Count Vittorio Alfieri (,
also , ; 16 January 17498 October 1803) was an
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
dramatist
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays.
Etymology
The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...
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 ...
, considered the "founder of Italian tragedy." He wrote nineteen tragedies, sonnets, satires, and a notable autobiography.
Early life
Alfieri was born at
Asti
Asti ( , , ; pms, Ast ) is a ''comune'' of 74,348 inhabitants (1-1-2021) located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and it is deemed t ...
,
Kingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...
, now in
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
, population_note =
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.
His father died when he was very young, and he was brought up by his mother, who married a second time, until, at the age of ten, he was placed in the academy of
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
. After a year at the academy, he went on a short visit to a relative at
Coni
The Italian National Olympic Committee ( it, Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano, CONI), founded in 1914 and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), is responsible for the development and management of sports activity in Italy. ...
(mod. Cuneo). During his stay there he composed a sonnet chiefly borrowed from lines in
Ariosto
Ludovico Ariosto (; 8 September 1474 – 6 July 1533) was an Italian poet. He is best known as the author of the romance epic ''Orlando Furioso'' (1516). The poem, a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's ''Orlando Innamorato'', describes the ...
and
Metastasio
Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi (3 January 1698 – 12 April 1782), better known by his pseudonym of Pietro Metastasio (), was an Italian poet and librettist, considered the most important writer of ''opera seria'' libretti.
Early life
Me ...
, the only poets he had at that time read. At thirteen, Alfieri began the study of civil and canon
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
, but this only made him more interested in literature, particularly
French romances. The death of his uncle, who had taken charge of his education and conduct, left him free, at the age of fourteen, to enjoy his paternal inheritance, augmented by the addition of his uncle's fortune. He began to attend a riding-school, where he acquired an enthusiasm for horses and
equestrian
The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse".
Horseback riding (or Riding in British English)
Examples of this are:
* Equestrian sports
*Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...
exercise that continued for the rest of his life.
Having obtained permission from the king to travel abroad, he departed in 1766, under the care of an English tutor. Seeking novelty in foreign cultures, and being anxious to become acquainted with the French theatre, he proceeded to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, but he appears to have been completely dissatisfied with everything he witnessed in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and did not like the French people. In the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
he fell in love with a married woman, but she went with her husband to
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. Alfieri, depressed by the incident, returned home and again began studying literature.
Plutarch
Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...
's ''Lives'' inspired him with a passion for freedom and independence. He recommenced his travels; and his only gratification, in the absence of freedom among the continental states, came from contemplating the wild and sterile regions of the north of
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, where gloomy forests, lakes and precipices encouraged his sublime and melancholy ideas. In search of an ideal world, Alfieri passed quickly through various countries. During a journey to
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
he engaged in an intrigue with Lady
Penelope Ligonier
Penelope Ligonier, née Penelope Pitt (1749–1827), was an English aristocrat and socialite, and first wife of Edward Ligonier, Earl Ligonier of Clonmell.
She was the eldest daughter of Penelope Atkins () and George Pitt, 1st Baron Rivers. Bo ...
, a married woman of high rank. The affair became a widely publicised scandal and ended in a divorce that ruined Lady Ligonier and forced Alfieri to leave the country. He then visited
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
, where he became acquainted with the Abbe Caluso, who remained through life the most attached and estimable friend he ever possessed. In 1772, Alfieri returned to Turin. This time he fell for the Marchesa Turinetti di Prie, but it was another doomed affair. When she fell ill, he spent his time dancing attendance on her, and one day wrote a dialogue or scene of a drama, which he left at her house. When the couple quarreled, the piece was returned to him, and being retouched and extended to five acts, it was performed at Turin in 1775, under the title of ''Cleopatra''.
Literary career
From this moment Alfieri was seized with an insatiable thirst for
theatrical
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...
fame, to which he devoted the remainder of his life. His first two
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 ...
, ''Filippo'' and ''Polinice'', were originally written in French prose. When he came to versify them in Italian, he found that, because of many dealings with foreigners, he was poor at expressing himself. With the view of improving his Italian, he went to Tuscany and, during an alternate residence at Florence and
Siena
Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.
The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...
