




































 
Humanist Studies & the Digital Age, 4.1 (2015) 
ISSN: 2158-3846 (online) 
http://journals.oregondigital.org/hsda/ 
DOI: 10.5399/uo/hsda.4.1.3634 
 

 

 

 
 
 

E-Philology and Twitterature 

 

Massimo Lollini and Rebecca Rosenberg 

 

Abstract 

This paper presents an original use of Twitter to interpret and rewrite the poems 

of Francesco Petrarca's Rerum vulgarium fragmenta (Rvf) implemented within the 

Oregon Petrarch Open Book (OPOB). This activity was partially inspired by the 

idea of Twitterature developed by Alexander Aciman and Emmett Rensin; we 

believe with them that our digital time should develop new and more functional 

ways of addressing literary texts but at the same time we are convinced that the 

"burdensome duty of hours spent reading" cannot be eliminated. On the contrary, 

the new ways of reading in the digital era as we envisage them are the result and 

consequence of broader and deeper reading activities. We conceived the project of 

writing 366 tweets, out of the 366 poems that make the last form of Petrarca’s 

Rvf, as the result of different philological activities, from reading the texts in the 

original language to consulting manuscripts, translations, and intersemiotic 

renderings of the texts. Before writing the 140 characters that make one tweet we 

also elaborated paraphrases, summaries, and keywords related to the individual 

poems. Students created the first version of the tweets during a 2011 University of 

Oregon seminar on Re-reading Petrarca’s Rvf in the Digital Era. The second 

version was elaborated in the context of a seminar on the same topic during winter 

2014. This paper presents the two versions of the Twitter Edition of Petrarca's Rvf 

now available in the OPOB and focuses on the philology connected to the latest 

edition that provided an English translation of the original tweets written in 

Italian. The actual in Italian and English 366 tweets are published in the Appendix 

to the article. 

 

Introduction 

 

When Alexander Aciman and Emmett Rensin, then 19-year-old freshmen at the 

University of Chicago, first published Twitterature they announced a revolution in the 

literacy of our time by drawing an ambitious parallelism with the condition of the Holy 

Scripture at the time of Martin Luther. We are the Martin Luther of our time, they write, 

because – as Luther understood that the classic Vulgate no longer spoke to the souls of 

his contemporaries and translated it into the vernacular of his time, – we realize that 

literature cannot be proposed to the modern-day readers in the same form it has been for 

centuries and needs to be translated in the language and format of our time. Their book 

Twitterature published by Penguin in 2009 retells some of the world's greatest books 

through Twitter, reducing all of classic literature into a slim format of 140 characters or 

http://journals.oregondigital.org/hsda/
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/


Humanist Studies & the Digital Age  Lollini & Rosenberg 
 

4.1 (2015)  117 
 

less; a tweet is not simple plot summary but a sort of rewriting of certain episodes that are 

summarized with an ironic at times sarcastic tone. They claim that the social networking 

tool with its limit of 140 characters a post (including spaces) “has refined to its purest 

form the instant-publishing, short-attention-span, all-digital-all-the-time, self important 

age of info-deluge” (xv). However, from our point of view the translation process from 

the literature of the past into the agile twitter format as envisaged by Aciman and Rensin 

appears to be too fast and lacking the necessary philological attention that should not 

disappear in our digital era if we still want to find nourishment in the classics of all times.  

 

In Twitterature, they summarize the plot of famous works, such as Harper Lee’s To Kill a 

Mockingbird, Dante’s Inferno, J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, and Jack Kerouac’s On 

the Road, among others, by recreating them in approximately twenty tweets. Here are a 

few examples of tweets from Dante’s Inferno: 

 

l'm having a midlife crisis. Lost in the woods. Should have 

brought my iPhone. 

 

(…) 

 

SATAN HAS THREE HEADS, AND THEY ARE TOTALLY 

EATING DUDES. 

 

The best solution is to climb his big frozen ass. l'm still 

gonna die. *sighs* :( 

 

MADE IT. SEE YOU NERDS LATER! 

 

Beatrice shall soon make up for a lifetime of my desperate, 

torrid moods. 

 

Gonna make looovvveeeeeee 2 ya girrrrrllll. DANTE OUT. 

 

I have to climb a mountain now? You got to be kidding me. 

ls this a joke? Who the hell came up with this story? 

VIIIRRRGGGILLLLLLLLLLL! (Aciman-Rensin 38-39) 

 

In these tweets the engagement with the literary text is minimal, mostly at the plot level 

that is then altered to introduce side comments in the colloquial slang of contemporary 

youth that eventually follows the typographic features of a smart phone text message. The 

contrast between the original text that Aciman and Rensin probably had to read at least in 

the Cliffs Notes version provokes no more than some laughs and entertainment in the 

presumably acculturated reader. In this process, Dante’s Inferno is definitely forgotten 

and supplanted by a new form of literary divertissement that does not believe in the 

power of the classic literature to cultivate contemporary readers. Even though their 

operation is performed in the name of the reader what really counts in Aciman’s and 

Rensin’s tweets is their re-writing that ends up erasing the original text. 



Humanist Studies & the Digital Age  Lollini & Rosenberg 
 

4.1 (2015)  118 
 

 

On the other hand, the book by Aciman and Rensin had the merit of drawing attention of 

the Internet users of all kinds to some of the possibilities opened up by Twitter for literary 

studies. It started a phenomenon that has pedagogic and aesthetic potential even in the 

academic world. The book came out when the curators of the Oregon Petrarch Open 

Book (OPOB) were debating the pedagogical usefulness of introducing in the hypertext 

we are constructing around Petrarca’s Rvf an educational apparatus that would facilitate 

the reading of the original poems written by Petrarca in the Italian of the fourteenth 

century. Our plan was to introduce paraphrases, summaries and key words for each poem. 

In our vision the writing of such apparatuses had to follow a philological strategy that 

would have students and contributors to the site read the text in the original and 

eventually in translation, and then produce in sequence the paraphrase, the summary, and 

the key words. In this perspective it became natural to add to the list of our apparatuses a 

Twitter edition of Petrarca’s Rvf. The idea of translating Petrarca’s Rvf into Twitterature 

was developed and implemented for the first time during a seminar on Re-reading 

Petrarca’s Rvf in the Digital Era taught at the University of Oregon in winter 2011. This 

class created the first Twitter Edition of Petrarca's Rvf in Italian and focused mostly on 

the Italian text; students of another seminar on the same topic taught three years later re-

elaborated the original tweets written in Italian and provided an English translation of 

them. Both versions are now available in the OPOB. 

 

1. Tweet philology, hermeneutics, pedagogy and beyond 

 

The most important challenge that the 2011 seminar had to face was the production of 

pedagogical apparatuses that would facilitate the comprehension of Rvf and the creation 

of the tweets that in our vision had to have primarily a hermeneutic function. The six 

undergraduate and the four graduate students that made this seminar were motivated to 

perform this important task for three important reasons. First, as advanced students of 

Italian, they felt that by creating paraphrases, summaries, key words and tweets for each 

poem they were improving immensely their knowledge of the language; second, they 

sought to progressively develop a comprehensive grasp of the individual poems and of 

the collection as a whole; finally, by actively engaging with the Rvf, they intended to 

incarnate the figure of the wreader popularized by George Landow, becoming active 

readers and contributors to the creation of the hypertext around Petrarca Rvf. (Landow 

Hypertext 4-5; Hyper/text/theory 14). The instructor provided the general introduction to 

the Rvf and presented in each class a narrative account of the sequence of poems 

assigned.1 He divided the class in three groups and coordinated their works performed 

both in and outside the class; his assistant, Cinzia Capon, helped the students write the 

paraphrases and provided an edited version of them for each poem.2  

 

                                                        
1 As a biographical introduction to Petrarca students read a selection of the Rerum familiarium libri 
(Letters on Familiar Matters); and as philosophical introduction to the Rvf, students read Petrarca’s 
De sui ipsius et multorum ignorantia (On his own ignorance). For the general pedagogical concerns of 
the course see Lollini’s article on “Petrarch and the Ethics of Writing and Reading.” 
2 The instructor could afford having a teaching assistant thanks to a 2010 NEH Digital Humanities 
Award.  



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4.1 (2015)  119 
 

The students had to read all the poems but concentrated their weekly work as wreaders 

on the poems assigned to their group. After reading the original text and the paraphrases 

the different groups had to provide the summaries, keywords and tweets for the poems 

assigned. It was clear from the start that the sequence of philological and writing 

activities represented an exceptional tool for reading and comprehending the text. One 

could argue that this way of “reading” somehow regenerated a reading practice that 

originated in the early Middle Ages when people started to read in order to write, and to 

write in order to be read, as it happened in the compilatio, the method of composition of 

scholasticism. As for the early medieval readers described by Cavallo and Chartier for us 

reading was not exclusively aimed at a simple comprehension of the literal meaning 

(littera) of writing. This first stage consisted of a movement from the original text to the 

paraphrase. This initial comprehension was followed by the composition of the summary 

of the general meaning (sensus) of the poem. Finally, the individuation of the keywords 

and the writing of the tweet allowed the students to arrive at a proposition that more 

nearly captures the profundity of the poem (sententia) (Cavallo and Chartier 18). 

 

Each group shared the work done in class so that all the students were learning from each 

other and participating in a collective endeavor. We discussed at the beginning of the 

seminar the general tone of the tweets. After a few experiments of various kinds we 

decided to use in our tweets the first person, to favor an emphatic engagement with the 

meaning that the author had presumably in mind and to avoid ironic and sarcastic 

rendering of his voice. In other words, we used the tweet as a creative interpretive tool, 

something different from the summary and the collection of keywords; ultimately, in our 

view the tweet had to extrapolate the quintessential element of each poem allowing an 

immediate and insightful grasp of it. At the end of the course during one memorable 

session in the Yamada Language Center at the University of Oregon the students 

alternately read all the 366 tweets edited by the instructor. It was impressive to witness 

the lively and active reading of the long sequence of tweets that translated one of the 

masterpieces of Western literature in a format and a language attuned to our 

contemporary ears. In the general discussion that followed the reading, most students 

appreciated the sense of continuity from one tweet to the other and the 

comprehensiveness of our interpretative reading that allowed a complete review of the 

entire Rvf in just three hours. The consecutive reading of all the 366 tweets gave them a 

sense of the entire Rvf better than the one possible through an anthology of poems 

selected by the instructor. 

 

Elena Cull, a graduate student in the course and a writer herself embraced with passion 

her role of wreader and the interactive learning that the class prompted. She was 

particularly enthusiastic about her first tweet from poem 1 of the Rvf. When she first read 

the poem, “Voi ch'ascoltate in rime sparse il suono/di quei sospiri ond'io nudriva 'l 

core…” she was deeply touched; she felt that a door was opening and that she was about 

to meet a real human being with his dreams, hopes and sorrows. This first meeting with 

the poet induced Elena to conceive the tweet to give expression to his voice and to update 

his language so that contemporary ears could still hear his message: 

 



Humanist Studies & the Digital Age  Lollini & Rosenberg 
 

4.1 (2015)  120 
 

Ehi! Voi ricordate com’era essere giovani e innamorati? Abbiate pietà di me! 

Ora mi vergogno e capisco che il mondo è transitorio. 

 

In the final discussion of the class she emphasized the benefits of rewriting the text in 

different formats, the discipline of the mind necessary to learn a language while 

interacting with a great work of literature. Other members of the seminar, Antonio 

Schiavulli and Michael Lukomski, noted this point as well, underlining the importance of 

removing the separation between the pedagogical-linguistic elements and the literary 

dimension of the course. The language, in this way, they added, had not been an ancillary 

foundation of the literary work: from the start and for the entire duration of the course 

both the linguistic and literary dimensions interacted in an interdependent relationship, 

based on a mechanism of understanding and creating, reading and (re) writing. Schiavulli 

was particularly fond of the creative dimension of the new text, the tweet, as different 

from the original text in form and content. His tweet from poem 1 was slightly different 

from Elena’s: 

 

La giovanile ingenuità con cui ho affrontato l’amore ha prodotto questi versi. 

Ora, da uomo maturo, comprendo il valore profondo delle cose. 

 

Gail Gould, a graduate student in the class, further elaborated these ideas by stating that 

the sequence of philological activities required to read a poem allowed entering the 

linguistic process at the origin of the poem itself, revealing some of its deep and hidden 

strata. In the final discussion of the class she presented on the difficulties and rewards of 

writing a tweet out of a very long poem of 157 verses such as Canzone 360. In this song 

the poet summons the sweet and cruel Love in front of the court of Reason. Petrarca 

presents himself as an innocent victim, persecuted for a long time by the love passion, 

and describes his unhappy life under this merciless master. He accuses Love of having 

turned him away from God because of a woman, and considers it responsible for his 

suffering. Love responds by reversing the charges. Petrarca is guilty of failing to take a 

great opportunity that had been given to him: to imitate the perfection of Laura and rise to 

heaven with his poetry. At the moment of the verdict the personified Reason takes time: 

the issue is too complicated, and cannot be easily resolved. Certainly, such a paraphrastic 

summary of the poem does not do justice to the rhythm and many beautiful poetic 

nuances of Petrarca’s marvellous poem. However, the tweet that Gail helped to write 

captures the poetic truth, the sententia that is at the core of the poem: 

 

Nel processo contro Amore, io ero il testimone di tante sofferenze. Amore si è 

difeso e la Ragione non ha saputo giudicare. 

 

Nicolò Potesio, an undergraduate student majoring in science, took the course on 

Petrarca’s Rvf because he wanted to experience at least one literature course during his 

college years. In his comments on the class he wrote that composing a tweet was for him 

fundamental in approaching the world of poetry, which for him was an unknown territory 

up to that point. He perceived a greater understanding of the poems for which he wrote a 

summary and a tweet. He admitted consulting not only the original text and paraphrases 

but also translations before writing the summary and the actual tweet. His choice of 



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4.1 (2015)  121 
 

which aspect of the poem to include in the tweet was related in many cases to the 

structure of the sonnet that is divided in a “fronte” in which the poet introduces the theme 

of the poem, and in a “sirma” where the poet draws his conclusion or final reflection on 

the proposed theme. Quite often the clue for the tweet was located precisely in the sirma 

as Nicolò wanted to achieve an emphatic interpretation, writing in the first person and 

giving voice directly to the poet.  

