Alessandro Manzoni | |
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Senator of the Kingdom of Italy | |
In office 29 February 1860 – 22 May 1873 | |
Monarch | Victor Emmanuel II |
Personal details | |
Born | Alessandro Francesco Tommaso Manzoni 7 March 1785 Milan, Duchy of Milan |
Died | 22 May 1873 Milan, Italy | (aged 88)
Resting place | Monumental Cemetery of Milan |
Nationality | Italian |
Spouse(s) |
Enrichetta Blondel
(m. 1808; died 1833)Teresa Borri
(m. 1837; died 1861) |
Children | Giulia Claudia (1808–1834) Pietro Luigi (1813–1873) Cristina (1815–1841) Sofia (1817–1845) Enrico (1819–1881) Clara (1821–1823) Vittoria (1822–1892) Filippo (1826–1868) Matilde (1830–1856) |
Parent(s) | Pietro Manzoni and Giulia Beccaria |
Relatives | Cesare Beccaria (grandfather) Massimo d'Azeglio (son-in-law) |
Occupation | Writer, poet, dramatist |
Writing career | |
Period | 19th century |
Genre | Historical fiction, tragedy, poetry |
Subject | Religion, politics, history |
Literary movement | Enlightenment Romanticism |
Years active | 1801–1873 |
Notable works |
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Signature | |
Alessandro Francesco Tommaso Antonio Manzoni (UK: /mænˈzoʊni/, US: /mɑːn(d)ˈzoʊni/, Italian: [alesˈsandro manˈdzoːni]; 7 March 1785 – 22 May 1873)[1] was an Italian poet, novelist and philosopher.[2] He is famous for the novel The Betrothed (orig. Italian: I promessi sposi) (1827), generally ranked among the masterpieces of world literature.[3] The novel is also a symbol of the Italian Risorgimento, both for its patriotic message[3] and because it was a fundamental milestone in the development of the modern, unified Italian language.[4] Manzoni also contributed to the stabilization of the modern Italian language and helped to ensure linguistic unity throughout Italy. He was an influential proponent of Liberal Catholicism in Italy.[5][6] His work and thinking has often been contrasted with that of his younger contemporary Giacomo Leopardi by critics.[7]