Sperone Speroni degli Alvarotti (1500–1588) was an Italian
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
humanist
Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry.
The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...
, scholar and dramatist. He was one of the central members of
Padua
Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...
's literary academy ''
Accademia degli Infiammati The Accademia degli Infiammati ("Academy of the Burning Ones") was a short-lived but influential Philosophy, philosophical and literature, literary academy in Padua, in northern Italy. It was founded in 1540 by Leone Orsini, and was dissolved somewh ...
'' and wrote on both moral and literary matters.
Biography
Born April 12, 1500 in
Padua
Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...
, Sperone was the second child of
Bernardino Speroni degli Alvarotti and
Lucia Contarini.
In 1518 he obtained the ''artibus'' degree from the
University of Padua
The University of Padua (, UNIPD) is an Italian public research university in Padua, Italy. It was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from the University of Bologna, who previously settled in Vicenza; thus, it is the second-oldest ...
and joined the Guild (''Sacro Collegio'') of artists and physicians. He lectured on
philosophy
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
at Padua, under the Chair of
Logic
Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...
. He interrupted his teachings to study at
Bologna
Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
under
Pietro Pomponazzi
Pietro Pomponazzi (16 September 1462 – 18 May 1525) was an Italian philosopher. He is sometimes known by his Latin name, ''Petrus Pomponatius''.
Biography
Pietro Pomponazzi was born in Mantua and began his education there. He completed h ...
but, after Pietro's death, returned to Padua where he obtained an Extraordinary Chair of Philosophy, a post he held for another three years.
His literary career began with the publication of the ''Dialoghi'' ("Dialogues") at
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
(1542). Very famous and influential was his polemic with
Giovan Battista Giraldi about the principles of theatre, involving Giraldi's tragedy ''
Orbecche
''Orbecche'' is a tragedy written by Giovanni Battista Giraldi in 1541. It was the first modern tragedy written on classical principles, and along with Sperone Speroni's '' Canace'', was responsible for a sixteenth-century theoretical debate o ...
'' as well as Speroni's tragedy ''
Canace
In Greek mythology, Canace (; ) was a Thessalian princess, the daughter of King Aeolus of Aeolia and Enarete, daughter of Deimachus. She was sometimes referred to as Aeolis.
Family
Canace was the sister of Athamas, Cretheus, Deioneus, Magn ...
''. Between 1560 and 1564 he lived in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, where he became a close friend of
Annibal Caro
Fra' Annibale Caro, K.M., (6 June 150717 November 1566) was an Italian writer and poet.
Biography
Born in Civitanova Marche, then in the March of Ancona, Caro became tutor to the wealthy family of Lodovico Gaddi in Florence, and then secreta ...
and frequented the meetings of the ''Accademia delle Notti Vaticane''. He then returned to Padua, where he continued his literary production. When
Ugo Boncompagni
Pope Gregory XIII (, , born Ugo Boncompagni; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake ...
was made
Pope
The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...
Gregory XIII in 1572, Speroni returned to Rome. In 1578, he went back to
Padua
Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...
where he died on June 2, 1588.
A member descending of the same family,
Arnaldo Speroni degli Alvarotti (1727-1801) would become bishop of Rovigo.
Works
Speroni's works include:
*''Dialogo della retorica'' (1542), on
rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...
;
*''Dialogo delle dignità delle donne'' (1542), on the status of women;
*''Dialogo d'amore'' (written in 1537 and published in 1542), on the nature of love.
*''Dialogo delle lingue'' (1542), a defense of
vernacular
Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken language, spoken form of language, particularly when perceptual dialectology, perceived as having lower social status or less Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige than standard language, which is mor ...
languages instead of
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
.
*''
Canace
In Greek mythology, Canace (; ) was a Thessalian princess, the daughter of King Aeolus of Aeolia and Enarete, daughter of Deimachus. She was sometimes referred to as Aeolis.
Family
Canace was the sister of Athamas, Cretheus, Deioneus, Magn ...
'' (1546), a verse
tragedy
A tragedy is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a tragic hero, main character or cast of characters. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy is to invoke an accompanying catharsi ...
; followed by an ''
Apologia
An apologia (Latin for ''apology'', from , ) is a formal defense of an opinion, position or action. The term's current use, often in the context of religion, theology and philosophy, derives from Justin Martyr's '' First Apology'' (AD 155–157) ...
'' (1550).
*''Discorso su Dante'' (1560), on the poet
Dante
Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...
.
*''Discorso su l'Eneide'' (1560), on
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...
's
Aeneid
The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...
.
*''Discorso sul Orlando Furioso'' (1560), on
Ariosto
Ludovico Ariosto (, ; ; 8 September 1474 – 6 July 1533) was an Italian poet. He is best known as the author of the romance epic '' Orlando Furioso'' (1516). The poem, a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's ''Orlando Innamorato'', describ ...
's poem
Orlando Furioso
''Orlando furioso'' (; ''The Frenzy of Orlando'') is an Italian epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto which has exerted a wide influence on later culture. The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was not published in its complete form ...
.
*''Dialogo della istoria'' (1560), on
history
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
.
Influence
His play ''Canace'', based on a
Greek legend of incestuous love, was only performed once; but was widely diffused, and (together with
Giraldi's play ''Orbecche'') led to literary debates on tragedy and theatrical morals through to the next century.
Speroni's ''Dialogo delle lingue'' (1542) greatly influenced
French Renaissance
The French Renaissance was the cultural and artistic movement in France between the 15th and early 17th centuries. The period is associated with the pan-European Renaissance, a word first used by the French historian Jules Michelet to define ...
thinking about the French language; it formed the basis of
Joachim Du Bellay
Joachim du Bellay (; – 1 January 1560) was a French poet, critic, and a founder of '' La Pléiade''. He notably wrote the manifesto of the group: '' Défense et illustration de la langue française'', which aimed at promoting French as a ...
's ''Deffense et illustration de la langue française'' (1549) and inspired in part the literary studies of
Claude Fauchet.
Speroni was a friend and supporter of
Venetian-language playwright
Angelo Beolco (el Ruzante). His ''Dialogo delle lingue'' was an important source for
Joachim du Bellay
Joachim du Bellay (; – 1 January 1560) was a French poet, critic, and a founder of '' La Pléiade''. He notably wrote the manifesto of the group: '' Défense et illustration de la langue française'', which aimed at promoting French as a ...
's ''Défense et illustration de la langue française''.
References
Sources
*
External links
*
Essay on the ''Dialogo delle lingue''by
Franco Pignatti (in Italian).
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Speroni, Sperone
1500 births
1588 deaths
Italian Renaissance humanists
Italian dramatists and playwrights