Francisco de Figueroa ( – ) was a Spanish poet best known for his love
sonnet
A sonnet is a poetic form that originated in the poetry composed at the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sicilian city of Palermo. The 13th-century poet and notary Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the sonnet's invention, ...
s and his
bilingual
Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...
compositions in
Spanish and
Italian. Born in
Alcalá de Henares
Alcalá de Henares () is a Spanish city in the Community of Madrid. Straddling the Henares River, it is located to the northeast of the centre of Madrid. , it has a population of 193,751, making it the region's third-most populated Municipalities ...
, Figueroa spent his early years in Alcala, studying under Spanish
humanist Ambrosio Morales, and traveled to
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
at an early age (we find him in
Siena
Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.
The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...
in 1552).
For much of his life, Figueroa served as an aide to Spanish diplomats; for example, to the Spanish ambassador to France,
Tomás Perrenot de Granvela (1559–1561);
Antonio Pimentel de Herrera, 6th Count of Benavente, Viceroy of Valencia (); and
Carlos de Aragón Tagliavia, Duke of Terranova, Prínce of Castelvetrano (1578–1579).
In the late 1570s or early 1580s, Figueroa seems to have retired to Alcala. His friend
Miguel de Cervantes includes him as a character in his pastoral novel ''
La Galatea
''La Galatea'' () was Miguel de Cervantes’ first book, published in 1585. Under the guise of pastoral characters, it is an examination of love and contains many allusions to contemporary literary figures. It enjoyed a modest success, but was n ...
''. Figueroa's works were published posthumously by Pedro Craesbeeck in
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
in 1625.
Figueroa, Francis de
Figueroa, Francis de
Figueroa, Francis de
Figueroa, Francis de
Figueroa, Francis de
Figueroa, Francis de
Spanish male poets
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