 

He found particularly useful the tweet he wrote for poem 19 where the poet compares 

himself to a moth drawn to the fire that burns. For Petrarca it is impossible to escape the 

love for Laura in spite of its having a negative effect. Like the moths the poet cannot 

withdraw; he is bound to be drawn to his flame forever, even when it burns. Compared to 

the original poem much is absent in the summary and in the tweet. Nicolò decided to 

omit the discussion in the first quatrain of the different types of animals, focusing on the 

butterfly for the well-known tendency of these insects to be attracted to the light; he also 

omitted any part of the first tercet because it was redundant. He included in the tweet the 

problem (the fire is attractive, but it burns) and resolution announced in the final tercet of 

the sirma (it is his destiny to be burned). This tweet is therefore Nicolò’s interpretation of 

the proposition and of the tone presented by the poet in this poem: 

 

Sono una farfalla attratta dalla sua fiamma, incapace di allontanarmi anche 

quando mi brucia. È mio destino andare dietro a ciò che mi arde. 

 

Robert Belmonte an undergraduate student of Renaissance literature wrote that in the 

classes he took in the past while studying the texts of the Italian Renaissance he felt 

disconnected from the poetic work. For him to go through the same creative process as 

the author has done to write his poems helps students to develop their literary skills as a 

whole. One of his favorite tweets is the one from the poem 358 where the poet associates 

the death of Laura to that of Christ. Petrarca is now waiting for death and invokes its 

arrival because his life has already ended with the death of Laura. 

 

Morte, la tua venuta è dolce, devo superare questa tristezza e l'unica cura sei tu. 

 

The tweet helped Robert not only to understand the poem but also to contextualize it in 

relation to the others in the sequence and grasp the crucial importance of the death theme 

for the second part of the Rvf. 

 

Emily Anger derived the shortest tweet from poem 138, an invective against the Pope of 

Avignon, a city deemed by the poet to be false and evil in opposition to virtuous Rome. 

The church for Petrarca has become a brazen harlot who rebels against Christ and the 

Apostles. The tweet gives a very succint and clear idea of the invective: 

 

Ah! Inferno babilonese! 

 

The class discussion elaborated and enriched the tweet that now reads like this in the 

OPOB web site: 

 



Humanist Studies & the Digital Age  Lollini & Rosenberg 
 

4.1 (2015)  122 
 

O inferno Babilonese! La sede papale è una meretrice sfacciata che genera il 

male. Perché Costantino non torna a revocare la sua donazione? 

 

For Cameron Butler it was very important to read Petrarch Letters and his philosophical 

work On his ignorance to understand the poems of the Rvf. Moreover, the philological 

activity performed in the class helped him to appreciate the great value of Petrarca’s 

poetry and above all what Cameron considers his unsurpassed ability to express 

emotions. To learn how to understand and select the data necessary to write a tweet was 

one of the most satisfactory parts of the course for Cameron; he learned to distinguish 

between the most important rhetorical elements of poetry and prose, and synthesize them 

into one unified idea. His favorite tweet was based on poem 313 where the poet laments 

the death of Laura and cries. He states that she took his heart and brought it with her in 

heaven. Finally, the poet adds that he would like to be dead, to be near her. Cameron’s 

tweet captures in three brief sentences the core idea of the poem: 

 

La morte di Laura mi fa piangere. Ha portato con sé il mio cuore e la mia anima. 

Vorrei essere morto. 

 

Butler was very proud of the work done in this course. In the final reflection on the class 

he wrote that the rewriting of Petrarca’s poems in tweet format makes it possible for them 

to continue living, evolving and remaining relevant to modern and classical poetry. 

Cameron is convinced that the knid of work done in class and now available in the OPOB 

helps the reader not only to understand poetry in the Rvf, but also to acquire an insightful 

method to approch poetry in general, the poetry of the world. 

 

Andrea DeKonig, in her comments wrote that reading the 366 tweets helped her to 

understand that there is a dramatic force in the Rvf showing a journey of discovery and 

transformation through the love for Laura. Petrarca’s daily feelings and desires are very 

relevant and the long sequence of tweets help to provide a continuous and unique 

perception of Petrarca’s masterpiece. Andrea’s favorite tweet responds to poem 133, in 

which Petrarca feels dominated by the passion of love from which he can not escape. 

Love dazzles him and destroys his life that flees away before Laura’s angelic song and 

breath: 

 

Non ho alcuna difesa contro le armi di Laura che conquista la mia vita. Io sono 

un bersaglio per amore e ho bisogno di misericordia. 

 

Andrea’s tweet has been slightly modified in the actual version in the OPOB, which 

includes direct quotes from the original in the attempt at capturing Petrarca’s poetic style: 

 

Amore mi ha trasformato in un bersaglio, come neve al sole, come cera al fuoco. 

La mia vita fugge senza scampo alla tua dolce aura. 

 

Finally, Brandy Freeman’s favorite tweet took inspiration from poem 15. This was the 

first poem by Petrarca that really struck her. The poet is traveling away from his beloved 

and reflects on the impossibility of the physical body to live separated from the spirit 



Humanist Studies & the Digital Age  Lollini & Rosenberg 
 

4.1 (2015)  123 
 

represented by Laura, who has remained in her hometown. Love reminds the poet that 

lovers are exempt from physical rules that usually govern human beings and so the body 

and spirit can exist in separate states. The resulting suffering is described very vividly 

and dramatically by Petrarca, who feels he is leaving behind a piece of his soul. Here is 

Brandy’s rendering of the poet’s drama: 

 

Mi domando come sia possibile sopravvivere senza lo spirito che mi anima, ma è 

un dolore che ogni uomo innamorato deve provare.  

 

In the final discussion and in their written comments all the students in the class were 

convinced that the reading of the tweet cannot substitute for a reading of the actual poem; 

they would recommend the reader of the OPOB to read the tweet after having read the 

poem itself. Conversely, the reading of the tweet should trigger an engagement with the 

original text. Also, they suggest that occasional readers of poetry use the tweets as a 

reference tool to acquire a basic knowledge of the Rvf. Nevertheless, the instructor’s 

basic criterion for editing the tweets created in this course suggests a greater role for the 

tweet, beyond its use as a hermeneutic and reference tool. This criterion is illustrated by 

the above-mentioned tweet from poem 133: including direct or indirect quotes from the 

original in the attempt at capturing Petrarca’s poetic style. In this perspective the tweet 

incorporates a poetic flavor in what otherwise would remain a pure prose rendering of 

Petrarca’s Rvf.  

 

The work done by the class is propedeutic for and interconnected with a complex and 

articulated reading of Petrarca’s masterpiece in hypertext format, which is now possible 

to perform through the Compare poems and assets tool included in the OPOB. The 

readers and students of Petrarca’s Rvf may now retrieve the philological experience of the 

class, opening in different coordinated small windows on the same web page, the original 

text, the paraphrase, the summary and the tweet of each poem. Moreover, as we will see 

in the next section they may add to this basic apparatuses other important tools, which 

may promote an informed digital reading of Petrarca Rvf, like the access to original 

manuscripts, translations in different modern languages and a visual rendering of the 

poems. In other words, the OPOB hypertext reproduces the reading wheel that was 

already known to the Medieval and Renaissance humanist (Cavallo and Chartier 

“Introduction” 29; Lollini, “Circles or the Reader in the Network”). In this wheel the 

tweet becomes just a component that acquires sense and value in relation to the others. 

 

2. Translation, philology and interpretation 

 

In the 2011 seminar on Re-reading Petrarca Rvf in the Digital Era, students created tweets 

in Italian for each of the 366 poems. To continue their work in the 2014 seminar on the 

same topic taught this time in English, a new group of students, Rebecca Rosenberg, 

Michele Agresta, and Beau Battista, took these tweets and translated them into English as 

their final project. The initial plan was to follow the class with the progress made in 

reading the Rvf. Each of the three groups in the class had to read 20 poems each week, for 

an overall total of 60 each week. The Twitter group was supposed to publish 60 poems on 

Twitter each week by utilizing the tweet publisher Twuffer. This publishing software 

https://petrarch.uoregon.edu/multi-compare


Humanist Studies & the Digital Age  Lollini & Rosenberg 
 

4.1 (2015)  124 
 

would have allowed the members to create a publication schedule for the tweets based on 

desired time and date. The translation took the entire 10 weeks of the course. As they 

remained behind at the beginning of the course, Rosenberg decided to publish each tweet 

by hand on Twitter, not following a regular numbers of tweets per week. The process of 

translation was very difficult due to the strict limitation of the 140 characters and 

involved methodological discussion, analysis and revision of the original tweets as well. 

On the other hand, the difficulties triggered an exciting creative writing process. 

 

For the publication of the tweets, Rosenberg, Agresta, and Battista took the original 

Italian tweets and translated them into English. Because the translation sometimes took 

more characters than the limit allowed, they had to cut some of the information originally 

provided. If the original Italian tweet was not sufficiently clear and efficient in conveying 

the meaning of the poems, they referred to the resources available in the OPOB. In other 

words, in the process of translation they continued and enriched the philological work 

performed by the previous class. We were encouraged to perform these modifications of 

the original texts by the history of translation. With the exception of the Bible and other 

sacred texts, translations from one language into another, especially translation into the 

vernacular, for centuries until the end of nineteenth century in Europe assumed the 

possibility and right for the translator to alter the original text. Commentaries, glosess, 

and translations modified the perception of the original texts in Renaissance manuscripts 

(Zali 68-69). Translation is a rewriting of an original text. Inevitably all rewritings, 

whatever their intention, reflect a certain ideology and a poetics; they “manipulate” the 

original texts to function in a given society in a given way (Lefevere xi). Modifications of 

the original texts in their translations included adding or cutting parts of the original. 

Language learning represents the site at which the West has traditionally allowed liberties 

to be taken with translations of Latin and Greek texts. The classical example in this 

respect goes back to Cicero, who, speaking of translation, addresses the big theoretical 

problem: should the translation be faithful to the words of the text (literal translation) or 

the thought contained in the text (free translation or literary)? In the translation of the 

speeches of Demosthenes and Aeschines Cicero, did not behave as a simple translator, 

but as a writer, respecting the propositions, thoughts, and figures of the original. He used 

the words suited to the Latin habits, while not changing the essential meaning and value 

of the text. The following statement from Cicero’s De Oratore (55BC) about his 

translation from Greek to Latin may apply to our experience in translating the Italian 

poems and relative tweets into English: 

 

I decided to take speeches written in Greek by great orators and to translate them 

freely, and I obtained the following results: by giving a Latin form to the text I 

had read I could not only make use of the best expressions in common usage with 

us, but I could also coin new expressions, analogous to those used in Greek, and 

they were no less well received by our people as long as they seemed appropriate 

(Cicero De oratore, qtd. in Lefevere 4 and 47). 

 

Thanks to the work of the previous class in 2014 the OPOB allowed the next set of 

readers to view simultaneously the original Italian text of the poem, the modern Italian 

editions, as well as translations in English, paraphrases, summaries, or commentaries. In 



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4.1 (2015)  125 
 

this way, the members of the group were able to determine what, from their point of 

view, was missing in a good number of the Italian tweets. Therefore, they could 

essentially rewrite them while translating. Finally, as we document in another article of 

this journal, besides translating the tweets, the 2014 class was encoding a limited number 

of Petrarca’s poems and exposed to the visual interpretation of the poems of the entire 

collection contained in the 1470 first printed publication of the Canzoniere, Inc. 

Queriniano G V 15 (Lollini-Spagnolo). 

 

On several occasions, the English translation of the Italian tweet was confusing or not 

very informative. For example, the Italian tweet for Poem 51 states, 

 

C’è mancato poco che, all’avvicinarsi di Laura, non sia rimasto di sasso.  

 

Literally translated, this reads,  

 

By a narrow escape, at Laura’s nearing, I was not turned to stone. 

 

Rosenberg felt that this tweet did not provide enough information and that surely there 

was more to the poem. It was also rather difficult to translate the Italian to English 

without some form of context. She referred to the original poem, the paraphrased version, 

the English translation and the summary and found that the original tweet does not 

capture the sense of the poem. Petrarch wants to be free of passion. In order to 

accomplish this, he wishes he could turn into stone. The original tweet misleads the 

reader into thinking that Petrarch does not want to turn into stone, which is the exact 

opposite of the poet’s intended meaning. After consulting OPOB, Rosenberg rewrote the 

entire tweet to read,  

 

Since I cannot become Laura when she nears, I would become a statue of the 

hardest stone to be free from passion, as did Atlas for Medusa. 

 

The original tweet lacked any mythological reference that can be found in the original 

poem and misinterpreted Petrarch’s reference to becoming a stone.  

 

Besides translating and creating legible tweets, another point of importance that the group 

attempted to include in each tweet was grammar. Although Twitter is an informal form of 

communication, they wanted to maintain a certain degree of academic language for the 

manner in which they were writing. As has been identified above, Aciman and Rensin 

chose to utilize a more colloquial tone in their tweets. They do not always use proper 

grammar and even use acronyms in some of their tweets. The goal as a class was to 

remain as faithful as possible to the Rvf, while still making it accessible to modern 

readers. Rosenberg, while reading the tweets prior to publication, included the proper 

punctuation, including periods at the end of the tweets. Only in a couple of cases did she 

need to omit the final period and this only because she could not find any other way to 

remain within the number of characters allowed by the tweet. In addition, through the 

analysis of the tweets, she noticed that many of the tweets in Italian lacked proper 

grammar, used words mistakenly, or even included misspellings. To highlight these 



Humanist Studies & the Digital Age  Lollini & Rosenberg 
 

4.1 (2015)  126 
 

errors, Rosenberg created a document in which she included a table with all of the tweets. 

