boiardo's work. However, Boiardo's original poem was hard to read because of its rough style.
Berni decided to rewrite the whole poem. He promised not to change the story or feelings, but simply to make every line and stanza (a group of lines in a poem) more graceful and polished. He did this incredibly well! Almost every line was changed. Most people agree that Berni's rewritten version is much better than the original.
At the beginning of each part (called a canto) of the poem, Berni added some thoughtful verses. In one of these introductions, he shared the only clear information we have about his own life. Berni seemed to like some of the new ideas from the Protestant Reformation that were spreading in Italy at the time. This might explain why he made some critical comments about the church in his writings.
The first version of Berni's rewritten poem was printed after he died, in 1541. Some people think that a few parts might not have been finished by him or were changed by someone else.
Berni's rewritten Orlando was so popular that Boiardo's original poem was forgotten for 300 years. It was only in the 1800s that Anthony Panizzi found the real Orlando Innamorato in the British Museum Library and published it. A part of Berni's Orlando was translated into English by William Stewart Rose in 1823.
His Lasting Impact
Today, several streets in Italian cities are named after Francesco Berni. You can find via Francesco Berni in Florence, Empoli, Pietrasanta, Varese, and Verona.
See also
In Spanish: Francesco Berni para niños
