Tommaso Grossi (20 January 179110 December 1853) was an Italian poet and novelist.
Biography
Grossi was born in
Bellano
Orrido di Bellano.
Bellano (Comasco: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and small town on the eastern shore of Lake Como in the Province of Lecco in the Italian region Lombardy, located at northern outlet of the Valsassina.
The town's main attract ...
, on
Lake Como
Lake Como ( it, Lago di Como , ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh de Còmm , ''Cómm'' or ''Cùmm'' ), also known as Lario (; after the la, Larius Lacus), is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the thir ...
, and graduated in law at
University of Pavia
The University of Pavia ( it, Università degli Studi di Pavia, UNIPV or ''Università di Pavia''; la, Alma Ticinensis Universitas) is a university located in Pavia, Lombardy, Italy. There was evidence of teaching as early as 1361, making it one ...
in 1810. He then went to Milan to exercise his profession but the Austrian government interfered with his career prospects. Consequently, Grossi was a notary all his life. That the suspicion was well grounded he soon showed by writing the battle poem ''La Prineide'' (1814) in
Milanese, in which he described with vivid colours the tragical death of
Giuseppe Prina
Count Giuseppe Prina (20 July 1766 in Novara – 20 April 1814) was an Italian statesman killed in the Milan riots of 1814.
Biography
Prina gave early evidence of his rare talent. After studying at the University of Pavia, he became a doctor of ...
, chief treasurer during the Empire, whom the people of Milan, instigated by Austrian agitators, had torn to pieces and dragged through the streets of the town (1814).
[ This work in turn cites: ''Life'' by Ignazio Cantù (Milan, 1853)] The anonymous poem—subversive even in being an incunable of the surfacing
Western Lombard dialect as a literary language— was first attributed to the celebrated
Carlo Porta
Carlo Porta (June 15, 1775 – January 5, 1821) was an Italian poet, the most famous writer in Milanese (the prestige dialect of the Lombard language).
Biography
Porta was born in Milan to Giuseppe Porta and Violante Gottieri, a merchant famil ...
, but Grossi of his own accord acknowledged himself the author.
In 1816, he published other two poems, written likewise in Milanese: ''La Pioggia d'oro'' (''The Shower of Gold'') and ''La Fuggitiva'' (''The Fugitive''). These compositions secured him the friendship of Porta and
Manzoni, and the three poets came to form a sort of literary triumvirate of
Romanticism
Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
in Lombardy. Grossi took advantage of the popularity of his Milanese poems to try Italian verse, into which he sought to introduce the moving realism which had given such satisfaction in his earliest compositions; and in this he was entirely successful with his poem ''Ildegonda'' (1814).
[
He next wrote an epic poem, entitled ''The Lombards in the First Crusade'', a work of which Manzoni makes honorable mention in '']I Promessi Sposi
''The Betrothed'' ( it, I promessi sposi ) is an Italian Historical romance, historical novel by Alessandro Manzoni, first published in 1827 in literature, 1827, in three Volume (bibliography), volumes, and significantly revised and rewritten un ...
''. This composition, which was published by subscription (1826), attained a success unequalled by that of any other Italian poem within the century;[ it provided the subject for ]Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...
's success of 1843, ''I Lombardi alla prima crociata
''I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata'' (''The Lombards on the First Crusade'') is an operatic ''dramma lirico'' in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, based on an epic poem by Tommaso Grossi, which was "very much a ...
'', premiered in Milan at La Scala
La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...
.
The example of Manzoni induced Grossi to write an historical novel entitled '' Marco Visconti'' (1834), a work which contains passages of true description and deep pathos. A little later Grossi published a tale in verse, ''Ulrico e Lida'', but with this publication his poetical activity ceased.[
In 1834, he helped organise the "Salotto Maffei," the liberal and patriotic literary ]salon
Salon may refer to:
Common meanings
* Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments
* French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home
* Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment
Arts and entertainment
* Salon (P ...
in Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
hosted by Clara Maffei
Elena Clara Antonia Carrara Spinelli (13 March 1814, in Bergamo – 13 July 1886, in Milan) was an Italian woman of letters and backer of the Risorgimento, usually known by her married name of countess Clara Maffei or Chiarina Maffei.
Life
At 17 ...
; there Verdi made his acquaintance. After his marriage in 1838 he continued to employ himself as a notary in Milan till his death.[
]
References
Notes
Sources
* Ignazio Cantù: ''Vita de opere di Tommaso Grossi''. Milano, 1853.
* Raffaele Sirri Rubes: ''Opere poetiche. Tommaso Grossi''. Napoli: Rossi, 1972.
* Marco Visconti: ''Tommaso Grossi''. Milano: Arcipelago Ed., 1994. (Letteratura italiana 17).
* Aurelio Sargenti (Hrsg.): ''Carteggio 1816 - 1853. Tommaso Grossi. Milano: Centro Nazionale Studi Manzoniani .a. 2005.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grossi, Tommaso
1791 births
1853 deaths
Italian male poets
Western Lombard language
19th-century Italian poets
19th-century Italian male writers
Burials at the Cimitero Monumentale di Milano
Italian male novelists
19th-century Italian novelists
University of Pavia alumni
People from the Province of Lecco
Italian notaries