In the left column, she copied each of the 366 Italian tweets and on the right, placed each 

of the English ones. Then, by means of the tools provided in Microsoft Word, Rosenberg 

placed comments about the different errors she had found. In order to maintain utmost 

clarity, she noted whether she had changed a word, added a comma, or rewrote the tweet. 

Although grammar is important, there were other crucial considerations to keep in mind.  

 

Among the numerous concerns the class had to decide whether to place emphasis on the 

meaning of the tweet or on the poetic musicality of the tweet as a poetic scheme. It was a 

challenge for the students to rewrite tweets, whether they were correcting errors or 

creating new ones. As a class, the students held many discussions as to the relative 

benefits of according greater importance to this or that aspect of the poem. As the class 

developed throughout the quarter, the students were asked, as part of their weekly 

assignments, to read the tweets Rosenberg was continuously publishing, identify two, and 

comment on whether they liked them, whether they represented the poem in a faithful 

fashion, and whether they wanted to reformulate the tweet. If they wanted to rewrite the 

tweet, they had to do it, explain why, and include the tweet in their assignments as well as 

publish their revisions on Twitter. This became a creative exercise for the students who at 

the same time were dramatically improving their linguistic and poetic competence in 

different languages, mostly Italian and English, with one student concentrating Spanish 

and English. Those students who found the meaning of the poem to be the most important 

focused on the overall meaning of the poem and decided to place some of the information 

provided in the poem into the background. Others attempted to include some information 

from each stanza in the tweet. If the poem was actually a song, it became rather 

impossible to include all of the information; therefore, students placed meaning in what 

they considered the sententia of the song. As for the poetic musicality of the tweet, some 

students wanted to remain as faithful to the poetic form as much as possible in 140 

characters.  

 

At each class meeting, each student then had to present his/her tweets to the class and 

listen to any suggestions that others might have had. Although the students only did this 

exercise for five of the ten weeks of the course, they analyzed numerous tweets based 

upon these criteria, working and reworking them like puzzles until they found the proper 

pattern. While the main part of the course focused on encoding the poems based on 

predetermined criteria, the tweets were more of an exercise in creativity and 

comprehension. At the same time, given that each student is unique, everyone 

approached the task with a different perspective, a different method for creating the 

tweets. Occasionally, students chose to modify the same tweet, an occurrence that 

happened more than once. For example, Jacob Monzingo chose sonnet 118. His initial 

interest led him to reread and consider the original poem, tweet and other tools provided 

by OPOB. The original English tweet, directly translated from Italian read,  

 

I have sighed for sixteen years, but my suffering continues. I have remained 

always the same and I do not want to change.  

 



Humanist Studies & the Digital Age  Lollini & Rosenberg 
 

4.1 (2015)  127 
 

Monzingo noted that he did not completely agree with the sententia of this tweet and 

wanted to slightly modify it. Rather than stating that Petrarch did not want to change, he 

altered it to read,  

 

I have sighed for sixteen years, but my suffering continues. I have always 

remained the same, wishing to change yet unable. 

 

By making this change, Monzingo emphasizes the fact that Petrarca wanted to change, 

but could not despite his efforts. For the same poem, Pierpaolo Spagnolo, on the other 

hand, wrote,  

 

Time passes, and I am still here. I truly wish I were stronger and somewhere else, 

but here I am, crying, stuck and unable to change and free myself. 

 

Spagnolo, too, noted Petrarca’s inability to change instead of his willingness to do so. In 

addition, he initially noted in the original Italian tweet the lack of passion and poetry. 

This perception guided his re-writing of the tweet in his translation. Although both 

Monzingo and Spagnolo emphasize similar points, their differing approaches resulted in 

two completely different tweets above all in terms of poetic style.  

 

Others students approached the tweets wishing to address the double meanings present in 

Petrarca’s poems. Emily Letcher, one of the undergraduate students, demonstrated this 

desire through her rewritten tweet for sonnet 107. Originally, the tweet stated,  

 

I cannot manage to escape from her eyes’ beauty and Love continues to make me 

wander in the wood of worldly things. 

 

Although originally attracted by the similarities between the tweet and the beginning of 

Dante’s Inferno as well as the tweets’ ability to portray the general message of the poem, 

Letcher felt that the tweet misinterpreted the wood as worldly.  She introduced the 

connection between Laura and the laurel trees, a connection the original tweet misses. As 

a result, her final tweet reads,  

 

I cannot escape from her eyes' beauty nor turn away from their light, so I wander 

in the laurel wood as Love leads me through its branches.  

 

By including the laurel trees, Letcher emphasizes the play on words Petrarch creates with 

the natural element and the woman he loves, “Solo d’un lauro tal selva verdeggia” (Rvf 

107, 12). Letcher also modified tweet 151, which originally read,  

 

Laura’s pleasing eyes dazzle me with arrows of love, but they are the port from 

which my poetry is born. 

 

The imagery created by the tweet intrigued her; she then discovered that the tweet 

genuinely represented the poem by including the images of the arrow and the port. She 

only modified the tweet by changing the word “love” to “Love.” In doing so, the tweet 



Humanist Studies & the Digital Age  Lollini & Rosenberg 
 

4.1 (2015)  128 
 

represents not only the emotion, but also the personification of love, Cupid. In that way, 

the arrows represent both Love the personification and love the emotion. 

  

A common manner in which a number of the students analyzed the poems was through 

humor. Petrarch’s Canzoniere also possesses humorous, or playful, elements and these 

students wanted to include this dimension in the tweets. As an example, Adrian De Leon, 

another undergraduate student, changed the tweet for sonnet 115. The original literal 

translation of the Italian tweet read,  

 

If Laura preferred me to the Sun, then perhaps I can hope in her benevolence. 

 

After rereading the poem, he found that the tweet lacked the playful aspect of the poem. 

Due to this, he changed to reflect the humor by writing,  

 

I fought the sun for Laura's attention and I won! Joy rushed into me as I 

vanquished my noble adversary and a cloud hid his shamed sad tears. 

 

By adding this element, the tweet not only differs greatly from the original, but also 

reflects better the poem itself. This was not the only poem found to be humorous. Beau 

Battista found the hilarity of sonnet 152 to be intriguing. It originally read,  

 

If you continue to keep me in suspense, I will have no choice but to die. My life 

force is fragile and tired from such uncertainty.  

 

The timeless nature of the tweet, and therefore sonnet, spoke to him. It represents a man 

led on by a woman who does not return his love, a classic example of unrequited love. 

Battista altered the tweet so it became,  

 

If you continue to keep me in suspense, I will have no choice but to die.  

 

He found the second sentence of the tweet to be repetitive and deterrent to the 

forcefulness of the statement, while still adhering to the melodramatic tone originally 

present both in the sonnet and in the tweet. 

 

Overall, each of the students attempted to improve the poetic and musical quality of the 

tweets. Poems follow rhythmic pattern and are by nature musical. As a result, the class 

decided that this poetic element needed to be included in the translation of the tweets. On 

the other hand, while improving the poetic quality, the tweets still needed to represent the 

meaning or sententia of the poem. To guarantee that each of these elements was present, 

it became necessary to consult OPOB and the numerous tools available. As Michele 

Agresta wrote in his comments, the OPOB is not just a digital collection of Petrarca’s 

poems, something that can be easily found in pdf format after a quick search on the 

internet, it gathers together not only the poems in different formats from manuscripts to 

incunabula but also intersemiotic renderings and didactic apparatuses that allow the 

copious philological attention necessary to any serious attempt at translating and re-

writing Petrarca’s poems.  



Humanist Studies & the Digital Age  Lollini & Rosenberg 
 

4.1 (2015)  129 
 

 

Of the many tweets rewritten over the five weeks of this exercise, we report here a 

number of them that stood out as more able to convey both the meaning and poetic 

aspects of the poems. 

 

Poem Author Original Italian 

Tweet 

Original English 

Tweet 

Rewritten English 

Tweet 

89 Beau Battista Sono fuggito, ma 

poi Amore mi ha 

di nuovo 

ingannato con le 

sue astuzie, e mi 

sono trovato 

nuovamente 

avvolto nelle sue 

catene. 

I escaped, but then 

Love tricked me 

again with her guile 

and I found myself 

wrapped in her 

chains once again. 

I escaped but that 

traitor Love tricked 

me again and I 

found myself 

wrapped in her 

chains once more. 

132 Adrian De 

Leon 

Se non è amore, 

cos’è allora 

quello che sento? 

Sono in alto 

mare, in una 

fragile barca 

senza timone. 

If it is not love, then 

what is it that I feel? 

I am on the high seas 

in a fragile boat 

without a helm. 

What is love? What 

is right? What is 

wrong? I am on a 

fragile boat with no 

helm with 

unceasing winds 

pushing me every 

which way. 

135 Miriam 

Muccione 

Sono come la 

fenice: mi 

distruggo di 

passione ma poi 

rinasco sempre e 

questo solo 

contemplando i 

vostri occhi. 

I am like a phoenix; I 

burn with passion, 

but then I am always 

reborn, and this only 

admiring your eyes. 

I am like a phoenix, 

my Love; I burn 

with passion, but 

then I am reborn, 

through the same 

fire that just 

consumed me. 

145 Rebecca 

Rosenberg 

Mettimi tra i fiori 

e l’erba o sui 

ghiacci e la neve, 

maturo o 

adolescente, non 

cambierò mai e 

continuerò a 

sospirare 

d’amore. 

Place me between 

flowers and grass or 

on ice and snow. 

Mature and 

adolescent, I will 

never change and I 

will continue to sigh 

with love. 

No matter where I 

am placed, whether 

it be in Heaven or 

on Earth, with or 

without fame, I 

will, as a mature 

and adolescent man, 

always love. 

146 Jacob 

Monzingo 

Anima nobile e 

virtuosa, vorrei 

che tu fossi 

regina in tutto il 

mondo. Ma io 

Noble and virtuous 

soul, I would that 

you were queen of 

the world. I am not, 

however, so famous; 

Noble and virtuous 

soul, flame, rose, 

and delight; I would 

that all recognized 

your name, but I am 



Humanist Studies & the Digital Age  Lollini & Rosenberg 
 

4.1 (2015)  130 
 

non sono così 

famoso: il tuo 

nome si udirà 

solo in Italia. 

your name will be 

heard only in Italy. 

not so famous. Only 

Italy will know you. 

149 Rebecca 

Rosenberg 

Quando il suo 

sguardo si 

addolcisce, la 

passione si 

riaccende più 

forte che mai in 

una guerra 

continua accesa 

dalla speranza. 

When her gaze 

sweetens, the passion 

reignites, stronger 

than ever, in a 

continuous war 

heated by hope. 

When her gaze 

sweetens, the 

passion reignites, 

stronger than ever, 

in a continuous war 

heated by hope; 

thus, my suffering 

continues. 

153 Pierpaolo 

Spagnolo 

Lo ripeto: se non 

mi soccorri, ne 

morirò. Ma non 

dispero e 

continuo ad 

inviare i miei 

sospiri e dolci 

pensieri. 

I repeat: if you do 

not help me, I will 

die for it. I do not, 

however, despair and 

I continue to send my 

sighs and sweet 

thoughts. 

Go, fly, oh my 

sweet verses; our 

bad luck may finish 

this time because 

Love is with us. If 

she or destiny 

interferes, our hope 

will end. 

165 Miriam 

Muccione 

L’incedere 

onesto, lo 

sguarda soave, le 

dolcissime parole 

e l’atto mansueto 

sono le quattro 

faville che hanno 

acceso il fuoco 

dell’amore. 

The honest gait, the 

pleasing gaze, the 

sweet words and the 

gentle posture are the 

four sparks that lit 

the fire of love. 

The honest gait, the 

pleasing gaze, the 

sweet words and the 

gentle posture 

sparkle. They 

nurture the fire in 

me. 

176 Peter Kinzig Amo la 

solitudine: nel 

silenzio di questi 

boschi, al fruscio 

delle fronde, 

sento la vostra 

presenza.  

I love the solitude: in 

the silence of these 

woods with the rustle 

of the fronds, I feel 

your presence. 

This shady wood 

consumes me with 

her sounds: breeze, 

birds, branches, 

grass, water. Where 

armed men dare not 

tread, I am at peace. 

176 Rebecca 

Rosenberg 

Amo la 

solitudine: nel 

silenzio di questi 

boschi, al fruscio 

delle fronde, 

sento la vostra 

presenza.  

I love the solitude: in 

the silence of these 

woods with the rustle 

of the fronds, I feel 

your presence. 

Here in the silent, 

shadowy woods, no 

fear can haunt me 

except that of the 

amorous sun. Her 

presence surrounds 

me and yet, she is 

so far. 

188 Rebecca Io e il sole The Sun and I admire O Sun, do not take 



Humanist Studies & the Digital Age  Lollini & Rosenberg 
 

4.1 (2015)  131 
 

Rosenberg ammiriamo la 

stessa dolce 

fronda, ma il sole 

fugge e l’ombra 

nasconde il luogo 

beato dove il 

grande lauro fu 

piccolo virgulto. 

the sweet foliage, but 

the Sun escapes and 

the shade hides the 

blessed place where 

the great laurel was a 

small sapling 

the light of day! 

The shadow reaches 

even the blessed 

place where the 

inimitable, beloved 

laurel stands with 

my heart. 

193 Pierpaolo 

Spagnolo 

Non c’è cibo più 

nobile 

dell’immagine 

della mia amata. 

Grazie a lei 

comprendo il 

valore di ogni 

cosa terrena e 

celeste. 

There is no food 

nobler than the 

image of my 

beloved. Thanks to 

her, I comprehend 

the value of all things 

earthly and heavenly. 

I nourish my mind 

with nectar sweeter 

than ambrosia. Men 

can admire the fruit 

of Heaven, Nature 

and Earth’s genius 

unified in one 

creature. 

