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Art of Loving Italy

Art of Loving Italy

Art & Beauty are all around us.

The man who wrote the book of Love — Petrarch’s sonnets to Laura

January 24, 2020 by Melissa Muldoon Leave a Comment

Photo Credit: Art of Loving Italy, Deposit Photo

The only love that lasts is unrequited love.

You’ve heard of Heathcliff and Cathy. You already know the stories of Scarlett O’Hara and Ashley Wilkes, as well as Dante and Beatrice. You may also be familiar with Charlie Brown’s love for the Little-Red-Haired Girl. But, are you familiar with the story of Laura and Petrarca — also known as Petrarch?

Marie Spartali Stillman, The First Meeting of Petrach and Laura

Their story, much like the others, is a story of unrequited love. Of love found, but never directly expressed. It is the kind of love that brings unspeakable joy and unendurable desires to the person loving so profoundly, and at the same time heartbreaking anguish and sorrow because it is impossible to reconcile the two.

How to deal with the burden of love
impossible to obtain?
Why art, of course! 

Poets and artists, suffering from this condition, turn to write, and painting to assuage and express their passionate emotions. It is a cathartic process, as well as a way to create a “safe” emotional bond with their beloved as well as a “stage” upon which they can freely talk about their complicated emotions. In the case of Petrarca, he literally wrote the book on infatuation, penning more than 300 Italian sonnets dedicated to his object of passion “Laura.” His verses soon gave rise to a whole generation of imitators all over Europe, particularly in England, where his romantic poems inspired the great love-sonnet cycles of William Shakespeare, Sir Philip Sidney, and Edmund Spenser.

The man who began the Italian
Renaissance was a love-sick fool!

Photo Credit, Studentessa Matta, Deposit Photo

Born in Arezzo, Italy in 1304, Petrarca after rejecting a career as a lawyer, turned instead to writing and humanist studies. After having rediscovered Cicero’s letters and translated them, he is credited with initiating the 14th-century Italian Renaissance. To put his life in context, Dante was a friend of Petrarca’s father and Boccaccio was a close personal friend. In a time when most individuals never left their homes, Petrarca traveled widely in Europe, and because he traveled for pleasure, he is considered the first tourist.

Photo Credit, Studentessa Matta, Deposit Photo
Petrach’s Laura

Who was this Laura and where
di Petrarca meet her?

It is documented that Petrarca first caught sight of Laura, on April 6, 1327 in the church of Sainte-Claire d’Avignon, after Easter Mass. The true identity of Laura is not certain, as Petrarca never mentions her last name. He only describes here as: lovely to look at, fair-haired, modest, and dignified in bearing. It is surmised the mysterious Laura, was the wife of the Count Hugues de Sade (an ancestor of the Marquis de Sade). If indeed the object of Petrarch’s affections is Laura de Sade — the woman was married at the age of 15, and by the time Petrarca saw her, was already a wife and mother of several children.

Petrach’s Laura

Regardless, Petrarca would be haunted by her beauty for the rest of his life, despite her passing away at the age of 38 in the year 1348, on April 6th, Good Friday, exactly 21 years to the very hour Petrarca first saw her. There are no records as to the cause of Laura’s death, but it was most likely due to the plague or possibly pulmonary tuberculosis resulting from eleven childbirths.

Petrach & Laura

Ah, to love so deeply and so intensely! For some it could be a curse driving them to despair. But, Petrarca, instead of pining away and sinking into oblivion, tortured by an unobtainable woman, turned his passionate feelings into a gift for all eternity to enjoy. He wrote the Canzoniere — love songs to Laura and now Petrarch’s love for one very special woman lives on through his sonnets, and the two of them never united in their own time — live together forever in art, in the stanzas of his poems.

To read this post in Italian & English click on over to the Studentessa Matta Blog. Let me be your guide to Italy, and Italian Language Immersion!

Click Here

Love sonnet to Laura

When Love within her lovely face appears now and again among the other ladies, as much as each is less lovely than she the more my wish I love within me grows.

I bless the place, the time and hour of the day that my eyes aimed their sights at such a height, and say: ‘My soul, you must be very grateful
that you were found worthy of such great honor.

From her to you comes loving thought that leads, as long as you pursue, to the highest good, esteeming little what all men desire;

there comes from her all joyous honesty that leads you by the straight path up to Heaven – already I fly high upon my hope.

Come with me to Arezzo to learn Italian
and immerse in language and culture.
We will even visit the birthplace of Petrarca in Arezzo!

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Filed Under: Renaissance Tagged With: Medieval Poet, Petrach, sonnet Laura

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My girls on mugs! Artemisia, Sophia, Sofonisba and My girls on mugs! Artemisia, Sophia, Sofonisba and Eleonora… the heroines of my four novels set in Italy.

Escape to Italy in the pages of a novel!

Melissa Muldoon is the author of four novels set in Italy: Dreaming Sophia, Waking Isabella, Eternally Artemisia, and The Secret Life of Sofonisba Anguissola. All four books tell the stories of women and their journeys of self-discovery to find love, uncover hidden truths, and follow their destinies to shape a better future for themselves. 

Available on Amazon in Print, Epub, and Audio. Links in bio.

5 Stars - Dianne Hales (author of La Bella Lingua, La Passione, and Mona Lisa-A Life Discovered): A true Renaissance woman, Melissa Muldoon weaves her passions for art and Italy into a stirring saga that sweeps across centuries. As her time-traveling heroine, Maddie reconnects with kindred souls, we meet Artemisia Gentileschi, the 17th–century artist who overcame rape and ignominy to gain respect and acclaim. Historical figures such as Galileo and Mussolini also come to life in this intricately plotted novel. Still, the women who defy all constraints to take control of their destinies are the ones who prove to be eternally fascinating. 
 
