Benedetto Varchi
Benedetto Varchi (Italian pronunciation: .
Biography
Born in Florence to a family that had originated at
Medici
rule in Florence. At Pisa, Varchi studied to become a notary.
With his return to Florence, he fought in the defence of the temporarily revived
Cosimo I, who gave him a pension and commissioned him to write a history of the city. His Storia fiorentina (16 vol.) covers the period from 1527 to 1538, though it was so frank it was not published in Florence until 1721. Varchi also wrote a number of plays, poems, dialogues, and translations from the classics.[1]
With his return to Medici patronage, he became a member of the
Renaissance humanist in botany and alchemy. His tract L'Hercolano, in the form of a dialogue between the writer and a conte Ercolano, discussed the Tuscan dialect as it was spoken at Florence, in the vulgar rather than in Latin, an innovation in works of linguistics; it was published posthumously, in 1570.[2]
He wrote a comedy La Suocera ("The Mother-in-Law").
Towards the end of his life, he had a spiritual crisis and took holy orders.
In
Alessandro de' Medici. Varchi admitted that after all his attempts to uncover the facts he could not decide on the motives of Alessandro's murderer (Lorenzino de' Medici
, Alessandro's cousin).
Homosexuality
In his time, Varchi was notorious for his many sonnets to young boys. Though his loves were not always reciprocated, and despite his denunciations of men who engaged in "filthy loves", he was criticized by his contemporaries for his attachments to young boys. One critic mocked him in a satire: "O father Varchi, new Socrates ... his arms open and his trousers down, this is how your Bembo is waiting for you in the
Cosimo de' Medici upon the intercession of his many friends.[4]
References
- ^ One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Varchi, Benedetto". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 27 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 905.
- ^ Ercolano, dialogo nel qual si ragiona generalmente delle lingue e in particolare della fiorentina e della toscana, Giunti, Firenze 1570.
- ^ Homosexuality & Civilization, Louis Crompton, pages 277-8
- ^ Encyclopedia of Italian literary studies By Gaetana Marrone, Paolo Puppa, Luca Somigli; p.1949
- An extensive bibliography may be found at Italian Wikipedia: "Benedetto Varchi"
Further reading (Italian)
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