Alessandro Manzoni (Manzoni Alessandro)

(1785-1873)
Born March 7, 1785 in Milan. Faithful Catholic, he held liberal views. His early poems, . particularly religious hymns, . includes all the Italian anthology, . and the critical work, . especially on the linguistic and religious themes, . remain in the cultural everyday life, . but most of all he is known as the author of the historical novel The Betrothed (I Promessi Sposi),
. The less fortunate of his tragedies in verse Count Carmagnola (Il Conte di Carmagnola, 1820) and Adelgiz (Adelchi, 1822).
By the end of life Manzoni became a national symbol, though he lived in seclusion in Milan and his estate not far from it. A shy and nervous by nature, he did not play a significant role in the Italian Risorgimento, but sympathized with its goals. At the end of life was surrounded by the honor after the death of 22 May 1873 the government gave him a state funeral. J. Verdi dedicated his Manzoni Requiem.

Betrothed first novel came out in 1827, but the final version with many changes and corrections appeared only in 1840-1842. Formally Manzoni novel continues the tradition of romantic historical novels, but in fact there's very little of Sir Walter Scott, Manzoni approach to image events rather realistic than romantic. In the novel, dozens of characters: the gentry, priests, inquisitors, tavern, poor craftsmen - and even the most insignificant of them are beautifully sketched some expressive detail, in general, the novel gives a wide panorama of life in Italy 17.

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