194 Miriam 

Muccione 

L’aura gentile 

della mia amata 

rigenera la 

natura, mi 

rasserena e mi 

abbaglia. Il cielo 

non mi dà ali per 

fuggire da lei. 

The gentle breeze of 

my beloved 

regenerates nature 

and both soothes and 

blinds me. Heaven 

does not give me 

wings to escape her. 

She is my sun: she 

gives me light and 

she gives me 

darkness. I want to 

escape from her 

sometimes. But I 

can’t. She is my 

destiny. 

195 Beau Battista Il mare rimarrà 

senz’acqua e il 

cielo senza stelle 

prima che io 

smetta di amarti. 

Solo la morte 

guarirà la ferita 

del mio cuore.  

The sea will be 

waterless and the sky 

starless before I stop 

loving you. Only 

death will heal my 

wounded heart. 

My strength wanes 

yet my passion 

doesn't. The sea 

will be waterless 

and the sky starless 

before I stop loving 

you. Only death 

will heal my heart. 

215 Adrian De 

Leon 

Laura potrebbe 

esaurire le risorse 

mentali di un 

poeta sommo. La 

sua bellezza, il 

suo amore e la 

sua onestà 

possono 

trasformare il 

mondo. 

Laura could consume 

the mental resources 

of a great poet. Her 

beauty, her love and 

her honesty can 

transform the world. 

Her humble life and 

high intellect, pure 

heart and youthful 

wisdom are enough 

to inspire every 

poet. She can 

change the world 

with a glance. 

218 Peter Kinzig Amore sembra 

dirmi che il 

mondo è più 

Love seems to tell 

me that the world is 

more beautiful 

The beauty of the 

world is at risk of 

loss with the 



Humanist Studies & the Digital Age  Lollini & Rosenberg 
 

4.1 (2015)  132 
 

bello grazie a 

Laura. Certo se 

lei dovesse 

mancare il 

mondo 

diventerebbe un 

luogo oscuro e 

desolato. 

thanks to Laura. If 

she were to be 

missing, the world 

would become dark 

and desolate. 

departing of the 

most lovely of 

women. Death will 

close our eyes to 

Nature. 

352 Steven 

Packard 

Ti ho visto 

camminare come 

un angelo tra 

l’erba e le viole 

ma ora dopo il 

tuo ritorno al 

Creatore tutto è 

solo ricordo e 

oscurità. 

I saw you walk like 

an angel in the grass 

and violets, but now, 

after your return to 

the Creator, 

everything is only 

memory and 

obscurity. 

I saw you walk like 

an angel in the grass 

and flowers, but 

now, after your 

return to the 

Creator, the sun has 

gone and everything 

is dead. 

 

As these tweets variously demonstrate, the students focused their re-writing and 

translations on meaning, poetic flavor, and musicality. Their gratification and sense of 

fulfillment were apparent at the end of the class when they read in group the entire Rvf in 

the 366 tweets that they had re-written and translated. 

 

The technologies and the hypertexts created in our digital era, such as the OPOB, should 

be seen as a service to literature, something that enhances, renews and deepens our 

understanding of it. Conversely, the study of literature as a philologically-oriented 

humanist endeavor may help the refinement and improvement of the digital tools we have 

at our disposal. Our approach and relationship with literature is changing under our eyes 

as the encounter between digital technology and literature has opened a wealth of new 

possibilities. Our article on a humanist use of Twitter in re-reading and re-writing 

Petrarca’s poems may inspire other projects to approach literature with a renewed sense 

of wonder, triggering readers’ ability to interact directly with the poetic word itself by 

rewriting stories and poems.  

 

We believe that it is important to remember the past and that our exercise of translating 

and re-writing must be based on philology, passion and imagination. In this way, in our 

perspective, re-tweeting is no less than re-actualizing the medieval reader that was 

looking for the sententia in the text.  This seems to be a very appropriate way of reading 

in a time that is witnessing an unprecedented proliferation of textualities that we need to 

remember and transmit to the future generations of readers. In a certain sense, re-tweeting 

is also similar to what epic poets, such as Homer, were doing by retelling and actualizing 

the stories and the myths they inherited from the past. The Homeric poems were open 

texts and created by multiple authors, an idea that has been lost since the advent of 

alphabetic writing as described by Plato (Phaedro 278 DE), according to which the text 

becomes stabilized and closed, and delivered by the author to the reader, who then loses 

the ability to ask questions and interact with the author. To take this comparison 



Humanist Studies & the Digital Age  Lollini & Rosenberg 
 

4.1 (2015)  133 
 

somewhat further, such refashioning is the way the film industry has always, and 

necessarily, related to literature. Directors make films based on books, or even other 

movies, retelling and personalizing the narrative. A conscientious, humanistic use of 

Twitter gives back this ability, this sense of challenge to readers of literary works. These 

new ways of dialoguing with the masterpieces of world literature may help us regain a 

sense of orality in our written world. Creativity once again regains its vital importance in 

education. Literature once again is accessible with all its vital energy and power to the 

modern digital age reader.  

 

Works Cited 

 

 

Aciman, Alexander, and Emmett Rensin. Twitterature: The World's Greatest Books in 

Twenty Tweets or Less. New York, N.Y: Penguin Books, 2009. Print. 

 

Cavallo, Guglielmo, Roger Chartier, and Lydia G. Cochrane. A History of Reading in the 

West. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1999. Print. 

 

Cavallo, Guglielmo and Chartier, Roger. “Introduction.” A History of Reading in the 

West. 1-36. Print. 

 

Petrarca, Francesco, and Giuseppe Savoca. Rerum Vulgarium Fragmenta. Firenze: L. S. 

Olschki, 2008. Print.   

 

Petrarca, Francesco, and Robert M. Durling. Petrarch's Lyric Poems: The Rime Sparse 

and Other Lyrics. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1976. Print. 

 

Plato. Phaedrus, Trans. Benjamin Jowett. The Internet Classics Archive. Web. 4 Jan. 

2011. <http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/phaedrus.html>. 

 

Landow, George P. Hypertext: The Convergence of Contemporary Critical Theory and 

Technology. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992. Print. 

---. Hyper/text/theory. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994. Print. 

 

Lefevere, André, ed. Translation - History - Culture : A Sourcebook. London, GBR: 

Routledge, 1992. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 11 August 2015. 

 

Lollini, Massimo. “Petrarch and the Ethics of Writing and Reading.” Approaches to 

Teaching Petrarch’s “Canzoniere” and Petrarchism. Edited by Christopher 

Kleinhenz  and Andrea Dini. NY: The Modern Language Association of America, 2014. 

188-209. Print. 

---. “Circles or the Reader in the Network.”  Humanist Studies & the Digital Age, North 

America, August 2015. Web. http://journals.library.oregonstate.edu/ 

 

Zali, Anne. L'Aventure Des Écritures : La Page. Bibliothèque Nationale De France, 

1999. Print. 

http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/phaedrus.html


Humanist Studies & the Digital Age  Lollini & Rosenberg 
 

4.1 (2015)  134 
 

 

APPENDIX 

 

 

 Italian Tweet English Tweet 

1 La giovanile ingenuità con cui ho 

affrontato l’amore ha prodotto questi 

versi. Ora, da uomo maturo, comprendo 

il valore profondo delle cose 

The juvenile ingenuity with which I 

affronted Love has produced these 

verses. Now, as a mature man, I 

understand the deep value of things. 

2 Ora hai compiuto la tua vendetta, 

Amore, ed io sono in tuo potere. 

Now you have taken your revenge, 

Love, and I am in your power. 

3 Sono stato colpito da Amore il giorno in 

cui ero più debole e indifeso. Laura 

invece è rimasta indifferente agli assalti 

del cuore. 

I was hit by Love on the day in which I 

was most weak and helpless. Laura, 

instead, has remained indifferent to the 

assaults of the heart. 

4 Come Dio ha scelto un luogo umile per 

mostrarsi agli uomini, così ha scelto un 

piccolo borgo per donare agli uomini la 

bellezza di Laura. 

As God chose a humble place to show 

himself to men, he similarly picked a 

small hamlet to offer Laura's beauty to 

men. 

5 Il vostro stesso nome mi spinge a una 

LAUta lode e a una REgale riverenza, 

ma insieme esso impone una TAcita 

contemplazione 

Your own name pushes me to a lavish 

praise and a regal reference, but at the 

same time, it imposes a tacit 

contemplation. 

6 Il mio desiderio è talmente folle che 

quanto più cerco di tenerlo a freno, 

tanto più diventa incontrollabile. 

My desire is so foolish that as much as I 

try to constrain it, it becomes that much 

more uncontrollable. 

7 Non lasciarti traviare dalle abitudini 

peggiori e, attraverso la poesia, persegui 

la via del sapere lontano dalla volgarità 

diffusa. 

Do not be led astray by the worst habits, 

but rather, through poetry, pursue the 

path of knowledge far from the diffuse 

vulgarity. 

8 L’amore ci dà pace e libertà, ma ora, ci 

sta dando solo paura. Abbiamo una 

consolazione: un giorno si realizzerà la 

sua vendetta. 

Love gives us peace and liberty, but 

now it is giving us only fear. Thus, we 

have one consolation: one day it will 

realize its revenge. 

9 Quando i pianeti sono allineati, ci 

danno il frutto della vita e l’umore 

terrestre, ma per me la primavera non 

arriverà mai. 

When the planets are aligned, they give 

us the fruit of life and the terrestrial 

humor, but for me, spring will never 

come. 

10 O amico l'ira del potere non ti allontanò 

dalla retta via. La bellezza della natura 

eleva ispirazione e pensieri amorosi, ma 

tu non sei qui. 

The ire of power did not distance you 

from the right path. Nature's beauty 

elevates inspiration and amorous 

thoughts, but you are not here. 

11 Da quando conoscete il mio desiderio il 

vostro capo è coperto e un velo 

nasconde impietosamente gli occhi 

meravigliosi che vorrei ammirare. 

Since learning of my desire, your head 

is covered and a veil unmercifully hides 

the wonderful eyes I would like to 

admire. 



Humanist Studies & the Digital Age  Lollini & Rosenberg 
 

4.1 (2015)  135 
 

12 Vorrei vedere Laura da vecchia, con i 

capelli d’argento e le rughe intorno agli 

occhi: quel giorno mi basterà un suo 

sorriso! 

I wish I could see Laura in old age, with 

silver hair and wrinkled eyes: that day, 

her smile will be enough! 

13 Ogni volta che vedo il volto divino di 

Laura in lei vedo il sommo bene. 

Every time I see Laura’s divine face, I 

see in her the greatest good. 

14 Sto preparando i miei occhi e i miei 

pensieri per la dolorosa sfida di amore 

che prima o poi dovrò affrontare. 

I am preparing my eyes and thoughts 

for the painful challenge of love that I 

will have to face sooner or later. 

15 Mi domando come sia possibile 

sopravvivere senza lo spirito che mi 

anima, ma è un dolore che ogni uomo 

innamorato deve provare. 

I ask myself how it is possible to 

survive without the spirit that enlivens 

me, but it is a pain that every man in 

love must experience. 

16 Quando cerco il volto Laura in altri 

volti, mi sento come un vecchio 

pellegrino in cerca dell'immagine vera 

del volto di Cristo. 

When I seek Laura’s face in others, I 

feel like an old pilgrim in search of the 

true image of Christ’s face. 

17 La donna che amo è l’unica persona che 

può farmi piangere e sorridere. Quando 

se ne va, la mia anima vuole seguirla. 

The woman I love is the only person 

who can make me cry and smile. When 

she leaves, my soul wants to follow her. 

18 Penso al volto di Laura ma il desiderio 

per lei evoca dolore e il pensiero 

inquieto della morte. Non voglio 

parlarne e piango in solitudine. 

I think of Laura’s face but this desire 

evokes pain and the restless thought of 

death. I do not want to talk about it and 

cry in solitude. 

19 Sono una farfalla attratta dalla fiamma, 

incapace di allontanarmi anche quando 

brucia. Il mio destino è andare dietro a 

ciò che mi arde. 

I am a butterfly attracted to the flame, 

unable to distance myself even when it 

burns. My destiny is to chase that which 

singes me. 

20 La sua bellezza è così elevata che è 

impossibile descriverla tramite la voce, 

la penna o i pensieri. 

Her beauty is so great that it’s 

impossible to describe it by means of 

the voice, the pen or the thoughts. 

21 Ho offerto il mio cuore a voi, ma non lo 

accoglierete. Il mio cuore non 

appartiene ad altra donna perciò non 

rimane che la morte. 

I offered my heart but you wouldn’t 

accept it. My heart doesn’t belong to 

any other woman, therefore all that 

remains is death. 

22 Il mio desiderio per Laura non 

conoscerà mai pace. Voglio passare la 

notte con lei, ma è più probabile che le 

stelle brillino di giorno. 

My desire for Laura will never know 

peace. I want to spend the night with 

her, but it is more likely that the stars 

will shine at day. 

23 L’amo così profondamente che la mia 

anima vive una metamorfosi non 

umana. Quando mi ritrovo umano, il 

pensiero rimane elevato. 

I love her so profoundly that my soul 

lives a non-human metamorphosis. 

When I find myself human again, the 

thought remains noble. 

24 Ho perduto la gloria poetica per il 

troppo amore. Non mi rimane che il 

pianto. Per questo ti consiglio una vita 

I lost the poetic glory due to too much 

love. All that remain are tears. For this I 

recommend a more tranquil life. 



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più tranquilla. 

25 Io non ho mai abbandonato l’amore 

come invece voi avete fatto, amico 

poeta. Ma Dio indica il ritorno 

all’amore per quanto difficile sia. 

I’ve never abandoned love like you did, 

my poet friend. But God indicates the 

return to love, as difficult as it is. 

26 Caro amico dovete sentirvi come chi 

evita il naufragio o come un prigioniero 

liberato. L’errore è finito: siete tornato 

alla poesia d’amore. 

My dear friend, you must feel as one 

who avoids the shipwreck or is a freed 

prisoner. The error's finished: you 

returned to love’s poetry. 