, he completed ''Filippo'' and ''Polinice'', and had ideas for other dramas. While thus employed, he became acquainted with
Princess Louise of Stolberg-Gedern
Princess Louise Maximiliane Caroline Emanuel of Stolberg-Gedern (20 September 1752 – 29 January 1824) was the wife of Charles Edward Stuart, the Jacobite claimant to the English and Scottish thrones. The unhappy marriage led her to request fro ...
, also known as the Countess of Albany, who was living with her husband,
Charles Edward Stuart
Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (20 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, grandson of James II and VII, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland and ...
(
"Bonnie Prince Charlie"), at Florence. For her he formed a serious attachment. With this motive, to remain at Florence, he did not wish to be bound to Piedmont. He therefore ceded his whole property to his sister, the countess Cumiana, keeping for himself an annuity that was about half his original income. Louise, motivated by the ill-treatment she received from her husband, sought refuge in Rome, where she at length received permission from the
Pope
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
to live apart from him. Alfieri followed her to Rome, where he completed fourteen tragedies, four of which were published at Siena.
For the sake of Louise's reputation, he left Rome, and, in 1783, travelled through different states of Italy, publishing six additional tragedies. The interests of his love and literary glory had not diminished his love of horses. He went to England solely for the purpose of purchasing a number of these animals, which he took back to Italy. On his return he learned that Louise had gone to
Colmar
Colmar (, ; Alsatian: ' ; German during 1871–1918 and 1940–1945: ') is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it is ...
in
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
, where he joined her, and they lived together for the rest of his life. They chiefly passed their time between Alsace and Paris, but at length took up their abode entirely in that metropolis. While here, Alfieri made arrangements with
Didot Didot may refer to:
* Didot family, family of French printers, punch-cutters and publishers that flourished mainly in the 18th century
* Didot (typeface)
Didot is a group of typefaces. The word/name Didot came from the famous French printing and ...
for an edition of his tragedies, but was soon after forced to quit Paris by the storms of the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
. He recrossed the
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
with the countess, and finally settled at Florence. The last ten years of his life, which he spent in that city, seem to have been the happiest of his existence. During that long period, his tranquility was only interrupted by the entrance of the Revolutionary armies into Florence in 1799.
Alfieri's political writings were among those which had contributed to the revolutionary atmosphere. His essay, ''Della Tirannide'', denounced absolutism and was dedicated to liberty as a universal right.
In ''Del Principe e delle Lettere'', he declared poets to be the heralds of freedom and human dignity and the natural enemies of tyrants. He supported the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
and wrote a collection of odes published as ''L’America libera'' and dedicated a play about the ancient Romans to
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
.
When the French Revolution broke out, he supported its initial liberal phase, but the violence of the
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, ...
turned him strongly against the radical Jacobins.
Despite Alfieri's increasingly anti-French sentiments, he was honored when the French army arrived in Italy and Napoleon himself attended a performance of Alfieri's ''Virginia'', a play set in ancient Rome in which the people demand liberty and rise to overthrow a tyrant.
Alfieri's ideas continued to influence Italian liberals and republicans such as
Piero Gobetti
Piero Gobetti (; 19 June 1901, Turin – 15 February 1926, Neuilly-sur-Seine) was an Italian journalist, intellectual and radical liberal and anti-fascist. He was an exceptionally active campaigner and critic in the crisis years in Italy after ...
throughout the Risorgimento and well into the twentieth century.
He spent the concluding years of his life studying
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 ...
literature and perfecting a series of
comedies
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term origin ...
. His labor on this subject exhausted his strength and made him ill. He eschewed his physicians prescriptions in favor of his own remedies, which made the condition worse. He died in Florence in 1803. His last words were "Clasp my hand, my dear friend, I die!"
He is buried in the Church of
Santa Croce, Florence
The (Italian for 'Basilica of the Holy Cross') is the principal Franciscan church in Florence, Italy, and a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic Church. It is situated on the Piazza di Santa Croce, about 800 meters south-east of the Duomo. The ...
next to
Machiavelli.
Character
Alfieri's character may be best appreciated from the portrait he drew of himself in his own Memoirs of his Life. He was evidently of an irritable, impetuous, and almost ungovernable temper. Pride, which seems to have been a ruling sentiment, may account for many apparent inconsistencies of his character. But his less amiable qualities were greatly softened by the cultivation of literature. His application to study gradually tranquillized his temper and softened his manners, leaving him at the same time in perfect possession of those good qualities he inherited from nature: a warm and disinterested attachment to his family and friends, united to a generosity, vigour and elevation of character, which rendered him not unworthy to embody in his dramas the actions and sentiments of Grecian heroes.
