Giacomo Leopardi was born in Recanati on June 29, 1798 and he died in a cholera epidemic in Naples on June 14, 1837. He was an Italian poet, essayist, philosopher, and philologist. He is considered one of the greatest poets of the 19th century. Even if he lived in a secluded town Recanati, in the conservative Papal States, he came in touch with the main thoughts (pensieri) of the Enlightenment (Illuminismo), and, by his own literary evolution, created a poetic work, related to the Romantic era. By the age of 16 he had independently mastered Greek, Latin, and several modern languages. He had translated many classical works, and had written two tragedies, many Italian poems. In one of his most famous poems, L’infinito, he described the view of hills and the sea that he enjoyed from the gardens not far from his parents’ house in Recanati. In just a few lines he expressed his longing for space and escape. At the same time, he managed to create a declaration of love for the Marchigian landscape Excessive study damaged his health, and he became blind in one eye and developed a cerebrospinal condition that afflicted him all his life. His frustrated love for a married cousin and the death from tuberculosis of Terese Fattorini, daughter of his father’s coachman promped Leopardi to produce the elegy Il primo amore (The First Love) and the lyric poem A Silvia. His verse collection Canzoni appeared in 1824. For the next few years he travelled between Bologna, Recanati, Pisa, and Florence, publishing Versi, and Operette morali. Then he settled in Naples where he died. View: https://emanuelatoccaceli.wixsite.com/englishteacher/poetry (adapted from: https://kids.kiddle.co/Giacomo_Leopardi -https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Giacomo-Leopardi/314960 https://kids.kiddle.co/Giacomo_Leopardi)