![GabrieleRossetti](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/GabrieleRossetti.jpg)
Gabriele Pasquale Giuseppe Rossetti (28 February 1783 – 24 April 1854) was an Italian nobleman, poet, constitutionalist, scholar, and founder of the secret society
Carbonari
The Carbonari () was an informal network of secret revolutionary societies active in Italy from about 1800 to 1831. The Italian Carbonari may have further influenced other revolutionary groups in France, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Uruguay and Ru ...
.
Rossetti was born in
Vasto
Vasto ( Abruzzese: '; grc, Ἱστόνιον, Histonion}, la, Histonium) is a ''comune'' on the Adriatic coast of the Province of Chieti, in southern Abruzzo, Italy. During the Middle Ages it was called d''Guastaymonis'', '' Vasto d'Aimone'' or ...
in the
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...
. He was
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
. His support for
Italian revolutionary nationalism forced him into political
exile
Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...
in England in 1821.
Early career and exile
Rossetti's first edition of poems was printed in 1807 by Giovanni Avalloni, who offered to have Rossetti's poems published after hearing him recite a few passages. Throughout his early career, Rossetti published poems that were "patriotic" and supported the "popular movement" in Sicily which resulted in him receiving a grant from
Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies
Ferdinand I (12 January 1751 – 4 January 1825) was the King of the Two Sicilies from 1816, after his restoration following victory in the Napoleonic Wars. Before that he had been, since 1759, Ferdinand IV of the Kingdom of Naples and Ferdinand I ...
in 1820. When the king revoked the
constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When ...
in 1821, many supporters of the constitution were persecuted, but Rossetti instead, was forced into exile in
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
for three years before a British admiral of the Royal Navy sent Rossetti to London in 1824. He held the post of Professor of Italian at
King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
from 1831, as well as teaching Italian at
King's College School
King's College School, also known as Wimbledon, KCS, King's and KCS Wimbledon, is a public school in Wimbledon, southwest London, England. The school was founded in 1829 by King George IV, as the junior department of King's College London an ...
, until failing eyesight led to his retirement in 1847.
[Rossettie, Dante Gabriel. William Michael Rossetti, Mark Twain, Clara Clemens. ''The Poetical Works of Dante Gabriel Rosseti''. Ellis and Elvey, (1893)p.xvi]
Works
Rossetti's published works include
literary criticism
Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...
,
Romantic poetry
Romantic poetry is the poetry of the Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. It involved a reaction against prevailing Enlightenment ideas of the 18t ...
such as his long poem ''Il veggente in solitudine'' of 1846, and his ''Autobiography''. He is thought to be the basis of the character Pesca in
Wilkie Collins
William Wilkie Collins (8 January 1824 – 23 September 1889) was an English novelist and playwright known especially for ''The Woman in White (novel), The Woman in White'' (1859), a mystery novel and early "sensation novel", and for ''The Moons ...
' 1860 novel ''
The Woman in White''. He also wrote commentaries on
Dante Alighieri
Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...
in which he attempted to show evidence of mysterious ancient conspiracies in his works.
[The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Seventh Edition, Volume 2; M.H. Abrams, et al, eds; New York, London: Norton, 2000 - pg 1583]
Personal life
In 1826 he married
Frances Mary Lavinia Polidori, daughter of another Italian exile
Gaetano Polidori
Gaetano Fedele Polidori (1763–1853) was an Italian writer, political and scholar living in Highgate. He was the son of Agostino Ansano Polidori (1714–1778), a physician and poet who lived and practised in his native Bientina, near Pisa, ...
, and they had four children, all distinguished writers or artists:
![Primo piano rossetti](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Primo_piano_rossetti.jpg)
*
Maria Francesca Rossetti
Maria Francesca Rossetti (17 February 1827 – 24 November 1876) was a London-born English author and nun. She was the sister of artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Michael Rossetti, and of Christina Georgina Rossetti, who dedicated her 1 ...
*
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti (), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhoo ...
*
William Michael Rossetti
William Michael Rossetti (25 September 1829 – 5 February 1919) was an English writer and critic.
Early life
Born in London, Rossetti was a son of immigrant Italian scholar Gabriele Rossetti and his wife Frances Rossetti ''née'' Polidor ...
*
Christina Georgina Rossetti
Rossetti died on 24 April 1854 in London, aged 71, and is buried on the western side of
Highgate Cemetery
Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...
, adjacent to the grave of Elizabeth Madox Brown, the first wife of
Ford Madox Brown
Ford Madox Brown (16 April 1821 – 6 October 1893) was a British painter of moral and historical subjects, notable for his distinctively graphic and often William Hogarth, Hogarthian version of the Pre-Raphaelite style. Arguably, his mos ...
. Later burials in the Rossetti family grave are
Elizabeth Siddal
Elizabeth Eleanor Siddall (25 July 1829 – 11 February 1862), better known as Elizabeth Siddal, was an English artist, poet, and artists' model. Significant collections of her artworks can be found at Wightwick Manor and the Ashmolean. Siddal ...
, wife of Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1862), Frances Rossetti, wife of Gabriele (1886), Christina Georgina Rossetti (1895) and William Michael Rossetti (1919). The ashes of four grandchildren have also been buried in the grave.
See also
*
Rossetti–Polidori family
Gaetano Fedele Polidori (1763–1853) was an Italian writer, political and scholar living in Highgate. He was the son of Agostino Ansano Polidori (1714–1778), a physician and poet who lived and practised in his native Bientina, near Pisa, ...
References
Further reading
* Dinah Roe: ''The Rossettis in Wonderland. A Victorian Family History'', Haus Publishing, London 2011, .
1783 births
1854 deaths
Burials at Highgate Cemetery
People from Vasto
Polidori-Rossetti family
Academics of King's College London
Italian Anglicans
Anglican writers
Anglican poets
Italian poets
Italian male poets
Italian emigrants to the United Kingdom
19th-century Italian writers
Writers from Abruzzo
19th-century Italian poets
Carbonari
Italian unification
19th-century Italian male writers
Rossetti family
{{italy-poet-stub