Fra' Annibale Caro, K.M., (6 June 150717 November 1566) was an

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

writer and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

Biography

Born in

Civitanova Marche Civitanova Marche () is a (municipality) in the Province of Macerata in the Italian region Marche, located about southeast of Ancona and about east of Macerata. Geography Civitanova Marche borders the municipalities: Montecosaro, Porto San ...

, then in the

March of Ancona The March of Ancona ( or ''Anconetana'') was a frontier march centred on the city of Ancona and later Fermo then Macerata in the Middle Ages. Its name is preserved as an Italian region today, the Marche, and it corresponds to almost the entir ...

, Caro became tutor to the wealthy family of Lodovico Gaddi in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, and then secretary to Lodovico's brother

Giovanni Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...

. At Gaddi's death, he entered the service of the

Farnese family The House of Farnese (, also , ) was an influential family in Renaissance Italy. The titles of Duke of Parma and Piacenza, Duke of Latera and Duke of Castro were held by various members of the family. Its most important members included Po ...

, and became confidential secretary to

Pier Luigi Farnese, Duke of Parma Pier Luigi Farnese (19 November 1503 – 10 September 1547) was the first Duke of Castro from 1537 to 1545 and the first Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1545 to 1547. He was the illegitimate son of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (who later became ...

, and to his sons, Duke

Ottavio Ottavio is the Italian form of Octavius. Its feminine given name version is Ottavia. Ottavio may refer to: Given name * Ottavio Cinquanta, the President of the International Skating Union * Ottavio Leoni, Italian painter * Ottavio Piccolomini, (15 ...

and Cardinals Ranuccio and

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

. Caro's most important work were his translations (see below). He is also the author of poems,

sonnet A sonnet is a fixed poetic form with a structure traditionally consisting of fourteen lines adhering to a set Rhyme scheme, rhyming scheme. The term derives from the Italian word ''sonetto'' (, from the Latin word ''sonus'', ). Originating in ...

s, and a

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

called ''Gli Straccioni''. His work additionally includes two clever ''jeux d'esprit'': ''La Ficheide'', in praise of figs, and a

eulogy A eulogy (from , ''eulogia'', Classical Greek, ''eu'' for "well" or "true", ''logia'' for "words" or "text", together for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person, especially one who recently died or retired, or as a term o ...

of the big nose of Leoni Ancona, a local figure. His poetry is noted for the freedom and grace of its versification, so that many claim that he brought '' verso sciolto'' to its highest form in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Letters he wrote, both in his own name and on behalf of the Cardinals Farnese, are considered remarkable for both the baseness they display and for their

euphemistic A euphemism ( ) is when an expression that could offend or imply something unpleasant is replaced with one that is agreeable or inoffensive. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the u ...

polish and elegance. Caro's fame was diminished because of the virulence with which he attacked

Lodovico Castelvetro Lodovico Castelvetro (23 March 1556) was an important figure in the development of neo-classicism, especially in drama. It was his reading of Aristotle that led to a widespread adoption of a tight version of the Three Unities, as a dramatic stan ...

in one of his ''canzoni'', and by his meanness for denouncing him to the Church for translating some of the writings of

Philipp Melanchthon Philip Melanchthon (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, an intellectual leader of the ...

, an associate of

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

. In 1555 Caro was installed as a "knight of grace" (a member not taking

religious vows Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices, and views. In the Buddhist tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions, many different kinds of r ...

) of the

Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic Church, Cathol ...

by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese. Caro died in

Frascati Frascati () is a city and in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is located south-east of Rome, on the Alban Hills close to the ancient city of Tusculum. Frascati is closely associated with science, ...

in 1566 and was buried in the Church of

San Lorenzo in Damaso The Minor Basilica of St. Lawrence in Damaso (Basilica Minore di San Lorenzo in Damaso) or simply San Lorenzo in Damaso is a parish and titular church in central Rome, Italy that is dedicated to St. Lawrence, deacon and martyr. It is incorporate ...

in Rome. His prose includes translations of

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

Cyprian Cyprian (; ; to 14 September 258 AD''The Liturgy of the Hours according to the Roman Rite: Vol. IV.'' New York: Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1975. p. 1406.) was a bishop of Carthage and an early Christian writer of Berbers, Berber descent, ...

, and Gregory Nazianzen.

The translations

Annibal Caro published a translation of the ''

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 ...

'' of

Vergil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: the ''Eclogues'' ...

, which was much admired by contemporaries, and still is read with pleasure by the lovers of the

Italian language Italian (, , or , ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family. It evolved from the colloquial Latin of the Roman Empire. Italian is the least divergent language from Latin, together with Sardinian language, Sardinian. It is ...

. Another translation, which remained the standard one for several centuries, is that of ''

Daphnis and Chloe ''Daphnis and Chloe'' (, ''Daphnis kai Chloē'') is a Greek pastoral novel written during the Roman Empire, the only known work of second-century Hellenistic romance writer Longus. Setting and style It is set on the Greek isle of Lesbos, whe ...

'', the ancient Greek novel by

Longus Longus, sometimes Longos (), was the author of an ancient Greek novel or romance, '' Daphnis and Chloe''. Nothing is known of his life; it is assumed that he lived on the isle of Lesbos (setting for ''Daphnis and Chloe'') during the 2nd centu ...

References

Sources

Bibliography

* Stefano Jossa, ‘Nature vs. Grammar: Annibal Caro’s Apologia as a Manifesto for Orality’, in Luca Degl'Innocenti; Brian Richardson; Chiara Sbordoni (eds), ''Interactions between Orality and Writing in Early Modern Italian Culture'' (London: Routledge, 2016), pp. 173–86. {{DEFAULTSORT:Caro, Annibale 1507 births 1566 deaths People from Civitanova Marche 16th-century Italian translators 16th-century Italian male writers Latin–Italian translators 16th-century Italian poets Italian male poets Knights of Malta Burials at San Lorenzo in Damaso