Statue of the poet in Reggio Emilia.

Memorial statue and park, Ferrara.

Ludovico Ariosto (September 8, 1474 – July 6, 1533) was an Italian poet, author of the epic poem Orlando furioso (1516), "Orlando Enraged". Download high resolution version (1536x2048, 474 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (1536x2048, 474 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Country Italy Region Emilia-Romagna Province Reggio Emilia (RE) Mayor Graziano Delrio (from July 1, 2004) Elevation 58 m Area 231 km² Population  - Total 141,383  - Density 612/km² Time zone CET, UTC+1 Coordinates Gentilic Reggiani Dialing code 0522 Postal code 42100 Frazioni see list Patron San Prospero  - Day... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2560x1920, 979 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Ludovico Ariosto Ferrara Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2560x1920, 979 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Ludovico Ariosto Ferrara Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used... Ferrara is a city in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, capital city of the province of Ferrara. ... September 8 is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years). ... Events December 12 - Upon the death of Henry IV of Castile a civil war ensues between his designated successor Isabella I of Castile and her sister Juana who was supported by her husband, Alfonso V of Portugal. ... July 6 is the 187th day of the year (188th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 178 days remaining. ... Events January 25 - King Henry VIII of England marries Anne Boleyn, his second Queen consort. ... The epic is a broadly defined genre of poetry, and one of the major forms of narrative literature. ... Ruggiero Rescuing Angelica by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres. ... // Events March - With the death of Ferdinand II of Aragon, his grandson Charles of Ghent becomes King of Spain as Carlos I. July - Selim I of the Ottoman Empire declares war on the Mameluks and invades Syria. ...

He was born at Reggio, in Emilia, where his father Niccolò Ariosto was commander of the citadel. Ludovico was very interested in poetry from his earliest years, but was obliged by his father to study law. After five years of law, Ariosto was allowed to read classics under Gregorio da Spoleto. But after a short time studying the best Latin authors, Gregorio's move to France to tutor Francesco Sforza prevented Ariosto from continuing with Greek, as he intended. Country Italy Region Emilia-Romagna Province Reggio Emilia (RE) Mayor Graziano Delrio (from July 1, 2004) Elevation 58 m Area 231 km² Population  - Total 141,383  - Density 612/km² Time zone CET, UTC+1 Coordinates Gentilic Reggiani Dialing code 0522 Postal code 42100 Frazioni see list Patron San Prospero  - Day... The word Emilia may have many meanings: The name Emilia originated in Italy, and is sometimes confused with the similar-sounding name Amelia. Emilia is an historical region of Italy, now merged with Romagna to form the Emilia-Romagna administrative region. ... Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Portrait of Francesco Sforza, ca 1460, by Bonifazio Bembo: Sforza insisted on being shown in his worn dirty old campaigning hat. ...

His father dying soon after, he was compelled to forego his literary occupations and undertake the management of the family, whose affairs were in disarray, and to provide for his nine brothers and sisters, one of whom was a cripple. He wrote, however, about this time some comedies in prose as well as lyrical pieces. Some of these attracted the notice of Cardinal Ippolito d'Este, who took the young poet under his patronage and appointed him one of the gentlemen of his household. This prince made a mockery of the character of a patron of literature. The only reward he gave the poet for Orlando Furioso, a piece dedicated to him, was the question, "Where did you find so many stories, Master Ludovic?" The poet himself tells us that the cardinal was ungrateful, that he deplored the time which he spent under his yoke, and adds, that if he received some niggardly pension, it was not to reward him for his poetry, which the prelate despised, but to make some just compensation for the poet's running like a messenger, with the work of his life yet to accomplish, at his eminence's pleasure. Nor was even this miserable pittance regularly paid during the period that the poet enjoyed it.

The cardinal went to Hungary in 1518, and wished Ariosto to accompany him. The poet excused himself, pleading ill health, his love of study, the care of his private affairs and the age of his mother, whom it would have been disgraceful to leave. His excuses were not well received, and even an interview was denied him. Ariosto then boldly said, that had his eminence thought to have bought a slave by assigning him the scanty pension of seventy-five crowns a year, he was mistaken and might withdraw his boon--which it seems the cardinal did. Events A plague of tropical fire ants devastates crops on Hispaniola. ...

The cardinal's brother, Alfonso, duke of Ferrara, now took the poet under his patronage. This was but an act of simple justice, Ariosto having already distinguished himself as a diplomat, chiefly on the occasion of two visits to Rome as ambassador to Pope Julius II. The fatigue of one of these hurried journeys brought on a complaint from which he never recovered, and on his second mission he was nearly killed by order of the pope, who happened at the time to be much incensed against the duke of Ferrara. Ferrara is a city in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, capital city of the province of Ferrara. ... Nickname: The Eternal City Motto: SPQR: Senatus PopulusQue Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area    - City 1285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban... Pope Julius II (December 5, 1443 – February 21, 1513), born Giuliano della Rovere, was Pope from 1503 to 1513. ...

On account of the war, his salary of only 84 crowns a year was suspended, and it was withdrawn together after the peace. Because of this, Ariosto asked the duke either to provide for him, or to allow him to seek employment elsewhere. He was appointed to the province of Garfagnana, then without a governor, situated on the wildest heights of the Apennines, an appointment he held for three years. The place was no sinecure. The province was distracted by factions and banditti, the governor had not the requisite means to enforce his authority and the duke did little to support his minister. Yet it is said that Ariosto's government satisfied both the sovereign and the people given over to his care; indeed, there is a story about a time when he was walking alone and fell into the company of a group of banditi, the chief of which, on discovering that his captive was the author of Orlando Furioso, humbly apologized for not having immediately shown him the respect which was due to his rank. Garfagnana is an historical region of Italy, today part of the province of Lucca in the Apennines, in northwest Tuscany, but before the unification of Italy it belonged to the Duchy of Modena and Reggio, ruled by the Este family. ...

In 1508 his play Cassaria appeared, and the next year I Suppositi. 1508 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 1516, the first version of the Orlando Furioso in forty cantos, was published at Padua. // Events March - With the death of Ferdinand II of Aragon, his grandson Charles of Ghent becomes King of Spain as Carlos I. July - Selim I of the Ottoman Empire declares war on the Mameluks and invades Syria. ... Ruggiero Rescuing Angelica by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres. ...

The third and final version of the Orlando Furioso, in forty-six cantos, appeared on September 8, 1532. September 8 is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years). ... Events May 16 - Sir Thomas More resigns as Lord Chancellor of England. ...

External link

• Works by Ludovico Ariosto at Project Gutenberg
• Ludovico Ariosto's works: text, concordances and frequency lists
• LitWeb: Ludovico Ariosto