Contribution to Italian literature
It is to his dramas that Alfieri is chiefly indebted for the high reputation he has attained. Before his time the Italian language, so harmonious in the Sonnets 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 ...
and so energetic in the Commedia of
Dante
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: '' ...
, had been invariably languid and prosaic in dramatic dialogue. The pedantic and inanimate tragedies of the 16th century were followed, during the Iron Age of Italian literature, by dramas of which extravagance in the sentiments and improbability in the action were the chief characteristics. The prodigious success of the ''Merope'' of Maffei, which appeared in the commencement of the 18th century, may be attributed more to a comparison with such productions than to intrinsic merit. In this degradation of tragic taste, the appearance of the tragedies of Alfieri was perhaps the most important literary event that had occurred in Italy during the 18th century.
On these tragedies, it is difficult to pronounce a judgment, as the taste and system of the author underwent considerable change and modification in the intervals between the three periods of their publication. An excessive harshness of style, an asperity of sentiment, and total want of poetical ornament are the characteristics of his first four tragedies, ''Filippo'', ''Polinice'', ''Antigone'', and ''Virginia''. These faults were in some measure corrected in the six tragedies he wrote some years after, and in those he published along with ''
Saul
Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered tri ...
'', the drama that enjoyed the greatest success of all his productions. This popularity is partly attributable to Alfieri's severe and unadorned style, which fit the patriarchal simplicity of the age. Though there is a considerable difference in his dramas, there are certain qualities common to all. None of the plots are of his own invention, but are founded on either
mythological
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...
fable or history. Most of them had been previously treated by the Greek dramatists or by
Seneca
Seneca may refer to:
People and language
* Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname
* Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America
** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people
Places Extrat ...
. ''Rosmunda'', the only one that could be of his own contrivance, and which is certainly the least happy effusion of his genius, is partly founded on the eighteenth novel of the third part of
Bandello
Matteo Bandello ( 1480 – 1562) was an Italian writer, soldier, monk, and, later, a Bishop mostly known for his novellas. His collection of 214 novellas made him the most popular short-story writer of his day.
Biography
Matteo Bandello wa ...
and partly on
Prévost's ''Mémoires d'un homme de qualité'' (''Memoirs of a Man of Quality'').
Another characteristic common to every Alfieri's tragedy is that the main character is always a tragic "hero of freedom" whose ambition and need of revolution push him to fight tyranny and oppression wherever they exist. Usually, this is accomplished in the most radical manner, up to killing the tyrant and facing death for it afterwards. This desire for freedom always moves the hero into a dimension of solitude, pessimism, and internal torment, but he keeps going despite knowing that the majority of the people around him can't understand or share his views and struggles, or that his goals are almost impossible to reach. This concept is called
titanism.
But whatever subject he chooses, his dramas are always formed on the Grecian model and breathe a freedom and independence worthy of an Athenian poet. Indeed, his
''Agide'' and ''Bruto'' may rather be considered oratorical declamations and dialogues on liberty than tragedies. The unities of time and place are not so scrupulously observed in his dramas as in the ancients, but he rigidly adheres to a unity of action and interest. He infuses each play with one great action and one ruling passion, taking care to remove as much as possible every other event or feeling. In this excessive zeal for the observance of unity he seems to have forgotten that its charm consists in producing a common relation between multiplied feelings, and not in the bare exhibition of one, divested of those various accompaniments that give harmony to the whole. Consistently with the austere and simple manner he thought the chief excellence of dramatic composition, he excluded from his scene all
coups de theatre, all philosophical reflexions, and that highly ornamented versification so assiduously cultivated by his predecessors. In his anxiety, however, to avoid all superfluous ornament, he has stripped his dramas of the embellishments of imagination; and for the harmony and flow of poetical language he has substituted, even in his best performances, a style that, though correct and pure, is generally harsh, elaborate and abrupt; often strained into unnatural energy or condensed into factitious conciseness.
The chief excellence of Alfieri consists in powerful delineation of dramatic character. In his ''Filippo'' he has represented, almost with the masterly touches of
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars.
The surviving portions of his t ...
