leopardi

Giacomo Leopardi (1798–1837) was an Italian poet, philosopher, and philologist regarded as one of the most important figures in nineteenth-century Italian literature. Born in Recanati, in the Marche, his work contributed to Romanticism and is often associated with a form of philosophical pessimism sometimes described as cosmic or universal pessimism.

Leopardi spent most of his life in his native town, limited by frail health and severe myopia. He pursued an intensive self-directed education in languages, classical literature, and science, producing a rich body of letters, notes, and poetry. He compiled the Zibaldone, a vast notebook of reflections on philosophy, literature, and society, and published the lyric collection I Canti, which includes some of his best-known poems such as L'infinito and A Silvia. In his later years he lived in Rome and Naples and died in Naples in 1837.

His poetry and prose are characterized by precise language, emotional intensity, and a persistent preoccupation with longing, memory, and the limits of human knowledge. The posthumously published La ginestra (The Bush) is a major late work that articulates his sense of human solidarity in the face of an indifferent cosmos and his cosmico pessimism. The Zibaldone gathers broader investigations into language, history, and thought, revealing a systematic mind behind the lyric voice.

Leopardi's influence extended beyond Italian literature to European thought; his skeptical inquiry and stylistic refinement earned him an enduring reputation. He is widely read for the elegance of his Italian verse, the density of his ideas, and his enduring meditation on the human condition.