Giuseppe Leggiadri Gallani

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Giuseppe Leggiadri Gallani (21 December 1516 – around 1590) was an Italian poet and dramatist from Parma during the Farnese era. Born Giuseppe Lizardo, his name was later Italianised to Leggiadri, which became a family surname for his descendants; others in his family used Gallani. He was the second of four children of Ziardo and Susanna and the only one given a second Christian name, likely in memory of his aunt Lizarda.

Although trained to be a notary, Leggiadri chose a literary life. After the murder of Duke Pier Luigi Farnese in 1547, Ottavio Farnese became the ruler’s heir, and when Pope Paul III named Orazio Farnese Duke of Castro, Giuseppe, then 33, fled to Naples to continue his writing and service to noble patrons. There he published verse in 1552 and seems to have stayed in Naples for a time, returning to Parma later. His loyalty to Ottavio Farnese is most clearly shown in his epic poem La Guerra di Parma, a verse history of the Parma War (1548–53) in which Ottavio allied with the French and Pope Julius III against Charles V. Ottavio was confirmed Duke of Parma in 1551.

There is some uncertainty about his personal life. Some sources say he married Margherita Comina and had five children, while his will (dated 1567) states that he married Hieronyma de Parlasebis and they had a son, Theodoro; Giuseppe’s grandson, also named Giuseppe, is the figure who appears in biographical notes about him.

Leggiadri wrote many works beyond La Guerra di Parma, including numerous Rime (poems), and plays and fables such as Fillide, Forza d’Amore (two short eclogues), La Favola di Adone (a narrative poem), Il Falso (a comedy), Dido (a tragedy), La Portia (a comedy), Alithea (a musical tragedy), and Un Dialogo di Pastori. The Rime were published in eight collections and include a sonnet at the end of La Guerra di Parma. The publications and manuscripts of his Rime and other works are found in libraries in Florence and Siena, among others.

La Portia was published in Florence in 1568 and was dedicated to Fabrizio Baiiardi; a complete copy is available online, and a 1962 reprint exists. La Guerra di Parma existed in several editions and is noted in scholarly collections of early Italian prints. A manuscript of Didone (Dido) survives in Parma’s Palatine Library, long associated with Ottavio Farnese.

Leggiadri Gallani’s death date is not certain; some sources place it around 1572, others around 1590. He was buried in the Church of San Bartolomeo in Parma, though a memorial plaque later disappeared during church renovations.