, the sombre character, the dark mysterious counsels, the ''suspensa semper et obscura verba'', of the modern
Tiberius
Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...
. In ''Polinice'', the characters of the rival brothers are beautifully contrasted; in ''Maria Stuarda'' (''Mary Stuart''),
that unfortunate queen is represented as unsuspicious, impatient of contradiction and violent in her attachments. In ''Mirra'', the character of Ciniro is perfect as a father and king, and Cecri is a model of a wife and mother. In the representation of that species of mental alienation where the judgment has perished but traces of character still remain, he is peculiarly happy. The insanity of Saul is skilfully managed, and the horrid joy of Orestes in killing Aegisthus rises finely and naturally to madness in finding that, at the same time, he had inadvertently slain his mother.
Whatever the merits or defects of Alfieri, he may be considered as the founder of a new school in the Italian drama. His country hailed him as her sole tragic poet, and his successors in the same path of literature have regarded his bold, austere and rapid manner as the genuine model of tragic composition.
Besides his tragedies, Alfieri published during his life many
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; five
ode
An ode (from grc, ᾠδή, ōdḗ) is a type of lyric poetry. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. A classic ode is structured in three majo ...
s on American independence; one tramelogedia, (''
Abele''); and the poem of
Etruria
Etruria () was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what are now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and northern and western Umbria.
Etruscan Etruria
The ancient people of Etruria
are identified as Etruscan civiliza ...
, based on the assassination of Alexander, duke of Florence. Of his prose works the most distinguished for animation and eloquence is the ''Panegyric on Trajan'', composed in a transport of indignation at the supposed feebleness of
Pliny
Pliny may refer to:
People
* Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'')
* Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...
's eulogium. His books ''La Tirannide'' and the ''Essays on Literature and Government'' are remarkable for elegance and vigour of style, but are too evidently imitations of the manner of
Machiavelli. His ''Antigallican'', which he wrote while composing his ''Defence of
Louis XVI
Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...
'', presents a historical and satirical view of the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
.
The posthumous works of Alfieri consist of satires, six political comedies, and the ''Memoirs of his Life'', work that will always be read with interest in spite of the cold and languid gravity he applies to the most interesting adventures and strongest passions of his agitated life.
Death
Alfieri caught a "chill on his stomach" while out driving on 3 October 1803. His health deteriorated and he died in his chair on 8 October. He was buried in the church of
Santa Croce, Florence
The (Italian for 'Basilica of the Holy Cross') is the principal Franciscan church in Florence, Italy, and a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic Church. It is situated on the Piazza di Santa Croce, about 800 meters south-east of the Duomo. The ...
. Louise arranged for
Antonio Canova
Antonio Canova (; 1 November 1757 – 13 October 1822) was an Italian Neoclassical sculptor, famous for his marble sculptures. Often regarded as the greatest of the Neoclassical artists,. his sculpture was inspired by the Baroque and the cl ...
to erect a monument in his memory. This took 6 years to be executed, being finally installed in Santa Croce in the autumn of 1810.
Freemasonry
The name of Vittorio Alfieri was never registered in the official publications of the Piedmont Freemasonry. It is proved Alfieri was initiated in the regular
Masonic Lodge
A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...
"Vittoria" of
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
which was an obedience of the Gran Loggia Nazionale "Lo Zelo", founded in 1874-185 by aristocrat Freemasons closely linked to the queen
Maria Carolina of Austria
Maria Carolina Louise Josepha Johanna Antonia (13 August 1752 – 8 September 1814) was List of consorts of Naples, Queen of Naples and List of Sicilian consorts, Sicily as the wife of King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies. As ''de facto'' ruler ...
.
Many of Alfieri's friends were Freemasons, as it is attested by the documents conserved in the center of studies located in the town of
Asti
Asti ( , , ; pms, Ast ) is a ''comune'' of 74,348 inhabitants (1-1-2021) located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and it is deemed t ...
. The first edition of the Alfieri's tragedy was published in 1763 and sent to the following notable Freemasons: the von Kaunitz brothers of Turin, Giovanni Pindemonte e Gerolamo Zulian in
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
, Annibale Beccaria (brother of
Cesare Cesare, the Italian language, Italian version of the given name Caesar (title), Caesar, may refer to:
Given name
* Cesare, Marquis of Beccaria (1738–1794), an Italian philosopher and politician
* Cesare Airaghi (1840–1896), Italian colonel
...
