Francesco Berni - poet

The short turbulent life of a witty satirist   

Francesco Berni depicted in a
18th century drawing 

Tuscan writer Francesco Berni, whose satirical verses poked fun at two Popes and one of his contemporary Italian poets, died on this day in 1535 in Florence.

Berni became known for his distinctive style of burlesque writing, which imitated serious literary forms in a humorous way. This technique became known as ‘bernesco’ and was a device later used by many other poets.

Some people believed his death, when he was in his thirties, was due to having been poisoned in revenge for refusing to take part in a plot to kill either Ippolito de’ Medici or an Italian Cardinal named Giovanni Salviati, but this is not certain.

Berni was born in either 1497 or 1498 in Lamporecchio in Tuscany. His father, Niccoló, who was a doctor, came from an established Florentine family, but he was poor. Berni spent his early years living in Florence and, when he was about 20, he entered the service of Cardinal Bernardo Bibbiena and his nephew, Angelo Dovizi, and moved to Rome with them.

At the time of the election of Pope Adrian VI, Berni circulated some witty verses that may have caused offence and he then found himself having to leave the capital city for a while and moved to live in Abruzzo. He returned in 1523 and accepted a post as a clerk, or a secretary, to Gian Matteo Giberti, who had an important role as datary to Pope Clement VII, which was a powerful post, responsible for processing official documents, granting dispensations and conferring benefices.

However, Berni found his duties working for Giberti irritating but, in the meantime, earned himself some celebrity because of his inventive satirical poetry. In about 1530, he was able to relinquish his post to concentrate on his writing, having obtained a canonry in Florence Cathedral, an office that relieved his precarious financial situation.

The writer’s Tuscan translation of Orlando Innamorato, a work that had been composed by the Renaissance author Matteo Maria Boiardo, went on to eclipse the original version, as it was preferred by many readers. The original had been written in the less popular Ferrarese dialect, making it more difficult for a lot of people to read. 

Pope Clement VII was one of Berni's
targets for his satirical verse

Berni’s play La Catrina, which was described as a lively, rustic farce, was also highly regarded at the time, but Berni was to become more well-known for his burlesque poetry.

Some of his output is regarded as savagely satirical, such as his verses attacking his fellow Tuscan poet, Pietro Aretino, and those aimed at the Popes, Adrian VI and Clement VII. 

However, some of his most popular work, which was written in the style of Petrarchan verse, was inspired by relatively unimportant, everyday subjects, such as a poem he wrote mocking his friend’s shorn beard.

Sadly, Berni died, at the age of about 38. After his death, a story circulated that he had been poisoned by Duke Alessandro de’ Medici for having refused to poison the Duke’s cousin, Ippolito de’ Medici, but this has never been proved one way or the other. It was also claimed in a letter written at the time that Berni died from ingesting the poison that he had refused to administer to Cardinal Giovanni Salviati, a Florentine diplomat.

Whether either story is true or not, it is thought more likely that Berni’s mysterious death occurred as a result of being caught up in the political intrigues going on at the time among the Medici, rather than because he had seriously offended any of the targets of his satirical verses. 

Berni’s acclaimed translation and revision of Boiardo’s Orlando Innamorato has also provided scholars with a clue about his own opinions about religion. In one of his poetic introductions to a canto, he revealed that he was favourably disposed toward the new Reformation principles being introduced in Italy at the time, which may explain the bitterness of some of his remarks in the satirical verses that he had written about the Church.

Several streets in Italian cities have been named after the poet. You can find a Via Francesco Berni in Florence, Empoli, Pietrasanta, Varese, and Verona.

Packets of brigidini, Lamporecchio's speciality
wafer biscuits, on sale at a market

Travel tip:

Lamporecchio, where Francesco Berni was born, is a comune - municipality - in the province of Pistoia in Tuscany. It is about 13km (eight miles) south of Pistoia. The town is known for the invention of brigidini, which are thin, anise-flavoured wafers, and the berlingozzo, a cake typically eaten during the Carnival. The noble Rospigliosi family, of which Pope Clement IX was a member, has its roots in Lamporecchio. With a population of around 7,500,  Lamporecchio is located in the Valdinievole, a valley that extends between Pistoia and Lucca, in an area halfway between the Fucecchio Marsh and the hills of Montalbano, which are planted with vineyards and olive trees. Halfway along the valley - and a good base for visiting the area - is the town of Montecatini Terme, famous for its thermal baths that can be enjoyed in the town’s Liberty-style spa resorts.

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Brunelleschi's colossal dome of the Cattedrale di
Santa Maria del Fiore dominates the skyline

Travel tip:

Berni achieved financial security and was able to concentrate on his poetry after 1530 when he obtained a canonry at Florence Cathedral. Otherwise known as Santa Maria del Fiore, or the Duomo of Florence, the cathedral dominates the city skyline with its immense, brick-built dome designed by the Florentine Renaissance architect Filippo Brunelleschi. It was built without scaffolding and given an inner shell to provide a platform for the timbers that support the outer shell. The architect died in 1446 before it was completed, but a statue of Brunelleschi was erected in Piazza del Duomo. The dome was his greatest achievement, and would forever define the city of Florence. It remains, to this day, the largest masonry dome in the world.

