Antonio Veneziano (Monreale, 1543 - Castellammare del Golfo, 19 August 1593) was a Sicilian poet who wrote mainly in Sicilian. He is placed alongside the great poets who wrote in Sicilian, which include Giovanni Meli, Domenico Tempio and Nino Martoglio. He is perhaps the first major figure in Sicilian literature following the Sicilian School which predates him by three centuries. During his life time, he was well known for his poetry both within Sicily and far beyond. He also wrote in Italian and Latin. The apse of the cathedral of Monreale Monreale is a small city in the province of Palermo, in Sicily, Italy. ... // Events February 21 - Battle of Wayna Daga - A combined army of Ethiopian and Portuguese troops defeat the armies of Adal led by Ahmed Gragn. ... Castellammare del Golfo is a town in the Trapani Province of Sicily. ... August 19 is the 231st day of the year (232nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Events May 18 - Playwright Thomas Kyds accusations of heresy lead to an arrest warrant for Christopher Marlowe. ... Sicilian redirects here. ... Sicilian (, Italian: ) is the Romance language spoken in Sicily and southern Italy. ... In a literary context, the term Sicilian School identifies a small community of Sicilian, and to a lesser extent, mainland Italian poets gathered around Frederick II, most of them belonging to his court, the Magna Curia. ... Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ...

Life and works

Veneziano was a contemporary of the great Spanish writer Cervantes (Sicily was under Spanish rule at this time). As it happens, both shared a cell after being captured by Barbary pirates around 1575. He wrote his greatest work, Celia during his period of imprisonment in Algeria (he was released in 1579). Cervantes is reported as having said that Veneziano had earned a passage to Paradise through this collection of poems (Celia means a jest or joke in both Sicilian and Italian). He wrote other works of poetry, also delving in satire and bawdy rhymes. Cervantes can refer to: Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote Francisco Cervantes de Salazar, 16th-century man of letters Cervantes, Ilocos Sur, a municipality in the Philippines Cervantes, a town in Western Australia Cervantes de Leon, a character in the Soul Calibur series of fighting games This is a... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... Events February 13 - Henry III of France is crowned at Reims February 14 - Henry III of France marries Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont June 28 - Oda Nobunaga defeats Takeda Katsuyori in the battle of Nagashino, which has been called Japans first modern battle. ... Events January 6 - The Union of Atrecht united the southern Netherlands under the Duke of Parma, governor in the name of king Philip II of Spain. ...

When once asked why he chose to write in Sicilian rather than a recognised literary language such as Italian or Spanish, he replied to the effect that if a man is to seduce a woman, he must do so in her mother tongue. It is unclear whether a pun was intended.

The whole of his works were assembled in 1967 in a publication entiled: Ottave, edited by A. Rigoli. 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ...

Examples of his poetry

Some extracts from his collection, Celia, appear below (circa 1575 - 1580). While the subject matter of the first poem, love, is typical enough of early Sicilian poetry, the second is a bit more atypical, possessing a whimsical quality. Events February 13 - Henry III of France is crowned at Reims February 14 - Henry III of France marries Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont June 28 - Oda Nobunaga defeats Takeda Katsuyori in the battle of Nagashino, which has been called Japans first modern battle. ... Events March 1 - Michel de Montaigne signs the preface to his most significant work, Essays. ...

No. vii

No. viii

References

• Arba Sicula Volume II, 1980 (bilingual: Sicilian and English) - source of the examples of poetry and English translation.