Lorenzo Crasso (Naples, 1623-1691) was an Italian author and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

of the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

period.

Biography

Lorenzo Crasso, Barone di Pianura, was a Neapolitan, a

doctor of laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL. ...

, and an active

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

. He was a man of wealth, and possessed a notable

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

in his palace in Vicolo S. Paolo, in which many of

Giambattista Marino Giovanni Battista was a common Italian given name (see Battista for those with the surname) in the 16th-18th centuries. It refers to "John the Baptist" in English, the French equivalent is "Jean-Baptiste". Common nicknames include Giambattista, Gia ...

's manuscripts were kept, which were later dispersed. Other than these meagre details, and his books, nothing appears to be known of him. He had many friends among the literary men of his time, and one frequently meets with poems addressed to him in their books – Giuseppe Battista belonged to this circle. Crasso published ''Epistole Heroiche'', Venice, 1655 (imitations of

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

); ''Elogi di Huomini Letterati'', Venice, 1656 (each notice being preceded by a

portrait A portrait is a portrait painting, painting, portrait photography, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, Personality type ...

); ''Istoria de’ Poeti Greci e di que’ che ’n Greca Lingua han poetato'', Naples, 1678; and ''Elogi di Capitani Illustri'', Venice, 1683. As only the first part of the last book was published, it has been conjectured that Crasso died at this time or just before. Crasso was a member of the Neapolitan Oziosi and the Bolognese Gelati. His nickname among the Gelati was “Il Costante,” and his ''impresa'' was

ivy ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and ...

climbing a dead

tree trunk In botany, the trunk (or bole) is the stem and main wooden axis of a tree, which is an important feature in tree identification, and which often differs markedly from the bottom of the trunk to the top, depending on the species. The trunk is the ...

with the

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

''frigore viridior'' (“from frozen I become green again”). Crasso’s ''Istoria de’ Poeti Greci'' professes to supersede the similar works of

Franciscus Patricius Franciscus Patricius ( Croatian: ''Franjo Petriš'' or ''Frane Petrić'', Italian: ''Francesco Patrizi''; 25 April 1529 – 6 February 1597) was a philosopher and scientist from the Republic of Venice, originating from Cres. He was known as ...

and

Gerardus Vossius Gerrit Janszoon Vos (March or April 1577, Heidelberg – 19 March 1649, Amsterdam), often known by his Latin name Gerardus Vossius, was a Dutch classical scholar and theologian. Life He was the son of Johannes (Jan) Vos, a Protestant from the Ne ...

; and, while far from exhaustive, it is in many ways a creditable performance, and contains some information even today not easily found elsewhere. This applies, of course, particularly to the writers of

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

verse nearly contemporary with the author ; for he includes not only the Greeks of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

, and such others as write in Greek as

Alessandra Scala Alessandra Scala (1475–1506) was a Florentine humanist and scholar of Latin and Greek in the late fifteenth century. Biography Alessandra Scala was the fifth daughter of the chancellor of Florence at the time, Bartolomeo Scala, and was born i ...

Adrianus Turnebus Adrianus Turnebus (french: Adrien Turnèbe or ''Tournebeuf''; 151212 June 1565) was a French classical scholar. Life Turnebus was born in Les Andelys in Normandy. At the age of twelve he was sent to Paris to study, and attracted great notice by ...

, and

Jean Daurat Jean Daurat (Occitan: Joan Dorat; Latin: Auratus) (3 April 15081 November 1588) was a French poet, scholar and a member of a group known as '' The Pléiade''. Early life He was born Joan Dinemandy in Limoges and was a member of a noble family. ...

, but comes down to

Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII ( la, Urbanus VIII; it, Urbano VIII; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death in July 1644. As po ...

and

Leo Allatius Leo Allatius (Greek: Λέων Αλλάτιος, ''Leon Allatios'', Λιωνής Αλάτζης, ''Lionis Allatzis''; Italian: ''Leone Allacci, Allacio''; Latin: ''Leo Allatius, Allacius''; c. 1586 – January 19, 1669) was a Greek scholar, theolog ...

. His notices of the ancient poets, on the other hand, if generally well documented, are usually too perfunctory. Crasso's work was much appreciated by the Italian scholars, but severely criticized by the French ones.

Works

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References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Crasso, Lorenzo 1623 births 1691 deaths Writers from Naples Italian poets Italian scholars Italian male poets Baroque writers