Antonio Lo Frasso (1540, in

Alghero Alghero (; ; ; ) is a city of about 45,000 inhabitants in the Italian province of Sassari in the north west of the island of Sardinia, next to the Mediterranean Sea. The city's name comes from ''Aleguerium'', which is a mediaeval Latin word m ...

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

– 1600, in

Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...

) was a Sardinian poet, writer and soldier. He was the author of '' Los diez libros de Fortuna de Amor'', a work mentioned by

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ( ; ; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was a Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelist ...

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

(in The library of Don Quixote) and edited in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

by the

lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons and the art of compiling dictionaries. It is divided into two separate academic disciplines: * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionary, dictionaries. * The ...

Pedro Pineda who considered valuable this work for his kindness, elegance and spirit («''su bondad, elegancia y agudeza''»).

Biography

What little information we have about his life are those contained in his works, where he calls himself a ''militar sardo de la ciudad de L'Alguer'' (a Sardinian soldier from the town of Alghero). He also reported to have been unjustly charged with murder for the love of a young lady from Alghero, for which he was locked up in jail and was later forced to leave Sardinia. Lo Frasso took then refuge in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

between 1565 and 1571. He published there his first book in 1571, with the title of ''Los mil y dozientos consejos y avisos discretos sobre los siete grados y estamentos de nuestra humana vida'', subsequently published ''El verdadero discurso de la victoria'', focused on his glorious vicissitudes during the

Battle of Lepanto The Battle of Lepanto was a naval warfare, naval engagement that took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League (1571), Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states arranged by Pope Pius V, inflicted a major defeat on the fleet of t ...

. However, Lo Frasso owes his fame mostly to the pastoral novel in

Ottava rima Ottava rima is a rhyming stanza form of Italian origin. Originally used for long poems on heroic themes, it later came to be popular in the writing of mock-heroic works. Its earliest known use is in the writings of Giovanni Boccaccio. The ottav ...

''Los diez libros de Fortuna de Amor'', supposedly inspired by the works of the Neapolitan writer

Jacopo Sannazzaro Jacopo Sannazaro (; 28 July 1458 – 6 August 1530) was an Italian poet, humanist, member and head of the Accademia Pontaniana from Naples. He wrote easily in Latin, in Italian and in Neapolitan, but is best remembered for his humanist classic ...

. He also wrote sonnets and octaves in Sardinian, confirming he got in touch with Gerolamo Araolla and

Giovanni Francesco Fara Giovanni Francesco Fara (February 4, 1543 - 1591) was a Sardinian historian, geographer and clergyman,http://www.filologiasarda.eu/didattica/schede/slides.php?sez=37&id=560&didaSec=letteratura who wrote in Latin. Biography Giovanni Francesco Far ...

.Sardegna Digital Library Cataloguing data on ''Antonio Lo Frasso''
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Works

* ''Los mil y dozientos consejos y avisos discretos sobre los siete grados y estamentos de nuestra humana vida'',

, 1571. * ''El verdadero discurso de la gloriosa victoria'', Barcelona, 1571. * '' Los diez libros de Fortuna de Amor'', Barcelona, 1573 and London, 1740.

References

Bibliography

Pasquale Tola Pasquale Tola (30 November 1800 in Sassari – 25 August 1874 in Genoa) was an Italian judge, politician and historian. Issue of an ancient and noble Sardinian family, he studied in Sassari, where he obtained a degree in theology and law and also ...

, ''Dizionario Biografico degli uomini illustri di Sardegna'', Torino, 1837–38, vol. II, pp. 105–106. * G. Siotto Pintor, ''Storia letteraria di Sardegna'', Cagliari, 1843–44, vol. III, pp. 461–467; vol. IV, pp. 71, 88, 120–123. *D. E. Toda y Guell, ''Bibliografía española de Cerdeña'', Madrid, Tipografía de los Huérfanos, 1890, pp. 207–208, nn. 608–609. *R. Truffi, ''Antonio Frasso poeta sardo del secolo XVI'', ''Il canto per la battaglia di Lepanto'', ''Tre trionfi di donne'', "Bollettino bibliografico sardo", III, 1909, pp. 45ss. *M. Menéndez Pelayo, ''Amplio juicio crítico sobre Antonio de Lofrasso'', Madrid, C.S.I.C., 1943, t. II. * Francesco Alziator, ''Storia della letteratura di Sardegna'', Cagliari, 1954. *F. Alziator, ''Introduzione all'opera di Antonio Lo Frasso'', Cagliari, 1974. * Patrizia Serra (a cura di), ''Questioni di letteratura sarda.'' Un paradigma da definire, Milano, 2012, n. 17, pp. 105–106 {{DEFAULTSORT:Lo Frasso, Antonio People from the Kingdom of Sardinia People from Alghero Spanish-language writers from Sardinia Spanish-language poets 1540 births 1600 deaths