Alessandro Manzoni

Alessandro Manzoni (1785-1873) was born in Milan to an aristocratic family; his maternal grandfather was the Enlightenment philosopher Cesare Beccaria, author of On Crimes and Punishments. After a youth spent in Paris among intellectuals, Manzoni experienced a profound religious conversion to Catholicism in 1810 that shaped all his subsequent work. He published poetry, hymns, and two notable historical tragedies before devoting himself to the novel that would define his legacy. This author hub collects 1 work in the Canon Compass ranking, led by The Betrothed.