Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
reaching popularity, established the Tuscan dialect as the new standardised form of written
Italian.
Another early adopter of the new language of literature was Giovanni Boccaccio
(1303-75), who hailed from Certaldo. His masterpiece,
Decameron,
was written in the
years following the plague of 1348. A collection of 100 allegorical tales recounted by 10
characters, it delivered a vast panorama of personalities, events and symbolism to contem-
porary readers and was nearly as popular and influential as
The Divine Comedy
.
The remaining member of the influential triumvirate that allowed for the development
of a rich literature in Italian was Petrarch (Francesco Petrarca; 1304-74), born in Arezzo
to Florentine parents. Although most of his writings were in Latin, he wrote his most pop-
ular works, his poems, in Italian.
Il canzoniere
(
Songbook;
c 1327-68) is the distilled res-
ult of his finest poetry. Although the core subject is his unrequited love for a woman
named Laura, the breadth of human grief and joy is treated with a lyrical quality hitherto
unmatched. His influence spread far and across time: the Petrarchan sonnet form, rhyme
scheme and even subject matter was adopted by English metaphysical poets of 17th-cen-
tury England such as John Donne.
Another outstanding writer of this period was Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527),
known above all for his work on power and politics,
Il Principe
(
The Prince;
1532).
TUSCAN MEMOIRS
After visiting Tuscany, many people dream of purchasing their own piece of paradise. The following
writers did just that, some establishing wildly successful literary franchises in the process.
»
Dario Castagno
(
Too Much Tuscan Sun; A Day in Tuscany; Too Much Tuscan Wine;
2004-2009)
»
Mark Gordon Smith
(
Tuscan Echoes; Tuscan Light: Memories of Italy;
2003-2007)
»
Sam Hilt
(
Turning Tuscan: A Step-By-Step Guide to Going Native
; 2012)
»
David Leavitt & Mark Mitchell
(
In Maremma: Life and a House in Southern Tuscany
; 2002, up-
dated 2011)
»
Ferenc Máté
(
The Hills of Tuscany; A Vineyard in Tuscany: A Wine-Lover's Dream; The Wisdom
of Tuscany;
1999-2009)
»
Frances Mayes
(
Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy; Bella Tuscany; In Tuscany; Every Day
in Tuscany;
1996-2010)
»
Don McPherson
(
Ah! Tuscany: The Enlightenment of an Expatriate;
2006)
»
Eric Newby
(
A Small Place in Italy;
1994)