5 Stars - Lize Amazon Reader: What a lovely story! Melissa weaves the lives of 4 women across time, all with some connection to Artemisia Gentileschi, a 16th-century Italy painter. They represent the feminine strength that arises from life challenges, each with unique intelligence. Underlying their stories is the idea that love transcends all, even time; love is timeless. As with her other books, Melissa fills the story out with interesting facts and references to Italian life, culture, and its history; her attention to detail is immaculate. I loved the many connections in this story that tied it all together; very cleverly done. Wonderful read; I would highly recommend it.

#MelissaMuldoon #IndieAuthor #artemisiagentileschi #NovelsetinItaly
#Medici #Tuscany #Rome #Montepulciano #Florence #SofonisbaAnguissola #IsabellaMedici #Medici #ARezzo
Ciao! Sono Melissa, la studentessa Matta. Sono c Ciao! Sono Melissa, la studentessa Matta. 

Sono contenta che mi stia seguendo qui su Instagram!

I’m pleased you are following me on Instagram. I help you to learn Italian.

I organize, with my partner schools in Italy, small group language immersion programs in Arezzo, Lucca and Montepulciano.

For 10 or 12 days, you will study at the school at your level in the mornings and in the afternoons we will participate in activities and go on excursions— like make pasta, drink wine, talk to local artisans and see churches, museums, art —even the giostra del Saracino - the jousting festival if you join me in Arezzo.

Accommodations and most evening meals are all included AND you will have unlimited conversation practice and language learning when you meet my Italian friends and teachers from the schools who will accompany us.

The dates for 2023 Matta Italian Language Programs are

2023 Matta and Arezzo Italian Language Program: June 11 - 23

2023 Matta and Lucca Italian Language Program: August 24 - Sept 2
 
2023 Matta September Arezzo Joust Weekend: September 2 - 4, 2023 (Open to Italian learners and English speakers) 

2023 Matta and Montepulciano Italian Language Program: September 10 - 22

Join me in Italy 2023 and take your Italian language skills further.

More information and to sign up can be found on the StudentessaMatta.com website

Alla prossima! Ciao!

#learnItalian #ItalianImmersionPrograms #StudentessaMatta #Arrezzo #Montepulciano #Lucca #LuccaItalianSchool #LIS #Culture_Italiana_Arezzo #IlSasso #LearnInItaly#TravelItaly #tuscanylovers
Modi di dire con rospo, rana, ranocchio! Italian i Modi di dire con rospo, rana, ranocchio! Italian idiomatic expressions involving frogs and toads.

New post on the StudentessaMatta.com blog site.

Today I'm talking about lively idioms that practically jump up and down. These idiomatic expressions involve frogs and toads and will surely put a spring in your step and make you jump a level up. Want to sound like a native Italian speaker? Here is a chance to brush up on some Italian idioms involving our little web-footed friends.

#ItalianExpressions #ModiDire #Rano #Rospo #Ranocchio #Frog #Toad #SputareRospo #RanaGola #PrincipeRanocchio #FrogPrince #IngoiareRospo #StudentessaMatta

Image credit: AdobeStock
Out on the town with Ryan last night to see "Prett Out on the town with Ryan last night to see "Pretty Woman the Musical" at Bass Concert Hall in Austin. ( His Christmas gift to me this year!) We had so much fun! Began the evening with drinks at the Otopia rooftop bar to watch the sunset, then dinner at Acre 41. The show was fantastic, well staged, great singing — just a lot of fun to watch live theater again! #prettywomanthemusical #austintexas #bassconcerthall #theater
New on the Studentessa Matta Blog! Alessandra, It New on the Studentessa Matta Blog!

Alessandra, Italian teacher from Livorno, shares recipes for a successful homestay and a delectable dish

Alessandra, an Italian teacher from Livorno, shares recipes for a successful homestay and a delectable spaghetti dish made with artichokes and anchovies. 

In her guest post Alessandra tells us about Livorno and more about herself and her background. Alessandra has traveled extensively and made homestays in America so she knows what it’s like to be away from home and how important it is to find a warm and friendly environment that makes you feel comfortable as a family or among friends.

Find out more about the Italian Language Homestay opportunities offered on the StudentessaMatta.com website : See links in Bio.

#italian #ItalianLanguageHomestay #Livorno #HomestayLivorno #learnItalian #LearnInItaly #studentessamatta
Addio a Gina Lollobrigida. Lo star del cinema ital Addio a Gina Lollobrigida. Lo star del cinema italiano è scomparsa. È successo ieri, Mercoledì 18 gennaio. La diva italiana aveva 95 anni. 

Più ricordata come un modello e attrice - una vera bomba, molto sexy e seducente, Gina Lollobrigida era una donna di talenti incredibili che comprendeva tutte le arti - cinema, fotografia e scultore. 

Leggi il nuovo post su StudentessaMatta.com

#studentessamatta #GinaLollobrigida #Lollo #ItalianCinema #ItalianFilmStar #attriceitaliana✨👑🎬🎥
Ieri sera ho ricevuto una dolce sorpresa. Una vici Ieri sera ho ricevuto una dolce sorpresa. Una vicina di casa ha fatto marmellata in casa e mi ha dato un vasetto! Oggi l'ho spalmata sul mio toast! Il gusto è veramente ottimo! Grazie Brianna!

#marmellata #vasetto #vincina #dolce #italiano

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