27 L’Italia piange l’assenza del Papa di 

Avignone. Ma il Papa ritornerà nella 

sua giusta sede a Roma e una crociata 

sconfiggerà gli infedeli. 

Italy laments the absence of the 

Avignon Pope. But the Pope will return 

to his rightful seat in Rome and a 

crusade will defeat the infidels. 

28 L'amore non è solo eros per una donna, 

ma anche caritas per una causa grande e 

nobile. Ben venga la crociata contro gli 

infedeli. 

Love is not eros for a woman, but also 

caritas for a grand and noble cause. We 

welcome the crusade against the 

infidels. 

29 Donna, la tua bellezza è astrale, 

splendente e calda, ma mi ferisce come 

un’ustione. Sono come Didone che si 

uccise vedendo partire Enea. 

Woman, your beauty is astral, shining 

and warm, but it hurts me like a burn. 

I’m like Dido who killed herself 

watching Aeneas leave. 

30 Quando io realizzerò il mio sogno vedrò 

ghiacciarsi il fuoco e ardere la neve. Da 

sette anni vago pallido e infuocato 

nell’animo per lei. 

When I realize my dream I’ll see fire 

ice over and snow burn. For seven years 

I’ve wandered pale and inflamed for 

her. 

31 Peccato che questa donna stia per 

morire. Almeno sarà l’anima più gradita 

e bella in cielo. La sua luce offuscherà 

tutte le altre stelle. 

Pity that this woman is to die. At least 

hers will be the most appreciated soul in 

heaven. Her light will outshine all the 

other stars. 

32 Avvicinandomi alla morte mi rendo 

conto che non parlerò più per molto 

d’amore e troverò così pace in cose di 

più alto valore. 

As I approach death, I realize that I 

won’t speak of love much longer and 

thus I’ll find peace in more valuable 

things. 

33 Nella luce dell’alba mi sei apparsa alla 

mente e mi hai detto: “Non temere: la 

mia malattia è finita e i tuoi occhi mi 

vedranno ancora.” 

In the light of dawn, you appeared in 

my mind and told me: “Don’t fear: my 

illness has passed and your eyes will 

see me again”. 

34 Apollo, dio della poesia e della 

medicina, tu conosci l’amore per il 

lauro. Difendi Laura e goditi con me la 

meraviglia della sua salute. 

Apollo, god of poetry and medicine, 

you know the love for the laurel. 

Defend Laura and enjoy with me the 

magnificence of her health.  

35 Mi aggiro solo nei campi. Vorrei 

trovare un luogo selvaggio, dove Amore 

non possa trovarmi ma lui viene sempre 

a ragionar con me. 

I wander alone in the fields. I’d like to 

find a wild place, where Love can’t find 

me, but he always comes to reason with 

me. 

36 Ho pensato che la morte potesse I thought that death would liberate my 



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liberare la mia anima dalle pene 

d’amore. Ora sono pieno di dubbi e 

invoco l’aiuto di Amore e della morte. 

soul from the pains of love. Now I’m 

full of doubt and I invoke the help of 

Love and death. 

37 La vita passa rapida, la morte si 

avvicina e Laura è lontana, anche la 

speranza mi abbandona. Ma voglio 

ancora raggiungerla dovunque sia. 

Life passes quickly, death arrives and 

Laura is far, even hope has abandoned 

me. But I still want to reach her 

wherever she may be. 

38 Nessuna barriera naturale sembra 

importuna più del velo che copre gli 

occhi di Laura. Ma anche la bianca 

mano ostacola la mia vista. 

No natural barrier seems to be more 

obtrusive than the veil that covers 

Laura’s eyes. And yet the white hand 

also obstructs my sight. 

39 Temo la forza dello sguardo di Laura e 

il rimprovero che può venire dai suoi 

begli occhi. Posso essere scusato se ho 

tardato a guardarla. 

I dread the strength of Laura’s gaze and 

the reproach that may come from her 

beautiful eyes. I can be excused if I 

delayed to observe her. 

40 Se amore o morte non mi interrompono 

scriverò un’opera straordinaria, classica 

e moderna. Ma un libro mi è necessario. 

If love or death don’t interrupt me, I’ll 

write an extraordinary work, classic and 

modern. But a book is necessary to me. 

41 Da quando Laura ha lasciato il suo 

luogo, gli influssi maligni dei pianeti e i 

venti imperversano sulla terra e nel 

mare. 

Since Laura left her place, the evil 

influences of the planets and winds rage 

on the land and the sea. 

42 Laura è tornata e l’influsso negativo 

delle stelle si è dissolto. Il suo bel viso 

fa innamorare, riporta la primavera e i 

fiori nei prati. 

Laura is back and the bad influence of 

the stars dispelled. Her beautiful face 

brings back love, the spring and the 

flowers in the meadows. 

43 Il sole non tornava a causa della tua 

mancanza. È stato il pianto che mi ha 

impedito di vedere il tuo ritorno. 

The sun did not return because of your 

absence. It was weeping that impeded 

me from seeing your return. 

44 Cesare ha avuto pietà per Pompeo e 

Davide per Golia, ma i begli occhi per 

me non versano nemmeno una lacrima, 

solo sdegno! 

Caesar had pity for Pompey and David 

for Goliath, but the beautiful eyes do 

not have even one tear for me, only 

disdain! 

45 Laura, il tuo amato specchio è il mio 

nemico. Non posso stare con te perché 

ami troppo te stessa, sei una vera 

narcisista. 

Laura, your beloved mirror is my 

enemy. I cannot be with you because 

you love yourself too much, you are a 

true narcissist. 

46 Sono gli specchi in cui contempli la tua 

divina bellezza che mi tormentano di 

più, perché a causa loro ti allontani da 

me. 

The mirrors in which you contemplate 

your divine beauty are those that 

torment me the most: because of them 

you distance yourself from me. 

47 Lo spirito vitale mi abbandona se non 

vedo i vostri occhi sereni. Ora capisco 

che è il desiderio che mi mantiene in 

vita. 

The vital spirit will abandon me if I do 

not see your serene eyes. I now 

understand that it is that desire that 

keeps me alive. 

48 Il fragore del Nilo assorda; la luce del The roar of the Nile deafens; the light 



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Sole acceca e la forza dell’amore che 

non può esprimersi perde vigore con la 

perseveranza. 

of the sun blinds and the power of love 

that cannot express itself loses vigor 

with time. 

49 Ingrata lingua, non mi rendi onore, più 

ho bisogno di te per esprimere il mio 

amore e più mi deludi e diventi 

incomprensibile. 

Ungrateful tongue, you don’t bring me 

honor, the more I need you to express 

my love, the more you disappoint me 

and become incomprehensible. 

50 Quando il sole tramonta, la pace si 

diffonde ovunque: solo io rimango 

prigioniero della mia passione. 

When the sun sets, peace spreads 

everywhere: only I remain prisoner of 

my own passion. 

51 Non posso diventare Laura, vorrei 

diventare una statua della pietra più 

dura per liberarmi dalla passione come 

fece Atlante con Medusa. 

Since I cannot become Laura when she 

nears, I would become a statue of the 

hardest stone to be free from passion, as 

did Atlas for Medusa. 

52 Quando l’ho vista bagnare il velo, era 

estate. Eppure ho avuto un brivido 

tremando d’amore. 

When I saw her soaking her veil it was 

summer. Nonetheless I shivered, 

trembling of love. 

53 Solo Cola di Rienzo può riportare Roma 

e l’Italia agli antichi splendori con 

l’aiuto del Cielo. 

Only Cola di Rienzo can bring Rome 

and Italy back to their ancient splendor 

with the help of God. 

54 Mi sono ritratto appena in tempo dalla 

selva oscura in cui stavo per perdermi 

con la pellegrina che aveva colpito il 

mio fragile cuore. 

I recoiled just in time from the dark 

forest in which I was about to get lost 

with the pilgrim who had struck my 

fragile heart. 

55 Non riesco a superare l’amore per Laura 

e ogni volta che cerco di dimenticarla, 

finisco per innamorarmi di lei ancora di 

più. 

I cannot get over my love for Laura and 

every time I try to forget her, I end up 

more in love with her. 

56 Quale ombra sovrasta il frutto delle mie 

speranze, quale belva ruggisce nel mio 

cuore? È vero: nessuno è felice prima 

della morte. 

Which shadow looms over the fruit of 

my hopes, which beast roars in my 

heart? It is true: no one is happy before 

death. 

57 La neve diventerà tiepida e nera, 

l’oceano senza onde e i pesci andranno 

sulle montagne prima che io trovi la 

pace. 

The snow will become tepid and black, 

the ocean without waves and the fish 

will climb the mountains before I can 

find peace. 

58 Bevo il magico infuso di Amore. Il 

primo sorso è amaro, ma poi diventa 

sempre più dolce. 

I sip the magic infusion of Love. The 

first drop is bitter, but then it becomes 

sweeter and sweeter. 

59 Amore nascose fra le trecce bionde i 

lacci con i quali mi avvinse. Nemmeno 

la morte li scioglierà. 

Love hid between the blonde braids, the 

laces of which she bound me. Not even 

death will untie them. 

60 Sono stato innamorato di un dolce 

albero, ma ora il suo legno si è indurito. 

Ora maledico lui e le sue foglie verdi! 

I was in love with a sweet tree, but now 

its wood has hardened. Now I curse it 

and its green leaves. 

61 Ogni cosa che ha a che fare con Laura Everything related to Laura must be 



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deve essere benedetta blessed. 

62 Dopo anni passati pensando a Laura, 

vorrei dedicare la mia vita a Dio. 

After many years spent thinking about 

Laura, I would like to dedicate my life 

to God. 

63 Uno sguardo di Laura può darmi la vita 

o la morte perché lei è la padrona del 

mio cuore e ogni cosa che viene da lei è 

dolce onore. 

A look from Laura can give me life or 

death because she is the owner of my 

heart and everything that comes from 

her is sweet honor. 

64 Anche se la terra dove pianto il mio 

amore è arida, il destino non mi lascia 

far altrimenti. 

Even though the land on which I plant 

my love is arid, destiny does not allow 

me to do otherwise. 

65 Non sono capace difendermi dal potere 

di Amore, che ha incendiato il mio 

cuore per Laura. Spero che anche lei 

abbia la sua parte di foco. 

I am not capable of defending myself 

from the power of Love that set fire to 

my heart for Laura. I hope she has her 

part of the fire too. 

66 Finiscono le nebbie e il ghiaccio—non 

finisce mai la nebbia che nasconde gli 

occhi di Laura e fa piovere i miei per 

sempre! 

Fog and ice finish – but the fog that 

hides Laura’s eyes and makes mine rain 

never does. 

67 Povero me! Pensando a Laura sono 

caduto in un ruscello. Almeno sono 

bagnati i piedi invece degli occhi. 

Poor me! While thinking about Laura I 

fell into a creek. At least my feet are 

wet instead of my eyes. 

68 Cosa devo fare? Stare dove trovo 

l’ispirazione spirituale o tornare a 

vedere Laura? Discuto con me stesso e 

chissà cosa succederà! 

What should I do? Be where I find 

spiritual inspiration or return to see 

Laura? I argue with myself and who 

knows what will happen! 

69 Eccomi in viaggio al largo della costa, 

cercando di scappare da Laura, ma 

Amore mi troverà e non potrò evitare il 

destino! 

Here I am travelling at sea, trying to 

escape from Laura, but Love will find 

me and I will not be able to avoid my 

destiny. 

70 Laura non può essere la causa del mio 

male. La mia capacità di comprendere è 

limitata e sono abbagliato dalla bellezza 

che adorna il mondo. 

Laura cannot be the cause of my pain. 

My capacity to comprehend is limited 

and I am dazzled by the beauty that 

adorns the world. 

71 Se solo riuscirò a reggere la luce dei 

vostri occhi, la mia felicità sarà senza 

tempo. 

If I only can hold up against the light of 

your eyes, my happiness will be 

endless. 

72 Non merito i vostri occhi ma non 

copriteli, sono faville angeliche beatrici 

e solo in loro può essere la fine delle 

mie sofferenze. 

I do not deserve your eyes, but do not 

cover them for they glimmer with 

angelic bliss and only in them can be 

the end of my suffering. 

73 I tuoi occhi sono fonte d’ogni salute e 

comunicano una pace simile a quella 

che nel cielo è eterna, il loro splendore 

eccede la mia vista. 

Your eyes are the source of all health 

and they transmit a peace similar to that 

which in heaven is eternal, their 

splendor exceeds my view. 

74 Sono stanco di pensare come il mio I am tired of thinking that my love has 



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amore non abbia fine ma la mia 

passione è più forte delle mie parole e 

mi impone di scrivere. 

no end but my passion is stronger than 

my words and forces me to write. 

75 I tuoi occhi sono più potenti di 

qualunque magia, sono disposto a 

seguirli, finché il mio cuore ne avrà la 

forza. 

Your eyes are stronger than any magic, 

I am willing to follow them as long as 

my heart has enough strength. 

76 In realtà non potrò mai stancarmi di 

pensare a voi. Dopo tutto, solo i vostri 

occhi possono guarire la mia pena. 

In reality I will never be able to get over 

thinking about you. After all, only your 

eyes can cure my pain. 

77 Solo Simone ha saputo ritrarre la vostra 

immagine celeste e vera. 

Only Simone could portray your 

celestial and true image. 

78 Simone, tu sei stato in paradiso, così hai 

potuto ritrarre tutta la sua bellezza 

anche se non hai potuto darle la parola 

per rispondermi. 

Simone, you have been in Heaven, so 

you could portray all of her beauty, 

although you could not provide her the 

words with which to respond. 

79 Non potrò durare a lungo in questo 

crescente desiderio. La morte si 

avvicina, e la vita fugge sotto il giogo 

dei suoi occhi. 

I will not last long in this growing 

desire. Death is coming and life flees 

under the yoke of her eyes. 

