Giovanni Meli

Gaetano Cipolla (St. John's University)
Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error

Giovanni Meli is the most accomplished poet who ever wrote in Sicilian, a language that had already distinguished itself, under Frederick II, as the first poetic idiom of Italy. In spite of the fact that the use of his native language made his poetry nearly inaccessible to a majority of Italians, Meli occupies a place of prominence among Italian poets of the eighteenth century.

Meli was born in Palermo on March 6, 1740. His family was not wealthy: his father, Antonio, was a goldsmith, and his mother, Vincenza Torriquos, was of Spanish origin. Having received a traditional education – seven years in the Jesuits’ Collegio Massimo which he later characterized as worthless – he felt the need to study on his own. He began reading Latin and Italian classics as well as the authors of the

4549 words

Citation: Cipolla, Gaetano. "Giovanni Meli". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 31 January 2011 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=12292, accessed 28 March 2024.]

12292 Giovanni Meli 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.