Franco Sacchetti
Encyclopedia
Franco Sacchetti was an Italian
poet and novelist.
or in Ragusa (modern Dubrovnik), he was the son of Benci di Uguccione, surnamed "Buono", Florentine merchant of the noble and ancient family of the Sacchetti. While still a young man he achieved repute as a poet, and he appears to have traveled on affairs of more or less importance as far as to Genoa
, Milan
and Slavonia
.
After 1363 he settled in Florence. When a sentence of banishment was passed upon the rest of the house of Sacchetti by the Florentine authorities in 1380 (after the Ciompi
revolt) it appears that Sacchetti was expressly exempted, per esser tanto uomo buono ("because he is a real good man"), and in 1383 he was one of the eight, discharging the office of prior for the months of March and April.
In 1386 he was chosen ambassador to Genoa, but preferred to go as podestà
to Bibbiena
in Casentino. In 1392 he was podestà of San Miniato
, and in 1396 he held a similar office at Faenza
. In 1398 he received from his fellow-citizens the post of captain of their then province of Romagna
, having his residence at Portico
. The date of his death is unknown; most probably it occurred about 1400, though some writers place it as late as 1410.
He wrote sonnets, canzoni, madrigals, and other poems; his best known works are however his Novelle (short stories). They were originally 300 in number, but today only 258 remain, the rest having been lost. They were not fitted into any framework like that of Boccaccio's Decameron. The best of them are of a humorous character; and their style is more simple and colloquial than Boccaccio's. The story given as a specimen probably exists (under one form or another) in the folk tales of every European nation.
Sacchetti died at San Miniato
around 1400.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
poet and novelist.
Biography
Born in FlorenceFlorence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
or in Ragusa (modern Dubrovnik), he was the son of Benci di Uguccione, surnamed "Buono", Florentine merchant of the noble and ancient family of the Sacchetti. While still a young man he achieved repute as a poet, and he appears to have traveled on affairs of more or less importance as far as to Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
and Slavonia
Slavonia
Slavonia is a geographical and historical region in eastern Croatia...
.
After 1363 he settled in Florence. When a sentence of banishment was passed upon the rest of the house of Sacchetti by the Florentine authorities in 1380 (after the Ciompi
Ciompi
The Revolt of the Ciompi was a popular revolt in late medieval Florence by wool carders known as ciompi , who rose up in 1378 to demand a voice in the commune's ordering....
revolt) it appears that Sacchetti was expressly exempted, per esser tanto uomo buono ("because he is a real good man"), and in 1383 he was one of the eight, discharging the office of prior for the months of March and April.
In 1386 he was chosen ambassador to Genoa, but preferred to go as podestà
Podestà
Podestà is the name given to certain high officials in many Italian cities, since the later Middle Ages, mainly as Chief magistrate of a city state , but also as a local administrator, the representative of the Emperor.The term derives from the Latin word potestas, meaning power...
to Bibbiena
Bibbiena
Bibbiena is a town and comune in the province of Arezzo, Tuscany , the largest town in the valley of Casentino. It is located 60 kilometers from Florence, 30 kilometers from Arezzo, 60 kilometers from Siena and 20 kilometers from the Sanctuary of La Verna.The town is on top of a hill at an...
in Casentino. In 1392 he was podestà of San Miniato
San Miniato
San Miniato is a town and comune in the province of Pisa, in the region of Tuscany, Italy.San Miniato sits at an historically strategic location atop three small hills where it dominates the lower Arno valley between the valleys of Egola and Elsa...
, and in 1396 he held a similar office at Faenza
Faenza
Faenza is an Italian city and comune, in the province of Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, situated 50 km southeast of Bologna.Faenza is noted for its manufacture of majolica ware glazed earthenware pottery, known from the name of the town as "faience"....
. In 1398 he received from his fellow-citizens the post of captain of their then province of Romagna
Romagna
Romagna is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to the east, and the rivers Reno and Sillaro to the north and west...
, having his residence at Portico
Portico e San Benedetto
Portico e San Benedetto is a comune in the Province of Forlì-Cesena in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about 60 km southeast of Bologna....
. The date of his death is unknown; most probably it occurred about 1400, though some writers place it as late as 1410.
He wrote sonnets, canzoni, madrigals, and other poems; his best known works are however his Novelle (short stories). They were originally 300 in number, but today only 258 remain, the rest having been lost. They were not fitted into any framework like that of Boccaccio's Decameron. The best of them are of a humorous character; and their style is more simple and colloquial than Boccaccio's. The story given as a specimen probably exists (under one form or another) in the folk tales of every European nation.
Sacchetti died at San Miniato
San Miniato
San Miniato is a town and comune in the province of Pisa, in the region of Tuscany, Italy.San Miniato sits at an historically strategic location atop three small hills where it dominates the lower Arno valley between the valleys of Egola and Elsa...
around 1400.
See also
- FlorenceFlorenceFlorence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
- Early Italian RenaissanceItalian RenaissanceThe Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 13th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe...
- Renaissance humanismRenaissance humanismRenaissance humanism was an activity of cultural and educational reform engaged by scholars, writers, and civic leaders who are today known as Renaissance humanists. It developed during the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth centuries, and was a response to the challenge of Mediæval...
- Republic of FlorenceRepublic of FlorenceThe Republic of Florence , or the Florentine Republic, was a city-state that was centered on the city of Florence, located in modern Tuscany, Italy. The republic was founded in 1115, when the Florentine people rebelled against the Margraviate of Tuscany upon Margravine Matilda's death. The...
- Republic of RagusaRepublic of RagusaThe Republic of Ragusa or Republic of Dubrovnik was a maritime republic centered on the city of Dubrovnik in Dalmatia , that existed from 1358 to 1808...