80 La mia vita è una nave in piena 

tempesta. Il vento gonfia troppo le vele 

e mi trascina fra gli scogli. Dio mi 

indichi un porto sicuro. 

My life is a ship in the peak of a storm. 

The wind inflates the sails too much 

and drags me into the rocks. May God 

show me a safe harbor. 

81 Sento il peso del mio corpo e vorrei 

avere ali di colomba per sollevarmi da 

così in basso. 

I feel the weight of my body and I wish 

I had the wings of a dove to lift me 

from these lows. 

82 Sulla mia tomba non sarà scritto che voi 

siete stata la causa della mia morte, ma 

promettetemi almeno la vostra pietà. 

On my tombstone there will not be 

written that you were the cause of my 

death, but at least promise me your pity. 

83 Forse quando sarò vecchio non potrete 

più fare strazio di me, e mi resterà solo 

il vostro languido ricordo. 

Maybe when I am old you will no 

longer torment me, and only your weak 

memory will remain. 

84 I miei occhi e il mio cuore non hanno 

scuse: entrambi aprendo le porte al mio 

desiderio amoroso sono stati la causa 

mia rovina. 

My eyes and heart have no excuses: by 

opening the doors to my loving desire, 

both have been the cause of my ruin.  

85 Io amai sempre e amo il luogo e l'ora 

del primo incontro, il desiderio cresce e 

con esso la speranza. 

I always have and still do love the place 

and time of our first encounter, the 

desire grows and my hope with it. 

86 Soffro infinitamente a causa della mia 

fragilità. Vorrei morire e odio gli occhi 

di Laura per avermi ferito in modo non 

mortale. 

I suffer infinitely because of my 

fragility. I wish I could die and hate 

Laura’s eyes for wounding me in a non 

mortal way. 

87 Laura, sai che le tue frecce hanno 

centrato il mio cuore. So che mi farai 

Laura, you know that your arrows have 

pierced my heart. I know you will make 



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soffrire sempre di più, senza uccidermi. me suffer more and more without ever 

killing me. 

88 Nonostante le ferite che Amore mi ha 

inferto, cerco di fuggire. Ma solo uno su 

mille si salva e anche Laura rimase 

ferita al cuore. 

Despite the wounds inflicted upon me 

by Love I try to flee. Yet only one in a 

thousand saves himself and even 

Laura’s heart was wounded. 

89 Sono fuggito, ma poi Amore mi ha di 

nuovo ingannato con le sue astuzie, e 

mi sono trovato nuovamente avvolto 

nelle sue catene. 

I escaped, but then Love tricked me 

again with her guile and I found myself 

wrapped in her chains once again. 

90 Ricordo i capelli sparsi al vento e il viso 

colorato di pietà. Era un’illusione? Mi 

innamorai di quello che sembrava uno 

spirito celeste. 

I recall her hair in the wind and her face 

colored with pity. Was it an illusion? I 

fell in love with that which seemed a 

celestial spirit. 

91 Piangi la morte dell’amata ma liberati 

da quella passione e pensa a salire verso 

il cielo con la tua anima pellegrina. 

Cry for the death of the beloved, but 

free yourself from that passion and 

think of rising toward Heaven with your 

pilgrim soul. 

92 Tutti sulla terra devono piangere la 

morte del grande poeta Cino. Piangono 

Pistoia e anche le sue rime. Il cielo 

invece deve rallegrarsi. 

Everyone on Earth must cry for the 

great poet Cino's death. Pistoia and his 

rhymes also cry. The sky, instead, 

rejoices. 

93 Ero impegnato in altre opere e mi sono 

allontanato da Amore; ma gli occhi di 

Laura possono ancora farmi piangere. 

I was busy with other works and I 

distanced myself from Love, but 

Laura's eyes can still make me cry. 

94 Quei due giovani sembrano innamorati. 

Hanno perso ogni vitalità, e sono pallidi 

come morti. Io mi sento come loro. 

Those two youths seem to be in love. 

They have lost every vitality and they 

are as pale as death. I feel like them. 

95 Vorrei scrivere quello che sento, 

provocando la pietà di tutti. Ma lei mi 

può leggere come un libro: non serve 

che io scriva versi 

I would like to write what I feel, 

provoking everyone’s pity. But she can 

read me like a book: I do not need to 

write verses. 

96 Sono così stanco di aspettare un segno 

d’amore che ora odio il mio desiderio. 

Laura, il tuo viso nel mio cuore è un 

segno della mia servitù. 

I am so tired of waiting for a sign of 

love that now I hate my desire. Laura, 

your face in my heart is a sign of my 

servitude.  

97 Amore mi sprona e tutte le strade 

portano a lei. Da quando i suoi occhi mi 

hanno ferito ho perduto la mia libertà e 

ripeto il suo nome. 

Love pushes me and all the streets bring 

me to her. Since the moment her eyes 

wounded me, I lost my freedom and I 

repeat her name. 

98 Orso, sì, questa volta non puoi 

combattere, ma non lamentarti troppo, e 

non sospirare! Il pubblico sa quanto sei 

valoroso. 

Orso, yes, this time you can not fight, 

but do not complain too much, and 

don't sigh! The public knows how 

valiant you are. 



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99 Stai attento! La vita è come un prato e 

c’è un serpente fra l’erba! Avviati per 

una strada più sicura, non come ho fatto 

io. 

Careful! Life is like a field and there is 

a snake in the grass! Go for the safer 

road, not like I did. 

100 Questa finestra, questa sedia di pietra e 

la Primavera mi addolorano perché mi 

parlano di te. 

This window, this stone chair and 

Spring pain me because they speak to 

me about you. 

101 Che perdita di tempo è Amore! E’ 

impossibile liberarsi di lui, è più forte di 

una magia. Potrà la ragione vincere la 

forza del desiderio? 

What a waste of time is Love! It is 

impossible to get rid of it and it is 

stronger than magic. Will reason be 

able to overcome this desire? 

102 Cesare pianse invece di sorridere; 

Annibale sorrise per rassicurare coloro 

che piangevano; così rido io per 

nascondere il pianto! 

Caesar cried instead of smiling; 

Hannibal smiled to reassure those who 

cried; in this way, I laugh in order to 

hide the weeping. 

103 Caro Signore, gli Orsini sono arrabbiati 

come un’orsa per l’assassinio dei suoi 

figli; dovete mantenere onore e fama 

con la spada! 

Dear Lord, the Orsini’s are as angry as 

a bear for the assassination of her cubs. 

You must maintain honor and fame 

with the sword! 

104 Caro Pandolfo, il tuo valore e la tua 

virtù mi spingono ad immortalarti nei 

miei versi che sono più potenti del 

marmo. 

Dear Pandolfo, your valor and your 

virtue push me to immortalize you in 

my verses, which are stronger than 

marble. 

105 Amore e Gelosia mi hanno tolto il cuore 

e l’hanno privato dei segni del bel volto 

che possono condurmi ad una vita 

migliore. 

Love and Jealousy have removed my 

heart and deprived it of signs of the 

beautiful face that could guide me to a 

better life. 

106 Come un angelo venuto dal cielo, Laura 

è scesa per legarmi a sé con la luce dei 

suoi occhi e per illuminare il mio 

cammino. 

Like an angel from Heaven, Laura 

descended in order to bind me to her 

with the light of her eyes and to 

illuminate my path. 

107 Non riesco a sfuggire alla bellezza dei 

suoi occhi e Amore continua a farmi 

vagare per la selva delle cose mondane. 

I can not manage to escape from her 

eyes’ beauty and Love continues to 

make me wander in the wood of 

worldly things. 

108 Non mi scordo mai il momento in cui 

Laura si volse verso di me in Valchiusa: 

o Sennuccio, aiutami a rievocarlo. 

I never forget the moment in which 

Laura turned toward me in Valchiusa. O 

Sennuccio, help me to evoke it again! 

109 Di nulla mi importa quando penso 

all’aura soave che muove dal viso 

luminoso di Laura e mi dà conforto e 

sollievo. 

Nothing is important to me when I think 

of the pleasing aura that emanates from 

Laura’s luminous face and gives me 

comfort and relief. 

110 Ho visto Laura in sogno, era un’ombra. 

Ma quando ho visto i suoi occhi, è 

diventata un raggio di sole. 

I saw Laura in a dream; she was a 

shadow. When I saw her eyes, however, 

she became a ray of sunshine. 

111 Il mio incontro con Laura oggi mi ha My encounter with Laura today struck 



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colpito così forte che da un pò di tempo 

non sento ricolmo di piacere e lontano 

dal dolore. 

me so strongly that it has been some 

time since I have not felt filled with 

pleasure and far from pain. 

112 Sennuccio voglio che tu sappia che 

Laura domina ogni momento della mia 

vita ed io non posso che pensare a lei. 

Sennuccio, I want you to know that 

Laura dominates every moment of my 

life and I can not help but to think about 

her. 

113 O Sennuccio, davanti alla casa di Laura 

si è riaccesa la mia passione e spenta la 

paura. Cosa succederebbe se potessi 

vedere i suoi occhi? 

Sennuccio, at Laura’s house, Love 

rekindled the fire in my soul and spent 

the fear. What if I could look into her 

eyes? 

114 Nella solitudine di questo luogo, ma 

lontano dalla corruzione di Avignone e 

dalla folla, mi dedico alla poesia, 

all’amore e all’amicizia. 

In the solitude of this place, but far from 

Avignon’s corruption and from the 

crowd, I dedicate myself to poetry, to 

love and to friendship. 

115 Se Laura ha preferito me al Sole, forse 

posso sperare nella sua benevolenza. 

If Laura preferred me to the Sun, then 

perhaps I can hope in her benevolence.  

116 Il mio unico pensiero è lei. Trovo 

conforto in questa valle protetta, senza 

donne, solo con i miei pensieri d'amore. 

She is my only thought. I find comfort 

in this protected valley, without women, 

alone with my thoughts of love. 

117 I miei sospiri per Laura avrebbero più 

agevole strada se il monte che chiude 

Valchiusa si piegasse verso Roma 

disdegnando Avignone. 

My sighs for Laura would have an 

easier path if the mountain that closes 

Valchiusa were to bend toward Rome 

scorning Avignon. 

118 Ho sospirato per sedici anni, ma la mia 

sofferenza continua, sono rimasto 

sempre uguale e non voglio cambiare. 

I have sighed for sixteen years, but my 

suffering continues. I have remained 

always the same and I do not want to 

change. 

119 L'amicizia della Gloria mi fa vedere una 

donna ancora più bella che si chiama 

Virtù. Così mi trovo sul capo una 

ghirlanda di lauro. 

Glory’s friendship makes me see a 

woman even more beautiful called 

Virtue. In this way, I find a laurel 

wreath on my head. 

120 Rispondo con affetto, amico mio, alle 

vostre condoglianze premature. 

Sappiate che sono giunto alle porte 

della morte, ma non era ancora il 

tempo. 

I respond with affection, my friend, to 

your premature condolences. You know 

that I had arrived at death’s door, but it 

was not yet my time. 

121 Vendicami, Amore, perché questa 

donna non ha pietà di me, né rispetta 

voi. Voi potete colpirla con il vostro 

arco. 

Avenge me, Love, for this woman has 

no mercy for me or respect for you! You 

can strike her with your bow. 

122 I miei capelli diventano grigi, i miei 

sensi declinano, ma la fiamma accesa 

17 anni fa rimane. Si spegnerà mai? 

My hair becomes gray, my senses 

decline, but the flame lit seventeen 

years ago remains. Will it ever go out? 

123 Ho capito in quel momento, dal suo 

sguardo turbato e dal suo angelico 

I realized, in that moment, from her 

dismayed gaze and from her angelic 



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pallore, che le sarei mancato. pallor, that she would miss me. 

124 Tormentato dalla malinconia amorosa, 

non ho più speranza nel futuro: le mie 

attese si infrangono come vetro. 

Tormented by amorous melancholy, I 

have no more hope in the future; my 

expectations shatter like glass. 

125 Se solo trovassi le parole giuste per 

esprimervi la mia passione! Rivolgo il 

mio canto all’amica riva ove spero 

trovare traccia di voi. 

If only I could find the right words to 

express my passion! I address my song 

to my shore friend, where I hope to find 

traces of you. 

126 Vorrei giacere per sempre in questi 

luoghi e aspettare il vostro arrivo. La 

vostra pietà potrebbe allora aprire alla 

mia anima le porte del paradiso. 

I would like to lie forever in these 

places and wait for your arrival. Your 

pity could then open Heaven’s gates for 

my soul. 

127 Cerco di esprimere in questi versi 

l’immensità della mia ammirazione, ma 

è come svuotare il mare e contare le 

stelle. 

I attempt to express through these verses 

the immensity of my admiration, but it 

is like emptying the sea and counting 

the stars. 

128 Superate la vostra cupidità, signori 

d’Italia. La porta del cielo sarà aperta se 

ascolterete le parole di questa canzone: 

pace, pace, pace. 

Overtake your cupidity, lords of Italy! 

Heaven’s door will be open if you listen 

to these lyrics: peace, peace, peace. 

129 La mia immaginazione disegna 

dovunque il vostro viso e non riesco 

fermare i miei passi. Per voi scalerei le 

montagne più alte. 

My imagination paints your face 

everywhere and I can not stop my steps. 

I would climb the highest mountains for 

you. 

130 Nel mio esilio non posso che piangere 

ma le lacrime mi sono dolci. Non penso 

che alla sua immagine dipinta nel mio 

cuore da Amore. 

In my exile, I can not but cry, but the 

tears are sweet to me. I only think of her 

image painted in my heart by Love. 

131 Mi chiedi cosa fare in questo vivere 

greve? Posso dirti solo che canterei 

l'amore per colei che rende lieta la mia 

vita. 

You ask me what to do in this heavy 

life. I can only tell you that I would sing 

of the love for she who makes my life 

happy. 

132 Se non è amore, cos’è allora quello che 

sento? Sono in alto mare, in una fragile 

barca senza timone. 