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More reading:

How satirist Giuseppe Parini mocked the aristocracy of 18th century Milan

Why Pietro Aretino was both admired and feared by the nobility

Ludovico Ariosto, Renaissance author of the epic poem, Orlando Furioso

Also on this day:

1805: Napoleon Bonaparte was declared King of Italy

1955: The death of racing driver Alberto Ascari

1977: The birth of footballer Luca Toni

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Ippolito de' Medici – Lord of Florence

Brief life of a Cardinal, soldier and patron of the arts

Ippolito de' Medici, as portrayed by Titian
between 1532 and 1534, in Hungarian dress

Ippolito de' Medici, who ruled Florence on behalf of his cousin, Giulio, after he became Pope Clement VII, died on this day in 1535 in Itri in Lazio.

At the age of 24, Ippolito was said to have contracted a fever that turned into malaria, but at the time there were also rumours that he had been poisoned.

There were two possible suspects. The fatal dose could have been administered on behalf of Alessandro de' Medici, whose abuses he was just about to denounce, or on behalf of the new pope, Paul III, who was believed to want Ippolito’s lucrative benefices for his nephews.

Ippolito was born in 1509 in Urbino, the illegitimate son of Giuliano de' Medici. His father died when Ippolito was seven and he came under the protection of his uncle, Pope Leo X. When he died five years later, Ippolito’s cousin, Giulio, who had become Pope Clement VII, sent him to Florence to become a member of the government, destined to rule the city when he was old enough.

Ippolito ruled Florence on his behalf between 1524 and 1527 but then Clement VII chose his illegitimate nephew, Alessandro, to take charge of Florence instead.

He created Ippolito a Cardinal in 1529 and named him archbishop of Avignon, which gave him a considerable income. Although there is no evidence that he was ever ordained as a priest or consecrated as a bishop, Ippolito was named Cardinal Priest of Santa Prassede and then Papal Legate in Perugia.

The ancient castle at Itri in Lazio, where Ippolito died

But Ippolito wanted to be the ruler of Florence rather than a cleric and was to spend the rest of his short life trying to depose his cousin, Alessandro.

In August 1529 Ippolito was one of the three Cardinals who met Emperor Charles V in Genoa to conduct him in state to Bologna for his coronation as Emperor.

In 1530 Clement VII granted Ippolito a half share of the annual papal income from the town and territory of Clusium for his lifetime.

Ippolito was sent to Hungary as Papal Legate in 1532 where he led 8,000 soldiers against the Ottoman Turks.

That same year he was named vice chancellor of the Holy Roman Church, the most lucrative office in the church, and he was transferred to the church of San Lorenzo in Damaso.

Jacopo Pontormo's portrait of Alessandro

After Ippolito’s cousin, Clement VII, died, Cardinal Alessandro Farnese was elected Pope and took the name of Paul III.

Ippolito acted as Florentine ambassador to Emperor Charles V, passing on to him complaints about the administration of Alessandro de' Medici.

When he became ill with a fever and subsequently died on 10 August 1535 he was on his way to north Africa to present his case against Alessandro to the Emperor, who was on a military campaign there. It was rumoured he had either been poisoned by Alessandro de' Medici to prevent him from denouncing him, or by the new pope, Paul III, who wanted his posts in the church for his own nephews.

Ippolito had been a generous patron of the arts, which was acknowledged by Giorgio Vasari in his writing, and he was painted by Titian wearing Hungarian costume in 1533.

He was unsuitable for the church because of his friendship with a Venetian courtesan and his love for Guilia Gonzaga, who was painted by artist Sebastiano del Piombo, who also enjoyed Ippolito’s patronage.

But Ippolito enjoyed the lavish lifestyle his position in the church gave him. Clement VII had reputedly once tried to sack members of his household, which Ippolito had resisted on the grounds that although he probably did not need them, they needed him.

The Church of San Michele
Arcangelo in Itri

Travel tip:

Itri in Lazio, where Ippolito died en route to Africa, is a small town in the province of Latina. It lies in a valley between the mountains and the sea near the Gulf of Gaeta. It has an ancient castle in the upper part of the town and the local people speak Itrano, a variation of the Naples dialect. The film Two Women, starring Sofia Loren, was filmed in Itri.

Travel tip:

Urbino, where Ippolito was born, is a beautiful city on a steep hill inland from Pesaro in the Marche region. The Ducal Palace, made famous by Castiglione’s The Book of the Courtier, is one of the most important monuments in Italy and is listed as a Unesco World Heritage site.

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