Luigi da Porto : Juliet and Romeo

Luigi da Porto: Romeo and Juliet

J et R

Luigi (or Alvise, as was used the name at that time) from Porto was born in Vicenza in 1485 .

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Orphaned as a child, very soon he was educated to weapons and letters especially at the court of Urbino.

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ย He had an adventurous life of love,ย swashbuckling affairs, up to the clash in Friuli with German soldiers in 1511 in which he was seriously wounded.

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Returned in his birthplace, he lived between his home and his villa in Vicenza Montorso until his death in 1529.

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Soft literate and little known, he left many rhymes ….

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… and several historic letters …

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… in which he describes the situation and the events in northern Italy during the difficult years of the War of the League of Cambrai.

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His own text ….

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…. to which William Shakespeare was inspired 80 years later to the writing of his tragedy Romeo and Juliet, it was originally titled:
“HISTORY OF TWO NOBLE LOVERSย  with their pitiful death occurring already in the city of Verona at the time of Mr. Bartolomeo della Scala “

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This is from him dedicated to “..A BEAUTIFUL and graceful MADONNA LUCINA Savorgnana …”
Here in his first French edition …

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… Of Henry Cochen

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In it, Luigi Da Porto tells how in his youth, as having been dedicated to the profession of arms, he had from time to time sent wherever the need arose.
ย Heading towards Udine, his traveling companion, an elderly Verona archerย  named Peregrino, to relieve the boredom of the trip, he decided to tell a story that took place in his hometown.
It follows the story ofย  the love between Romeo and Juliet …

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… It is known to all, but that really is supposed to be a transposition of the personal stories of Luigi and Lucina, his cousin, to whom is dedicated the story, and their love affair from the branches of their families.

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The setting in Verona in their history, which took place probably between Vicenza, Venice and Udine is likely to be interpreted as a way of avoiding too direct references to persons, property and real places.

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