Francesco Petrarch

Francesco Petrarch died at the age of 69 on July 19, 1374 in his current home of Arqua, Padua, Italy. The cause of death was sickness due to old age. Petracrh was born on July 20, 1374 in Arezzo, Italy. Dante Alighieri, a famous poet, became an idol to Petrarch when he met Dante at the age of 8. Throughout his life, Petrarch saw nearly everyone he loved and knew perish to "the Plague". Petrarch soon became a national celebrity for his works but didn't value wealth because he hated the anxiety and care that came along with it. His most famous works include, The Canzoniere, a book of love poems to Laura, Africa, a poem about Scipio and the conquer of Hannibal in the Second Punic War, and the Secretum, a book of imaginary dialogues between Petrarch and St. Augustine. Although Petrarch created some of the greatest works of his time it came at the cost of solitude. He devoted his life to his writing, living alone on the countryside and never getting married. As he stated himself, "Man has no greater enemy than himself". Giovanni Boccaccio was a close friend of Petrarch's who was greatly influenced by him as well as Geoffrey Chaucer a poet who met Francesco in Italy on a diplomatic mission. This humanist scholar is considered the father of humanists because of his restoration of the Latin language. He also played a major role in developing Italian as a literary language through his works. Francesco Petrarch has made countless contributions to this world and his spirit will forever live on through the works of his life.