If it is not love, then what is it that I 

feel? I am on the high seas in a fragile 

boat without a helm. 

133 Amore mi ha trasformato in un 

bersaglio, come neve al sole, come cera 

al fuoco. La mia vita fugge senza 

scampo alla tua dolce aura. 

Love transformed me into a target, like 

snow to the sun or wax to a fire. My life 

runs away without salvation from your 

sweet breeze.  

134 Donna per voi temo e spero, ardo e son 

di ghiaccio, nulla stringo e abbraccio 

tutto il mondo. Odio la vita e la morte 

allo stesso modo. 

Woman, I fear and hope for you; I burn 

and I am ice. I clasp nothing and I hug 

the whole world. I hate life and death in 

the same way. 

135 Sono come la fenice: brucio di passione 

ma poi rinasco sempre e questo solo 

contemplando i vostri occhi. 

I am like a phoenix; I burn with passion, 

but then I am always reborn, and this 

only admiring your eyes. 



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136 Voglia Dio punire la curia di Avignone 

in cui sembra concentrarsi tutto il male 

del mondo. 

May God punish the Avignon curia in 

which it seems all the evil of the world 

is concentrated. 

137 La curia papale di Avignone ha colmato 

la misura della corruzione e venera gli 

idoli della lussuria e dell’incontinenza. 

Ma sarà distrutta. 

The Avignon papal curia has filled the 

measure of corruption and venerates the 

idols of desire and incontinence. It will 

be destroyed. 

138 O inferno Babilonese! La sede papale è 

una meretrice sfacciata che genera il 

male. Perché Costantino non torna a 

revocare la sua donazione? 

O Babylonian hell! The papal seat is a 

brazen harlot that generates evil. Why 

does Constantine not come to revoke his 

gift? 

139 Vorrei rimanere nella pace del convento 

dei monaci di Montrieux. La ragione 

però non ascolta il cuore e mi spinge 

all’esilio. 

I would like to remain in the peace of 

the Montrieux monk’s convent. Reason 

does not, however, listen to the heart 

and pushes me to exile. 

140 Anche Amore è intimorito dagli sguardi 

ritrosi di Laura. Io non posso che stare 

con lui fino alla morte. 

Even Love is intimidated by Laura’s 

bashful gazes! I can not help but to stay 

with him until death. 

141 Sono abbagliato dai tuoi occhi e li 

seguirò, anche se vedo la mia anima in 

catene andare spontaneamente verso la 

morte. 

I am dazzled by your eyes and I will 

follow them to spontaneously go toward 

death, even if I see my soul in chains. 

142 Una luce fantastica mi spingeva a 

cercare il lauro. Ma tutto nella natura è 

destinato a cambiare e un’altra luce mi 

dice ora cosa fare. 

A fantastic light pushed me to search for 

the laurel. Everything in nature is 

destined to change and now another 

light tells me what to do. 

143 La poesia d’amore mi riaccende un 

desiderio così forte che potrebbe 

infiammare i morti. Pensando a lei 

tremo e non riesco a parlare. 

Love poetry reignites in me a desire so 

strong that it could inflame the dead. 

Thinking of her, I tremble and I am 

unable to speak. 

144 Il cielo più terso, il sole più bello e 

l’arcobaleno più variopinto li ho visti 

quando ti ho incontrato. Tutto riceve 

luce dai tuoi occhi. 

I saw the clearest sky, the most beautiful 

sun and the most colorful rainbow when 

I met you. Everything receives light 

from your eyes. 

145 Mettimi tra i fiori e l’erba o sui ghiacci 

e la neve, maturo o adolescente, non 

cambierò mai e continuerò a sospirare 

d’amore. 

Place me between flowers and grass or 

on ice and snow. Mature and adolescent, 

I will never change and I will continue 

to sigh with love. 

146 Anima nobile e virtuosa, vorrei che tu 

fossi regina in tutto il mondo. Ma io 

non sono così famoso: il tuo nome si 

udirà solo in Italia. 

Noble and virtuous soul, I would that 

you were queen of the world. I am not, 

however, so famous; your name will be 

heard only in Italy. 

147 I tuoi occhi possono essere un freno 

potente alla mia passione eccessiva, ma 

si rasserenano quando ritrovo la 

moderazione. 

Your eyes can be a powerful brake to 

my excessive passion, but they brighten 

when I find moderation again. 



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148 I grandi fiumi e gli alberi non possono 

mitigare il fuoco ardente del cuore. Solo 

il Sorga piange con me, e l’ombra del 

lauro mi consola. 

The great rivers and trees can not 

mitigate the ardent fire of the heart. 

Only the Sorgue cries with me and the 

laurel’s shadow consoles me. 

149 Quando il suo sguardo si addolcisce, la 

passione si riaccende più forte che mai 

in una guerra continua accesa dalla 

speranza. 

When her gaze sweetens, the passion 

reignites, stronger than ever, in a 

continuous war heated by hope. 

150 Anima mia avremo mai pace? Laura 

provoca questa guerra con me stesso, 

non lascia grandi speranze per il futuro. 

My soul, will we ever have peace? 

Laura provokes this war with myself. 

She does not leave great hopes for the 

future. 

151 Gli occhi soavi di Laura mi abbagliano 

con gli strali dell’amore ma sono il 

porto da cui nasce la mia poesia. 

Laura’s pleasing eyes dazzle me with 

arrows of love, but they are the port 

from which my poetry is born. 

152 Se continuerai a tenermi in sospeso non 

potrò che morire: la mia forza vitale è 

fragile e stanca di tanta incertezza. 

If you continue to keep me in suspense, 

I will have no choice but to die. My life 

force is fragile and tired from such 

uncertainty.  

153 Lo ripeto: se non mi soccorri, ne 

morirò. Ma non dispero e continuo ad 

inviare i miei sospiri e dolci pensieri. 

I repeat: if you do not help me, I will die 

for it. I do not, however, despair and I 

continue to send my sighs and sweet 

thoughts. 

154 Non posso che lodare i tuoi occhi come 

ispiratori di virtù e l’aria attraversata 

dalla loro luce la rende manifesta. 

I can only praise your eyes as promoters 

of virtue and the air crossed by their 

light makes it evident. 

155 Il tuo pianto è per me fonte di dolore e 

sospiri tanto intensi che rimane scolpito 

nel mio cuore. 

Your weeping is for me a source of such 

pain and intense sighs that it remains 

carved into my heart. 

156 Il tuo pianto è la più dolce musica che si 

possa udire al mondo e persino la natura 

si raccoglie ad ascoltarlo. 

Your weeping is the sweetest music that 

may be heard in the world. Even nature 

gathers to heart it. 

157 La mia mente torna spesso 

all’immagine di Laura, una dea dai 

capelli d'oro, il viso di neve, gli occhi di 

stelle e le lacrime di cristallo. 

My mind returns often to Laura’s 

image: a goddess with golden hair, a 

snow-white face, celestial eyes and 

crystal tears. 

158 La vedo dappertutto, la sua bellezza e la 

pena che esprime con dolce tono 

dolente e belle lacrime sono 

incomparabili ad ogni cosa terrena. 

I see her everywhere. Her beauty, her 

pain expressed with sweet, painful 

tones, and her beautiful tears are 

unmatched by anything earthly. 

159 Da dove viene tanta bellezza? La sua 

origine non può che essere divina. 

From where does such beauty come? Its 

origin can only be divine! 

160 La tua celestiale bellezza risplende 

sull’erba e tra i fiori della primavera, 

che formano una ghirlanda per i tuoi 

riccioli d’oro. 

Your celestial beauty shines on the grass 

and between the Spring flowers, which 

form a wreath for your golden curls. 



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161 O atroce e seducente passione, stai 

devastando la mia vita! C’è qualche 

anima nobile che può capirmi? 

O atrocious and seductive passion, you 

are destroying my life! Is there any 

noble soul that can understand me? 

162 Invidio la terra su cui si muove la mia 

cara Laura. Questi fiori, questi fiumi e 

questi boschi sono parte di lei! 

I envy the ground on which my dear 

Laura wanders. These flowers, these 

rivers and these woods are part of her! 

163 Come posso seguire il ritmo 

dell’Amore? Non riesco a scalare le 

montagne così velocemente! Mi basta 

che a lei non dispiacciano i miei sospiri. 

How can I follow the rhythm of Love? I 

cannot climb the mountains that fast! 

For me, it is enough that she does not 

dislike my sighs. 

164 La notte è serena e il mare giace senza 

onde ma io penso, ardo d’amore e 

piango. Tu sola sei la fonte della mia 

gioia e del mio dolore. 

The night is serene and the sea lies 

without waves, but I think, burn with 

love and cry. Only you are the source of 

my joy and of my pain. 

165 L 'incedere onesto, lo sguardo soave, le 

dolcissime parole e l’atto mansueto 

sono le quattro faville che hanno acceso 

il fuoco dell’amore. 

The honest gait, the pleasing gaze, the 

sweet words and the gentle posture are 

the four sparks that lit the fire of love. 

166 La mia vena poetica si è inaridita! Solo 

la grazia di Dio mi può soccorrere, o 

Firenze non avrà il suo poeta. 

My poetic vein is now dry! Only God’s 

grace can assist me or Florence will not 

have its poet. 

167 Vivo e muoio allo stesso tempo. La sua 

voce ha questo potere su di me. Lei è la 

sirena che controlla la mia vita. 

I live and die at the same time. Her 

voice has this power over me. She is the 

siren who controls my life. 

168 Amore mi dice che non sono mai stato 

così vicino ai miei desideri. Devo 

credergli? Lo specchio mi dice che 

intanto sto solo invecchiando. 

Love tells me that I have never been so 

close to my desires. Must I believe him? 

The mirror, meanwhile, tells me that I 

am only aging. 

169 Mi sento solo al mondo e cerco solo 

voi, solo un po’ di pietà nei vostri occhi 

potrà riportarmi alla poesia. 

I feel alone in the world and I seek only 

you. Only some pity in your eyes can 

bring me back to poetry. 

170 Vorrei dirti solo qualche parola ma la 

passione mi paralizza, come succede 

solo agli innamorati veri. 

I would like to tell you only a few 

words, but my passion paralyzes me, as 

happens only to true lovers. 

171 Stretto tra le vostre braccia che mi 

tormentano, non riesco a scalfire il 

vostro cuore gelido, ma non perderò 

mai le mie speranze. 

Wrapped in your arms that torment me, 

I can not scratch your frozen heart, but I 

will never lose my hopes. 

172 L'invidia si è impossessata del tuo cuore 

e mi stai uccidendo mille volte al 

giorno. Ma amore mi rassicura ed io 

continuerò ad amarti. 

The envy has taken possession of your 

heart and is killing me a thousand times 

a day. Love does, however, reassure me 

and I will continue to love you. 

173 La mia anima stanca, desiderando 

raggiungervi, si separa dal cuore. 

Amore la rende felice e triste al tempo 

stesso. 

My tired soul, desiring to reach you, 

separates itself from my heart. Love 

makes me happy and sad at the same 

time. 



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174 Continuerò ad amarvi, anche se non 

siete ancora sazia del mio dolore, e 

vorreste che le mie ferite fossero ancora 

più profonde. 

I will continue to love you, even if you 

are not yet satisfied with my pain and 

would like that my wounds were deeper. 

175 Il ricordo del tempo e del luogo accende 

il mio cuore come allora: il nodo che mi 

stringe a voi non potrà mai sciogliersi. 

The memory of the time and of the 

place ignites my heart as it did before: 

the knot that ties me to you can never be 

loosened. 

176 Amo la solitudine: nel silenzio di questi 

boschi, al fruscio delle fronde, sento la 

vostra presenza. 

I love the solitude: in the silence of 

these woods with the rustle of the 

fronds, I feel your presence. 

177 La mia impresa è audace, ma per voi 

attraverserei mari e monti, anche senza 

guida. 

My endeavor is daring, but for you I 

would cross seas and mountains, even 

without a guide. 

178 La mia passione per voi è un difficile 

viaggio fra fiducia e timore. Il mio 

spirito è stanco e vorrei seguire la 

ragione, ma non ci riesco. 

My passion for you is a difficult voyage 

between trust and fear. My spirit is tired 

and I would like to follow reason, but I 

can not. 

179 Geri, rispondi con umiltà allo sdegno 

della tua donna, e lei ti ascolterà; perché 

fuggire non serve. 

Geri, respond with humility to the scorn 

of your woman and she will listen to 

you, for escape is futile. 

180 Immenso Po, le tue potenti acque 

trasportano solo il mio corpo; il mio 

cuore sta già tornando libero da lei. 

Immense Po, your powerful waters 

transport only my body; my heart is 

ready to be free again. 

181 Laura mi ha catturato in una rete di fili 

d’oro e perle: nessun uomo ha mai visto 

occhi così luminosi e mani così 

candide. 

Laura captured me in a net of gold 

threads and pearls; no man has ever 

seen eyes so bright or hands so snow 

white. 

182 Amore incendia i cuori di passione e di 

gelosia. Io credo in voi, quindi non sono 

geloso, ma condannato ad ardere giorno 

e notte. 

Love sets fire to hearts of passion and 

jealousy. I believe in you; therefore, I 

am not jealous, but rather condemned to 

burn day and night. 

183 Il mio cuore trema: la donna è mutevole 

per natura, e so che potreste privarmi 

della luce del vostro sguardo. 

My heart trembles; woman is by nature 

fickle and I know that you could deprive 

me of the light of your eyes. 

184 Sento che la vostra forza viene meno: se 

Morte dovesse privarmi di voi, ogni mia 

speranza sarebbe dissolta. 

I feel you growing weaker: if Death 

were to deprive me of you, all of my 

hope would be lost. 

185 Siete la mia fenice e per voi potrei 

ardere anche alla più algida brina. 

You are my phoenix and for you, I 

could burn even the iciest frost. 

186 Se Virgilio e Omero avessero visto 

Laura si sarebbero impegnati a 

celebrarla. Spero solo che lei non 

disprezzi il mio modesto canto. 

