Antonio Veneziano (1543 - 19 August 1593) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

poet who wrote mainly in the

Sicilian language Sicilian ( scn, sicilianu, link=no, ; it, siciliano) is a Romance language that is spoken on the island of Sicily and its satellite islands. A variant, ''Calabro-Sicilian'', is spoken in southern Calabria, where it is called Southern Calabr ...

.Antonio Veneziano (Italian)
archivioflaviobeninati.com He is considered among the greatest poets who wrote in Sicilian, which include Giovanni Meli, Domenico Tempio and

Nino Martoglio Nino Martoglio (Belpasso, Paternò, 3 December 1870 — Catania, 15 September 1921) was an Italian writer, publisher, journalist and producer of theatrical works. He wrote mostly in Sicilian and likewise, his theatrical works were mostly in Sicil ...

. He is perhaps the first major figure in Sicilian literature following the

Sicilian School The Sicilian School was a small community of Sicilian and mainland Italian poets gathered around Frederick II, most of them belonging to his imperial court. Headed by Giacomo da Lentini, they produced more than 300 poems of courtly love betwe ...

which predates him by three centuries. During his lifetime, he was well known for his poetry both within Sicily and far beyond. He also wrote in

and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

. Veneziano was born in

Monreale Monreale (; ; Sicilian: ''Murriali'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, in Sicily, southern Italy. It is located on the slope of Monte Caputo, overlooking the very fertile valley called ''"La Conca d'oro"'' (the Gold ...

, a contemporary of the great Spanish writer

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. He is best kno ...

(Sicily was under

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

rule at this time). As it happens, both shared a cell after being captured by

Barbary pirates The Barbary pirates, or Barbary corsairs or Ottoman corsairs, were Muslim pirates and privateers who operated from North Africa, based primarily in the ports of Salé, Rabat, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli. This area was known in Europe ...

around 1575. He wrote his greatest work, ''Celia'' during his period of imprisonment in

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

(he was released in 1579). Cervantes is reported as having said that Veneziano had earned a passage to Paradise through this collection of poems (''Celia'' means a jest or joke in both Sicilian and

). He wrote other works of poetry, also delving in satire and bawdy rhymes. He died in

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for its ...

. When once asked why he chose to write in Sicilian rather than a recognised literary language such as Italian or

, he replied to the effect that if a man is to seduce a woman, he must do so in her mother tongue. It is unclear whether a pun was intended. The whole of his works were assembled in 1967 in a publication entitled: ''Ottave'', edited by A. Rigoli.

Examples of his poetry

Some extracts from his collection, ''Celia'', appear below (circa 1575 - 1580). While the subject matter of the first poem, love, is typical enough of early Sicilian poetry, the second is a bit more atypical, possessing a whimsical quality.

No. vii

No. viii

References

* ''Arba Sicula'' Volume II, 1980 (bilingual: Sicilian and English) - source of the examples of poetry and English translation. 1543 births 1593 deaths People from Monreale Sicilian-language poets Italian male poets Writers from the Province of Palermo {{Italy-poet-stub