Tito Vespasiano Strozzi (Ferrara, 1424 – ca. 1505) was an Italian Renaissance poet at the Este court of

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

, who figures as an interlocutor in Angelo Decembrio's ''De politia litteraria'' ("On literary polish"). A member of the

Strozzi family The House of Strozzi is the name of an ancient (later noble) Florentine family, who like their great rivals the Medici family, began in banking before moving into politics. Until its exile from Florence in 1434, the Strozzi family was by far the ...

exiled from

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, son of Giovanni, who served in Ferrara as

Niccolò III d'Este Niccolò is an Italian male given name, derived from the Greek Nikolaos meaning "Victor of people" or "People's champion". There are several male variations of the name: Nicolò, Niccolò, Nicolas, and Nicola. The female equivalent is Nicole. The f ...

's commander, Tito was a

patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...

of Ferrara, where he was educated in humanistic culture. He was a courtier of successive

dukes of Ferrara Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

, Leonello, Borso, and

Ercole d'Este Ercole I d'Este KG (English: ''Hercules I''; 26 October 1431 – 25 January 1505) was Duke of Ferrara from 1471 until 1505. He was a member of the House of Este. He was nicknamed ''North Wind'' and ''The Diamond''. Biography Ercole was born in ...

, and was entrusted with several important posts in the civil magistrature. He was the official champion of the Duke of Ferrara (1473), served as Governor of

Rovigo Rovigo (, ; egl, Ruig) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of Northeast Italy, the capital of the eponymous province. Geography Rovigo stands on the low ground known as Polesine, by rail southwest of Venice and south-southwest of P ...

and the

Polesine Polesine (; vec, label=unified Venetian script, Połéxine ) is a geographic and historic area in the north-east of Italy whose limits varied through centuries; it had also been known as Polesine of Rovigo for some time. Nowadays it corresponds ...

(1473–84) then ''Giudice dei Savi'' (1497-1505), in which post he was succeeded by his son

Ercole Strozzi Ercole Strozzi (Ferrara, September 2, 1473 – Ferrara, June 6, 1508) was an Italian poet, the son of Tito Vespasiano Strozzi. He was a friend of Lucrezia Borgia, to whom he dedicated the poem ''La caccia''. He married the poet Barbara Torelli and ...

. Strozzi was included in the entourage that accompanied Borso to Rome, March 1471, to be elevated from ''

marchese A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

'' to ''duca di Ferrara'' by Pope Sixtus IV Della Rovere. His portrait in profile, bearing the signature of Baldassare d'Este (natural son of

) and the date 1499, was in the collection of

Vittorio Cini Vittorio Cini, Count of Monselice (20 February 1885 – 18 September 1977) was an Italian industrialist and politician, Senator from 1934 to 1943 and minister of communications of the Kingdom of Italy from February to July 1943. He was amon ...

Palazzo Loredan Cini The Palazzo Loredan Cini is a Gothic-style palace located between the Palazzo Balbi Valier and the Rio San Vio on the Grand Canal, in the sestiere of Dorsoduro, Venice, Italy. The palace was formed from the amalgamation of the former Palazzo Fosc ...

Works

He is more remembered for his humanistic compositions in Latin and some

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 in Italian. He is said to have spent a lifetime polishing the amorous verses written in the first flush of his youth. His literary style was formed at

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...

under the guidance of Guarino. Among his works are the six books of the ''Eroticon'', a series of

elegies An elegy is a poem of serious reflection, and in English literature usually a lament for the dead. However, according to ''The Oxford Handbook of the Elegy'', "for all of its pervasiveness ... the 'elegy' remains remarkably ill defined: sometime ...

in refined Latin verse fusing Latin classical training with the spirit 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 ...

. A fine

illuminated manuscript An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, the ...

of them, with gold initials and illuminated margins, was purchased by the humanist

Celio Calcagnini Celio Calcagnini ( Ferrara, 17 September 1479 – Ferrara, 24 April 1541), also known as Caelius Calcagninus, was an Italian humanist and scientist from Ferrara. His learning as displayed in his collected works is very broad. He had a wide exper ...

from the extensive former library of the Aragonese kings of Naples, dispersed by

Isabella del Balzo Isabella of Balzo (24 June 1465 – 1533) was a Queen consort of Naples. She was the second consort and only Queen consort of Frederick of Naples. Isabella was also suo jure Duchess of Andria and Venosa and Princess of Altamura. Biography I ...

, the deposed queen. His heroic ''Borsiade'' celebrating his patron Borso d'Este is lost, save a few fragments. There are also

epigram An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word is derived from the Greek "inscription" from "to write on, to inscribe", and the literary device has been employed for over two mille ...

s, and

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. El ...

s. His collected ''opere'' were published by

Aldus Manutius Aldus Pius Manutius (; it, Aldo Pio Manuzio; 6 February 1515) was an Italian printer and humanist who founded the Aldine Press. Manutius devoted the later part of his life to publishing and disseminating rare texts. His interest in and preserv ...

in 1513, together with works of his son

(1471-1508), under the title ''Strozii poëtae pater et filius''."The Strozzi poets, father and son".

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strozzi, Tito Vespasiano 1424 births Italian poets Italian male poets Italian Renaissance humanists Neo-Latin poets 15th-century Latin writers Tito Vespasiano 1500s deaths