The Complete Canzoniere

Francesco Petrarca, known as Petrarch, was born on July 20, 1304, at Arezzo, in the Republic of Florence. His father, Ser Petracco, was a contemporary of Dante Alighieri. Petrarch's early years were spent in Incisa, near Florence, and later, following Pope Clement V's relocation of the papacy, in Avignon and Carpentras. He studied law at the Universities of Montpellier and Bologna but pursued a career in literature – against the wishes of his father.

Petrarch's literary career began with his work "Africa," a Latin epic on the Roman general Scipio Africanus. He gained fame as the second poet laureate since classical antiquity, crowned in Rome on April 8, 1341. His discovery of Cicero's letters in 1345 significantly contributed to the early Italian Renaissance and the development of Renaissance humanism.

His scholarly travels across Europe contributed to the revival of both Greek and Latin culture. Despite his inability to read Greek himself, he played a key role in reviving interest in Homer's works.

Petrarch's most enduring legacy is his collection the "Canzoniere," comprising 366 sonnets, and "I Trionfi," a six-part narrative poem. Both were highly significant in the development of Renaissance lyrical poetry. His sonnets, particularly those about his idealized love for the possibly fictitious Laura, were widely imitated and celebrated throughout Europe.

In his later years, Petrarch lived in northern Italy and southern France. He fathered two children, Giovanni and Francesca, out of wedlock. Petrarch spent his final years in Arquà, where he died on July 18/19, 1374.

Petrarch's revival of classical texts and his humanistic approach marked a transition from medieval scholasticism to Renaissance humanism.

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