Antonio Francesco Grazzini or Antonfrancesco Grazzini (March 22, 1503February 18, 1584) was an

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( ) was a period in History of Italy, Italian history between the 14th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Western Europe and marked t ...

author."

Biography

He was born 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 ...

or in Staggia Senese (he wrote of himself: ') of a good family, but there is no record of his upbringing and education. He probably began to practise as an

apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is an Early Modern English, archaic English term for a medicine, medical professional who formulates and dispenses ''materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons and patients. The modern terms ''pharmacist'' and, in Brit ...

as a youth; and owned the then famous Farmacia del Moro near the Cathedral. In 1540 he was among the founders of the Accademia degli Umidi, which was soon renamed Accademia Fiorentina. He later took a leading role in the establishment of the more famous

Accademia della Crusca The (; ), generally abbreviated as La Crusca, is a Florence-based society of scholars of Italian linguistics and philology. It is one of the most important research institutions of the Italian language, as well as the oldest Academy#Linguisti ...

, which published his ''Vocabulario'' of words accepted as the purest Italian. To both societies he was known as Il Lasca or Leuciscus, a

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

which is still frequently substituted for his name. Grazzini was temperamental, his life consequently enlivened or disturbed by various literary quarrels. His Umidi brethren expelled him for a time, because of his ruthless criticism of the Arameans, a party of academicians led by Giambattista Gelli who maintained that the Florentine language was derived from

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Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

, or some other branch of the Semitic. He was readmitted in 1566, when his friend Salviati was consul. II Lasca ranks as one of the great masters of Tuscan prose. His style is flexible and abundantly idiomatic, but without affectation. It has the force and freshness of popular speech, whilst retaining a flavour of academic culture.

Main works

*''Le Cene'' (1549), a collection of stories in the manner of

Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio ( , ; ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was s ...

, and a number of prose comedies. One of the stories is ''The Story of Doctor Manente'', translated and with an introduction by D.H. Lawrence (G. Orioli, 1929).See .

Sem Benelli Sem Benelli (August 10, 1877 – December 18, 1949) was an Italian playwright, essayist and librettist. He provided the texts for several noted Italian operas, including Italo Montemezzi's '' L'amore dei tre re'' and ''L'incantesimo'', and Umber ...

's play '' The Jester's Supper'' is inspired by a short story from Grazzini's ''Le Cene'' (I, 3). *''La Spiritata'' (1561) *''I Parentadi'' *''La Arenga'' *''La Sibilla'' *''La Pinzochera'' *''L'Arzigogolo'' A number of miscellaneous poems, a few letters and ''Four Orations to the Cross'' complete the list of Grazzini's works. He also edited the works of

Francesco Berni Francesco Berni Francesco Berni (1497/98 – 26 May 1535) was an Italian poet. He is credited for beginning what is now known as " Bernesque poetry", a serio-comedic type of poetry with elements of satire. Biography Life Berni was born 1497 o ...

, and collected ''Tutti I trionfi, larri, mascherate o canti carnascialeschi, andati per Firenze dal tempo del Magnifico Lorenzo vecchio de 'Medici fino all'anno 1559'' (the latter influenced

Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

's "

Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...

"). In 1868

Adamo Rossi Adamo Rossi (March 5, 1821 in Petrignano – February 22, 1891 in Perugia) was an Italian clergyman, revolutionary patriot, scholar and librarian. Career After studying at the archdiocesan seminary of Perugia, Rossi took part in the First Italian ...

published in his ''Ricerche per le biblioteche di Perugia'' three novelle by Grazzini, from a manuscript of the 16th century in the Comunale of Perugia; and in 1870 a small collection of those poems which have been left unpublished by previous editors appeared at Poggibonsi, ''Alcune poesie inedite''.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grazzini, Antonio Francesco 1503 births 1584 deaths Writers from Florence Italian male writers Accademia della Crusca 16th-century people from the Republic of Florence Writers from the Grand Duchy of Tuscany