Fun Facts Friday: Luovico Ariosto

Luovico Ariosto (8 September, 1474 – 6 July, 1533) was a notable Italian poet. He is still remembered for Orlando Furioso, his 1516 romance epic.

Works by Luovico Ariosto*

Fun facts about Luovico Ariosto:

1. Luovico Ariosto was born in Reggio nell’Emilia, a city in northern Italy. Count Niccolò Ariosto, his father, was the commander of the city’s citadel.
2. The future poet was the oldest of 10 children and hence was positioned well to inherit his family’s belongings.
3. The family moved from Reggio Emilia to Ferrara when Luovico was then years old. For the rest of his life, the poet considered himself a Ferrarese.
4. Young Luovico was interested in poetry from a young age, but he was made to study law. This came in very handy when his father passed away, and Mr. Ariosto was thrusted into the position of breadwinner to his large family of four brothers and five sisters.
5. In 1502 the Luovico Ariosto became the commander of the citadel of Canossa. In 1503 he entered the service of Cardinal Ippolito d’Este, a duty which was at odds with his personality. He accompanied the Cardinal on diplomatic and military campaigns.
6. By this time, the poet wrote several verses inspired by Roman poets, they are considered to be genuine, but not technically skillful.
7. Luovico Ariosto had been working on his epic poem, Orlando Furioso, for about 10 years, when it was finally published in 1516. The poem became popular in Europe immediately upon publishing. It greatly influenced the Literature of the Renaissance.
8. He was forced to accept the governorship of a province in the wildest part of the Apennines, Garfagnana. Up until then he tried to stay near Ferrara and his mistress, Alessandra Benucci. Despite his misgivings, he was Luovico Ariosto was shown to be a capable administrator.
9. Ariosto’s five comedies are based on Latin classics, inspired by life in the time they were written. Those comedies were minor works, and were some of the first imitations of Latin comedy which would characterize comedy from Europe for many years to come.
10. Circa 1530 Luovico Ariosto married Alessandra Benucci and spent the rest of his life with her, working on his garden and revising Orlando Furioso.

Works by Luovico Ariosto*

Zohar – Man of la Book
*Ama­zon links point to an affil­i­ate account, the money is usually spent on books

Sources:

Ludovico Ariosto | Wikipedia

Ludovico Ariosto – Italian author | Britannica

Ludovico Ariosto: Summary | Britannica