Tito Vespasiano Strozzi (Ferrara, 1424 – ) was an Italian Renaissance poet at the Este court of

Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...

, who figures as an interlocutor in

Angelo Decembrio Angelo Camillo Decembrio (1415 — after 1467) was a Milanese humanist who began his career in Ferrara, where he arrived in 1430. The son of Uberto Decembrio, who was the first Renaissance translator of Plato's ''Republic'', and outshone among hi ...

's ''De politia litteraria'' ("On literary polish"). A member of the

Strozzi family The House of Strozzi is the name of an ancient (later noble) Florentine family, who like their great rivals the House of Medici, began in banking before moving into politics. Until its exile from Florence in 1434, the Strozzi family was by far t ...

exiled from

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 ...

, son of Giovanni, who served in Ferrara as

Niccolò III d'Este Niccolò III d'Este (9 November 1383 – 26 December 1441) was Marquess of Ferrara from 1393 until his death. He was also a condottiero. Biography Born in Ferrara on 9 November 1383, Niccolo was the son of Alberto d'Este and Isotta Albaresan ...

's commander, Tito was a patrician of Ferrara, where he was educated in humanistic culture. He was a courtier of successive

dukes of Ferrara Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ...

, Leonello, Borso, and

Ercole d'Este Ercole d'Este may refer to: *Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara and Duke of Modena and Reggio () *Ercole II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara and Duke of Modena and Reggio () *Ercole III d'Este Ercole III d'Este (Ercole Rinaldo; 22 November 1727 – 14 Oct ...

, and was entrusted with several important posts in the civil magistrature. He was the official champion of the Duke of Ferrara (1473), served as Governor of

Rovigo Rovigo (, ; ) is a city and communes of Italy, commune in the region of Veneto, Northeast Italy, the capital of the province of Rovigo, eponymous province. Geography Rovigo stands on the low ground known as Polesine, by rail southwest of Veni ...

and the

Polesine Polesine (; ; ) is a geographic and historic area in the north-east of Italy whose limits varied through centuries; it had also been known as Polesine of Rovigo for some time. Nowadays it corresponds with the province of Rovigo in the viewpoint ...

(1473–84) then ''Giudice dei Savi'' (1497–1505), in which post he was succeeded by his son

Ercole Strozzi Ercole Strozzi (Ferrara, September 2, 1473 – Ferrara, June 6, 1508) was an Italian poet, the son of Tito Vespasiano Strozzi. He was a friend of Lucrezia Borgia, to whom he dedicated the poem ''La caccia''. He married the poet Barbara Torelli an ...

. Strozzi was included in the entourage that accompanied Borso to Rome, March 1471, to be elevated from ''

marchese A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or widow) ...

'' to ''duca di Ferrara'' by Pope Sixtus IV Della Rovere. His portrait in profile, bearing the signature of Baldassare d'Este (natural son of

) and the date 1499, was in the collection of Vittorio Cini at

Palazzo Loredan Cini The Palazzo Loredan Cini is a Gothic-style palace located between the Palazzo Balbi Valier and the Rio San Vio on the Grand Canal, in the sestiere of Dorsoduro, Venice, Italy. The palace was formed from the amalgamation of the former Palazzo Fos ...

Works

He is more remembered for his humanistic compositions in Latin and some

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 in Italian. He is said to have spent a lifetime polishing the amorous verses written in the first flush of his youth. His literary style was formed at

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

under the guidance of Guarino. Among his works are the six books of the ''Eroticon'', a series of

elegies An elegy is a poem of serious reflection, and in English literature usually a lament for the dead. However, according to ''The Oxford Handbook of the Elegy'', "for all of its pervasiveness ... the 'elegy' remains remarkably ill defined: sometime ...

in refined Latin verse fusing Latin classical training with the spirit of

Petrarch Francis Petrarch (; 20 July 1304 – 19 July 1374; ; modern ), born Francesco di Petracco, was a scholar from Arezzo and poet of the early Italian Renaissance, as well as one of the earliest Renaissance humanism, humanists. Petrarch's redis ...

. A fine

illuminated manuscript An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared manuscript, document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as marginalia, borders and Miniature (illuminated manuscript), miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Churc ...

of them, with gold initials and illuminated margins, was purchased by the humanist

Celio Calcagnini Celio Calcagnini (Ferrara, 17 September 1479 – Ferrara, 24 April 1541), also known as Caelius Calcagninus, was an Italian humanist and scientist from Ferrara. His learning as displayed in his collected works is very broad. He had a wide experie ...

from the extensive former library of the Aragonese kings of Naples, dispersed by

Isabella del Balzo Isabella of Balzo (24 June 1465 – 1533) was a Queen consort of Naples. She was the second consort and only Queen consort of Frederick of Naples. Isabella was also suo jure Duchess of Andria and Venosa and Princess of Altamura. Biography Isa ...

, the deposed queen. His heroic ''Borsiade'' celebrating his patron Borso d'Este is lost, save a few fragments. There are also

epigram An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word derives from the Greek (, "inscription", from [], "to write on, to inscribe"). This literary device has been practiced for over two millennia ...

s, and sermons. His collected ''opere'' were published by Aldus Manutius in 1513, together with works of his son

(1471–1508), under the title ''Strozii poëtae pater et filius''."The Strozzi poets, father and son".

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strozzi, Tito Vespasiano 1424 births Italian poets Italian male poets Italian Renaissance humanists Neo-Latin poets 15th-century writers in Latin Tito Vespasiano 1500s deaths