Giovanni Prati

Who was Giovanni Prati?

Giovanni Prati was an Italian poet born in what then was part of the Austrian Empire and educated in law at Padua. Adopting a literary career, he was inspired by anti-Austrian feeling and devotion to the royal house of Savoy, and in early life his combination of a sympathy for national independence with monarchical sentiments brought him into trouble in both quarters, to the point that Guerrazzi expelled him from Tuscany in 1849 for his praise of Carlo Alberto. These sentiments also led him to attend the "Salotto Maffei" salons in Milan, hosted by Clara Maffei.

In 1862 he was elected a deputy to the Italian parliament, and in 1876 a senator. He died in Rome on 9 May 1884. Prati was a prolific poet, his volumes of verse ranging from his romantic narrative Ermenegarda to the lyrics collected in Psiche and Iside. His Opere vane were published in five volumes in 1875, and a selection in one volume in 1892.