Giacomo Leopardi

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Giacomo Leopardi
Portrait by S. Ferrazzi, c. 1820
Born	Giacomo Taldegardo Francesco di Sales Saverio Pietro Leopardi (1798-06-29)29 June 1798 Recanati, Papal States
Died	14 June 1837(1837-06-14) (aged 38) Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
Notable work	Canti Operette morali Zibaldone
Era	19th-century philosophy
Region	Western philosophy Italian philosophy
School	Classicism, later Enlightenment, Romanticism
Main interests	Poetry, essay, dialogue
Notable ideas	Philosophical pessimism
Signature

Count Giacomo Taldegardo Francesco di Sales Saverio Pietro Leopardi (US: /ˈdʒɑːkəmoʊ ˌliːəˈpɑːrdi, - ˌleɪə-/,^[3][4] Italian: [ˈdʒaːkomo leoˈpardi]; 29 June 1798 – 14 June 1837) was an Italian philosopher, poet, essayist, and philologist. He is considered the greatest Italian poet of the nineteenth century and one of the most important figures in the literature of the world, as well as one of the principals of literary romanticism; his constant reflection on existence and on the human condition—of sensuous and materialist inspiration—has also earned him a reputation as a deep philosopher. He is widely seen as one of the most radical and challenging thinkers of the 19th century^[5][6] but routinely compared by Italian critics to his older contemporary Alessandro Manzoni despite expressing "diametrically opposite positions."^[7] Although he lived in a secluded town in the conservative Papal States, he came into contact with the main ideas of the Enlightenment, and, through his own literary evolution, created a remarkable and renowned poetic work, related to the Romantic era. The strongly lyrical quality of his poetry made him a central figure on the European and international literary and cultural landscape.^[8]