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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)
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