Masuccio Salernitano (1410–1475), born Tommaso Guardati, was an Italian poet. Born in Salerno or

Sorrento Sorrento (, ; nap, Surriento ; la, Surrentum) is a town overlooking the Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. A popular tourist destination, Sorrento is located on the Sorrentine Peninsula at the south-eastern terminus of the Circumvesuviana ra ...

, he is best known today for ''Il Novellino'', a collection of 50 "novelle" or short stories, each prefaced by a letter of dedication to a famous person and with an epilogue containing the "moral" of the story. The stories have a strongly anti-clerical bent, which caused ''Il Novellino'' to be included in the first ''

Index of Prohibited Books The ''Index Librorum Prohibitorum'' ("List of Prohibited Books") was a list of publications deemed heretical or contrary to morality by the Sacred Congregation of the Index (a former Dicastery of the Roman Curia), and Catholics were forbidde ...

'' in 1557. The 33rd of these stories is the story of ''Mariotto and Ganozza'', which was apparently adapted by Luigi da Porto (1485–1529) first as ''Giulietta e Romeo'' and later as ''Historia novellamente ritrovata di due nobili amanti'' ("Newly retrieved story of two noble lovers"). These three stories, plus another later version by

Matteo Bandello Matteo Bandello ( 1480 – 1562) was an Italian writer, soldier, monk, and, later, a Bishop mostly known for his novellas. His collection of 214 novellas made him the most popular short-story writer of his day. Biography Matteo Bandello wa ...

and the English translation by Arthur Brooke in the poem ''Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet'' (1562) appear to be the sources for Shakespeare's famous play '' Romeo and Juliet''.

References

"Shakespeare in Love"—The Italian Connection
by Nicholas A. Patricca

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Salernitano, Masuccio 1410 births 1475 deaths People from Salerno 15th-century Italian poets 15th-century Italian writers Italian male poets Italian novelists Romeo and Juliet