), Luigi Visconte Arese e Gioacchino Pallavicini 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 ...
, Carlo Gastone Rezzonico in
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 ...
, Saveur Grimaldi in
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
, Ludovico Savioli in
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
, Kiliano Caraccioli which was Venerable Master in
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
,
Giuseppe Guasco in Rome.
On August 27, 1782, the name of Alfieri is cited in the ''Tableau des Membres de la Respectable Loge de la Victoire à l'Orient de Naples'' ("List of the members of the Venerable Lodge "Victoire" in the Orient of napes") as ''Comte Alfieri, Gentilhomme de Turin'' (
count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
Alfieri,
gentleman
A gentleman (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the ra ...
of Turin). Some months later, the Savoia dynasty banned any Masonic activity from the Piedmont and the Great Master count Asinari of
Bernezzo
Bernezzo (Occitan, ''Bernès'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southwest of Turin and about west of Cuneo.
Bernezzo borders the following municipalities: Caraglio, Cervasca, ...
was obliged to transfer his title to the prince Diego Naselli of
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
. Napes become the official seat of the Italian Scottish Rite Freemasonry.
[. Alfieri, Vita, Epoca I, ''Primi sintomi di carattere appassionato''.]
His poetry ''Vita'', published in 1775, says:
The chapter continues mentioning the Scottish Rite degrees of ''Venerabile'', ''primo Vigilante'', ''Oratore'' and ''Segretario''.
Works
Tragedies
;Published in 1783
* ''Fillipo'' (Philip)
* ''Polinice'' (Polynices)
* ''Antigone''
* ''Virginia''
* ''Agaménnone'' (Agamemnon)
* ''Oreste'' (Orestes)
* ''Rosmunda''
* ''Ottavia'' (Octavia)
* ''Timoleone'' (Timoleon)
* ''Merope''
;Published in 1788
* ''Maria Stuarda'' (Mary Stuart)
* ''La Congiura De'Pazzi'' (The Conspiracy of the Pazzi)
* ''Don Garzia'' (Don Garcia)
* ''Saul''
* ''Agide'' (Agis)
* ''Sofonisba'' (Sophonisba)
;Published in 1792
* ''Bruto Primo'' (The First Brutus)
* ''Mirra'' (Myrrha)
* ''Bruto Secondo'' (The Second Brutus)
;Published posthumously in 1804
* ''Abéle'' (Abel)
* ''Le Due Alcesti'' (Alcestis II)
* Antony and Cleopatra
English translation of all 22 tragedies by
Charles Lloyd and
Edgar Alfred Bowring
Edgar Alfred Bowring (; 26 May 1826 – August 1911) was a British translator, author and civil servant, serving as librarian and registrar to the Board of Trade (1848–1863), secretary to the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, and Lib ...
: &
Notes
Sources
Vaughan, Herbert M, ''The Last Stuart Queen'', 1st edition, Brentano's, 1911
References
References
Attribution:
* Endnote: See
** ''Mem. di Vit. Alfieri''
**
Sismondi, ''De la lit. du midi de I'Europe''
**
Walker
Walker or The Walker may refer to:
People
*Walker (given name)
*Walker (surname)
*Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer
Places
In the United States
*Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County
*Walker, Mono County, California
* ...
's ''Memoir on Italian Tragedy''
** ''Giorn. de Pisa'', tom. lviii.
** ''Life of Alfieri'', by Centofanti (Florence, 1842)
** ''Vita, Giornuli, Lettere di Alfieri'', by Teza (Florence, 1861)
** ''Vittorio Alfieri'', by Antonini and Cognetti (Turin, 1898)
*
External links
*
*
*
*
''from "Mirra" : Atto III - Scena II ''on audio MP3
"The Foe of Tyrants: Vittorio Alfieri's 'L'America Libera' (1781; 1783)"* Daniel Winkler
Wilhelm Fink, Munich 2016, .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alfieri, Vittorio
1749 births
1803 deaths
Italian dramatists and playwrights
People from Asti
18th-century Italian dramatists and playwrights
18th-century Italian male writers
Italian male poets
Italian-language poets
Italian male dramatists and playwrights
18th-century Italian poets
Stateless people
Members of the Academy of Arcadians