Pomponio Torelli (1539 – 9 April 1608) was Count of

Montechiarugolo Montechiarugolo (Parmigiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Parma in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about southeast of Parma. Montechiarugolo borders the following municipalities: ...

and a writer of prose, poetry and plays. He is principally remembered for his five

tragedies Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...

Life

Pomponio Torelli was born in 1539 at

near

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

, which until the creation of the

Duchy of Parma The Duchy of Parma and Piacenza ( it, Ducato di Parma e Piacenza, la, Ducatus Parmae et Placentiae), was an Italian state created in 1545 and located in northern Italy, in the current region of Emilia-Romagna. Originally a realm of the Farnese ...

in 1545 was in the

Duchy of Milan The Duchy of Milan ( it, Ducato di Milano; lmo, Ducaa de Milan) was a state in northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti family, which had been ruling the city sin ...

. He was the third son of Paolo Torelli (1509 – 1545) and his second wife Beatrice Pico della Mirandola (died 1546), who was the great-niece of

Giovanni Pico della Mirandola Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (24 February 1463 – 17 November 1494) was an Italian Renaissance nobleman and philosopher. He is famed for the events of 1486, when, at the age of 23, he proposed to defend 900 theses on religion, philosophy, ...

. In 1545 Torelli's father died and he succeeded at the age of six to the title of Count of Montechiarugolo; his mother died in the following year. He was tutored at home by

Andrea Casali Andrea Casali (17 November 1705 – 7 September 1784) was an Italian painter of the Rococo period. He was also an art dealer in England. ''Angelica e Medoro'', Bemberg Fondation Toulouse He was born in Civitavecchia in the Papal States and stu ...

, then studied at

Padova Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

under

Bernardino Tomitano Bernardino is a name of Italian, Hispanic, or Portuguese origin, which can refer to: Given name *Bernardino Baldi (1533–1617), Italian mathematician and writer * Bernardino Bertolotti (born 1547), Italian composer and instrumentalist * Bernar ...

and Francesco Robortello. In 1566 he was knighted by the second Duke of Parma,

Ottavio Farnese Ottavio Farnese (9 October 1524 – 18 September 1586) reigned as Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1547 until his death and Duke of Castro from 1545 to 1547 and from 1553 until his death. Biography Born in Valentano, Ottavio was the second ...

, and made ambassador to

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

. In 1573 he married Isabella Bonelli, great-niece of pope

Pius V Pope Pius V ( it, Pio V; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1566 to his death in May 1572. He is v ...

and sister of cardinal

Michele Bonelli Carlo Michele Bonelli, Cardinal Alessandrino (25 November 1541– 28 March 1598) was an Italian senior papal diplomat with a distinguished career that spanned two decades from 1571. Biography Born in Bosco Marengo, he was the son of Marco ...

. The third Duke of Parma, Alessandro Farnese, appointed Torelli tutor to his son Ranuccio Farnese, and entrusted him with diplomatic missions in Flanders and in Spain. Under the nickname Il Perduto, "the lost one", Torelli was a leading figure in the

Accademia degli Innominati Accademia (Italian for "academy") often refers to: * The Galleria dell'Accademia, an art museum in Florence * The Gallerie dell'Accademia, an art museum in Venice Accademia may also refer to: Academies of art * The Accademia Carrara di Belle ...

, a society of learned and literary men founded in Parma on 13 June 1574, which ceased activity in 1608, the year of Torelli's death. Pomponio Torelli died in Parma on 9 April 1608. A portrait of him by

Cesare Aretusi Cesare Aretusi (1 September 1549 – 4 October 1612) was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance period. He was born in Modena and trained with Bartolomeo Ramenghi (Bagnacavallo). Known primarily as a portrait painter, Aretusi also pain ...

was commissioned in 1602 by Giovan Battista Masi, who married Torelli's daughter Clelia in 1604 and who, with Torelli's son and heir Pio, was among those beheaded on 19 May 1612 for involvement in the ''Congiura dei feudatari'', or "plot of the feudal lords", against Ranuccio Farnese. The painting is now in the Galleria Nazionale di Parma.

Works

Torelli wrote love poetry in the style of

Petrarch Francesco Petrarca (; 20 July 1304 – 18/19 July 1374), commonly anglicized as Petrarch (), was a scholar and poet of early Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited w ...

; his ''Rime'' were published in 1575, with an expanded edition in 1586, and his ''Scherzi poetici'' in 1598. His six books of ''Carmina'' in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

were printed in Parma in 1600. His ''Trattato del debito del cavaliere'' (1596) and ''Trattato delle passioni dell’animo'' contain his

Neoplatonist Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of thinkers. But there are some ide ...

philosophical discussions of affects, emotions and the duties of the knight. He is however principally remembered for his tragedies: ''La Merope'' was published in 1589, ''Il Tancredi'' in 1597, ''La Galatea'' in 1603, and ''La Vittoria'', on

Pietro della Vigna Pietro della Vigna (also Pier delle Vigne, Petrus de Vineas or de Vineis; Capua, ca. 1190 – Pisa, 1249) was an Italian jurist and diplomat, who acted as chancellor and secretary (logothete) to Emperor Frederick II. Falsely accused of ''lèse-ma ...

, and ''Il Polidoro'' both in 1605.

Editions

* ''Rime amorose del conte Pomponio Torelli detto il Perduto, nell'Academia de gli illustri signori Innominati di Parma''. In Parma: appresso Seth Viotti, 1575 * ''Rime del conte Pomponio Torelli, nell'Academia de gli illustrissimi signori Innominati di Parma il Perduto. Di nuouo ristampate, & corrette, con aggiunta di molte compositioni, che non erano nella prima editione''. In Parma: rasmo Viotti 1586 * ''La Merope, tragedia del conte Pomponio Torello, detto nell'Academia de gli Innominati di Parma il Perduto''. In Parma: appresso Erasmo Viotto, 1589 * ''Trattato del debito del caualliero, di Pomponio Torelli''. In Venetia: appresso Giouan Battista Ciotti senese, al segno dell'Aurora, 1596; another edition, In Parma: nella stamperia di Erasmo Viotti, 1596 * ''Il Tancredi, tragedia di Pomponio Torelli conte di Montechiarugolo, nell'Academia de' sig. Innominati di Parma il Perduto''. In Parma: per Erasmo Viotti, 1597 * ''Scherzi poetici dell'illustriss. s. Pomponio Torello''. In Verona: appresso Girolamo Discepolo, 1598 * ''Pomponii Taurelli, Montisclariculi comitis, academici Innominati Parmensis Carminum libri sex''. Parmae: ex typographia Erasmi Viotti, 1600 * ''La Galatea del conte Pomponio Torelli : nell'illustriss. Academia de gli Innominati il Perduto''. In Parma : Nella stamperia di Erasmo Viotti, MDCIII

603 __NOTOC__ Year 603 ( DCIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 603 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...

* ''La Vittoria, tragedia di Pomponio Torelli conte di Montechiarugolo, nell'Academia de' Sig. Innominati di Parma il Perduto''. In Parma: Nella stamperia di Erasmo Viotti, 1605 * ''Il Polidoro, tragedia di Pomponio Torelli, conte di Montechiarugolo, nell'Academia de' Sig. Innominati di Parma il Perduto''. In Parma: Nella stamperia di Erasmo Viotti, 1605.

Life

Works

Editions

References

Further reading