If Virgil and Homer had seen Laura, 

they would have committed themselves 

to celebration. I only hope that she does 

not scorn my modest song. 

187 La mia Laura si merita lo stile di 

Omero, Orfeo e Virgilio: la sua luce 

My Laura deserves the style of Homer, 

Orpheus, and Virgil: her light resonates 



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risuona ben poco nel mio debole stile. too little in my weak style. 

188 Io e il sole ammiriamo la stessa dolce 

fronda, ma il sole fugge e l’ombra 

nasconde il luogo beato dove il grande 

lauro fu piccolo virgulto. 

The Sun and I admire the sweet foliage, 

but the Sun escapes and the shade hides 

the blessed place where the great laurel 

was a small sapling 

189 La mia vita è come una nave governata 

dalla passione. Una tempesta continua 

segna un percorso di errori e ignoranza, 

e non vedo il porto. 

My life is like a ship ruled by passion. A 

continuous storm marks a course of 

errors and ignorance and I do not see the 

port. 

190 Vidi una candida cerva dalle corna 

dorate in un’alba di primavera. Ma era 

destinata alla libertà e in pieno sole 

scomparve. 

I saw a white doe with golden horns in 

the spring dawn. She was destined, 

however, for freedom and in the full sun 

disappeared. 

191 Sono al colmo della beatitudine: cosa 

potrei desiderare di più di fronte a 

questa immagine beatrice? 

I am at the height of bliss; what more 

could I want in front of me than this 

blessed image? 

192 Amore mio, dalla tua bellezza celeste 

scende una pioggia di dolcezza. I fiori ti 

cercano e il cielo gioisce della luce dei 

tuoi occhi. 

My love, from your celestial beauty 

falls a rain of sweetness. The flowers 

search for you and the sky rejoices in 

the light of your eyes. 

193 Non c’è cibo più nobile dell’immagine 

della mia amata. Grazie a lei 

comprendo il valore di ogni cosa terrena 

e celeste. 

There is no food more noble than the 

image of my beloved. Thanks to her, I 

comprehend the value of all things 

earthly and heavenly. 

194 L’aura gentile della mia amata rigenera 

la natura, mi rasserena e mi abbaglia. Il 

cielo non mi dà ali per fuggire da lei. 

The gentle breeze of my beloved 

regenerates nature and both soothes and 

blinds me. Heaven does not give me 

wings to escape her. 

195 Il mare rimarrà senz’acqua e il cielo 

senza stelle prima che io smetta di 

amarti. Solo la morte guarirà la ferita 

del mio cuore. 

The sea will be waterless and the sky 

starless before I stop loving you. Only 

death will heal my wounded heart. 

196 L’aura serena che muove le fronde 

intrecciava così armoniosamente i 

capelli d’oro di Laura che ne rimasi 

turbato. Lo sarò fino alla morte. 

The serene breeze that moves leaves so 

harmoniously wove Laura’s hair that I 

was left upset. I will remain so until my 

death. 

197 Un’aura celeste muove il lauro, ha 

ferito Apollo e mi ha fatto perdere la 

libertà. È come Medusa: il suo sguardo 

può trasformarmi in marmo. 

A heavenly breeze moves the laurel, 

hurts Apollo, and makes me lose my 

freedom. It is like Medusa: one glance 

can turn me into marble. 

198 L’aura soave fa vibrare i suoi capelli al 

sole; io non riesco a descrivere la sua 

bellezza: non la comprendo e sono 

stanco per la dolcezza. 

The gratifying breeze shakes her hair in 

the sun; I can not describe her beauty: I 

do not comprehend it and am tired for 

the sweetness. 

199 Mano perfetta, come mi stringi. Le tue 

unghie feriscono il mio cuore. Guanto 

Perfect hand, how you hold me! Your 

nails hurt my heart. Precious glove, you 



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preziosissimo, presto mi toglierai il 

tesoro che ho ammirato. 

will soon take away from me the 

treasure I have admired. 

200 Le due mani rivestite dal guanto 

provocano il mio dolore, ma Amore 

tende mille altri lacci, con le vostre 

mirabili e innocenti bellezze. 

The two hands covered by the glove 

cause my pain, but Love sets a thousand 

other traps, with your wonderful and 

innocent beauty. 

201 Non voglio pensare a quel giorno in cui 

avevo tra le mani il guanto di Laura, 

perché gliel’ho restituito senza fuggire 

da lei. 

I do not want to think of that day in 

which I had Laura's glove between my 

hands because I returned it to her 

without running away from her. 

202 Amore mi uccide. Solo la vostra pietà 

potrebbe salvarmi, ma nel vostro viso 

non ne trovo traccia. 

Love kills me. Only your pity could 

save me, but in your face, I do not find 

any trace of it. 

203 Com’è possibile che Laura non sia 

commossa da poesie che farebbero 

innamorare tutte le altre? Anche dopo la 

morte sarà la mia unica stella. 

How is it possible that Laura is not 

moved by poetry that would make all 

the others fall in love? Even after death 

she will be my only star. 

204 Sforzati, anima mia, di seguire quella 

luce divina che si trova in lei. Hai 

voluto incontrarla. Ora seguila fino al 

paradiso. 

Force yourself, my soul, to follow that 

divine light that can be found in her. 

You wanted to meet her. Now follow 

her to Heaven. 

205 Che onore dire a Laura che mi piace. 

Mi domando se nel futuro sarò 

ammirato per il mio amore o invidiato 

perché ho visto la sua bellezza. 

What an honor to tell Laura that I like 

her. I ask myself if in the future I will be 

admired for my love or envied because I 

saw her beauty. 

206 Che il cielo mi fulmini se ho detto 

qualcosa contro di lei. Io non potrei 

dirlo per tutto l’oro del mondo né saprei 

vivere con un'altra. 

Heaven strike me down if I said 

something against her. I could not say it 

for all the gold in the world nor could I 

live with another one. 

207 Possibile che dopo tanti anni di fedele 

amore debba ancora invocare uno 

sguardo furtivo? Ma le mie pene sono il 

bene più grande che ci sia. 

Is it possible that after many years of 

faithful love I have yet to invoke a 

furtive gaze? Nonetheless, my pains are 

what are best in life. 

208 Magari potessi correre come il Rodano! 

Così potrei raggiungerla. Ma sono 

stanco e il fiume può baciarla per me. 

If only I could flow like the Rhône. In 

this way, I could reach her, but I am 

tired and the river can kiss her for me. 

209 Parto ma non posso mai partire dal bel 

giogo d’amore. Sono un cervo ferito 

dalla saetta: quanto più lotto tanto più 

mi faccio male! 

I leave, but I can never part from that 

beautiful yoke of love. I am a deer 

wounded by the arrow: the more I fight, 

the more I hurt myself! 

210 La tua dolcezza potrebbe colmare di 

gioia chiunque, ma non si accorge di me 

e io invecchio vedendo davanti a me un 

fato ostile. 

Your sweetness could fill anyone with 

love, but it does not take notice of me 

and I grow old seeing before me a 

hostile fate. 

211 Dal mio desiderio nasce solo altro 

desiderio. Sono in questo labirinto 

From my desire is born only more 

desire. I have been in this labyrinth of 



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d’amore dal 6 aprile 1327 e non ho 

scampo. 

love since April 6, 1327 and I have no 

way out. 

212 Da venti anni vivo nei sogni e scrivo nel 

vento! Innamorato sotto una cattiva 

stella mi sono dedicato alla mia 

distruzione. 

For twenty years I have lived in dreams 

and written in the wind. Falling in love 

under an unlucky star, I have dedicated 

myself to my ruin. 

213 Laura è così perfetta da racchiudere in 

sé la bellezza di tutte le donne! Sono 

avvinto dalla sua magia. 

Laura is so perfect that she holds within 

herself the beauty of all women! I am 

enthralled by her magic. 

214 Ecco, ancora una visione del mio amore 

per Laura. La mia anima è prigioniera 

nel bosco ombroso della passione. Che 

Dio mi aiuti! 

Here, another vision of my love for 

Laura. My soul is imprisoned in the 

shaded woods of passion. God help me! 

215 Laura potrebbe esaurire le risorse 

mentali di un poeta sommo. La sua 

bellezza, il suo amore e la sua onestà 

possono trasformare il mondo. 

Laura could consume the mental 

resources of a great poet. Her beauty, 

her love and her honesty can transform 

the world. 

216 Per te vivo nel tormento e 

nell’afflizione, ma rimani la mia sola 

passione, e mi duole che mi rifiuti il tuo 

soccorso. 

For you, I live in torment and distress, 

but you remain my only passion and it 

hurts me that you deny me your 

assistance. 

217 Ho cessato i lamenti, ora canto solo la 

sua bellezza divina e la mia poesia dirà 

quanto è dolce questo morire d’amore. 

I ceased the laments. Now I sing only of 

your divine beauty and my poetry will 

say how sweet it is to die of love. 

218 Amore sembra dirmi che il mondo è più 

bello grazie a Laura. Certo se lei 

dovesse mancare il mondo diventerebbe 

un luogo oscuro e desolato. 

Love seems to tell me that the world is 

more beautiful thanks to Laura. If she 

were to be missing, the world would 

become dark and desolate. 

219 Saluto l’Aurora al canto degli uccelli. 

Ma il sole che cancella le stelle è 

oscurato dalla luce solare della mia 

amata. 

I salute Dawn in harmony with the 

birds’ song, but the solar light of my 

beloved obscures the sun that obfuscates 

the stars. 

220 Amore dove hai trovato una bellezza 

così divina e un canto così celestiale? 

Da dove viene la luce sublime che mi 

brucia e raggela? 

Love, where did you find a beauty so 

divine and a song so celestial? From 

where does the sublime light that burns 

and freezes me come? 

221 Nel campo di battaglia dell’amore sono 

sempre sconfitto. I suoi occhi mi 

feriscono con una dolcezza che rende 

inermi le mie parole. 

On the battlefield of love, I am always 

defeated. Her eyes wound me with a 

sweetness that makes my words 

defenseless. 

222 Ditemi o liete donne dov’è Laura? 

Invidia e gelosia ci privano della sua 

compagnia: l’anima non si limita ma 

l’ira paralizza il corpo. 

O happy women, where is Laura? Envy 

and jealousy deny us of her company. 

The soul does not limit itself, but ire 

paralyzes the body. 

223 Quando il sole sprofonda nel mare 

comincia il mio tormento. Solo il sole 

When the sun sinks into the sea, my 

torment begins. Only the sun that burns 



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che brucia e alletta il cuore può 

alleviare il mio dolore. 

and allures my heart can alleviate my 

sorrow. 

224 Amandovi io mi strazio e mi distruggo. 

La colpa è vostra, ma il danno è tutto 

mio. 

By loving you, I torment and destroy 

myself. It is your fault, but the damage 

is all mine. 

225 Ho visto dodici donne felici, poi le 

stesse donne in un carro trionfale con al 

centro Laura. Vorrei essere stato alla 

guida di quel carro. 

I saw twelve happy women, then the 

same women in a triumphant cart with 

Laura at the center. I would like to have 

been driving that cart. 

226 Le verdi rive e le ombrose colline dove 

Laura vive sono il solo luogo che amo. 

Lontano da lei ogni attimo è pena. 

The green banks and the shaded hills 

where Laura lives are the only place that 

I love. Far from her, every moment is 

suffering. 

227 Felice aura che muovi le sue chiome 

bionde, tu sei negli occhi che mandano 

gli strali amorosi che mi colpiscono 

anche da lontano. 

Happy breeze that moves her blonde 

hair, you are in the eyes that send the 

amorous arrows that strike me even 

from afar. 

228 Il lauro che cresce nel mio cuore è 

pieno di bellezza e virtù: è il mio amore 

per Laura, che io considero sacro. 

The laurel that grows in my heart is full 

of beauty and virtue: it is my love for 

Laura that I consider sacred. 

229 Cantai, ora piango, ma la radice della 

mia amarezza è così dolce che non c’è 

condizione più nobile della mia. 

I sang; now I cry, but the root of my 

bitterness is so sweet that there is no 

condition nobler than my own. 

230 Piansi, e ora canto: gli occhi di Laura 

non nascondono più il loro splendore e 

Pietà mi manda un ulivo in segno di 

pace. 

I cried, and now I sing; Laura’s eyes no 

longer hide their splendor and Pity 

sends me an olive branch as a sign of 

peace. 

231 Ero felice del mio fato. Ma ora una 

scura foschia copre i tuoi occhi 

bellissimi! O Natura O Dio come potete 

distruggere tanta bellezza? 

I was happy with my fate. A fog now 

covers those beautiful eyes! O Nature, 

O God, how can you destroy such 

beauty? 

232 L’ira travolse anche Alessandro Magno. 

Diffidate dell’ira perché è una 

condizione di pazzia che può portare 

alla morte. 

Ire overwhelmed even Alexander the 

Great! Distrust it, for it is a condition of 

madness that can lead to death. 

233 La tua malattia agli occhi mi ha 

contagiato: il Cielo e l’Amore mi sono 

più favorevoli! Natura e Pietà seguono 

il loro corso. 

Your sore eyes infected me: Heaven and 

Love were more favorable to me! 

Nature and Mercy follow their course.  

234 Camera mia, testimone dei miei 

tormenti, non sei più rifugio ai miei 

penosi travagli. Ora cerco conforto fra il 

volgo. 

O my room, witness of my torments, 

you are no longer refuge to my 

sorrowful anguishes. I now seek 

comfort in the crowd. 

235 Navigo in questo tempestoso mare 

senza controllo. Le lacrime e i venti 

d’infiniti sospiri mi sospingono verso la 

I navigate in this tempestuous sea 

without control. The tears and the winds 

of infinite sighs push me onward toward 



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rovina. ruin. 

236 Io sbaglio e vedo il mio errore ma non 

posso resistere l’attrazione di questa 

fiamma. La disperazione rende ardita la 

mia anima. 

I err and I see my mistake, but I can not 

resist the attraction of this flame. 

Desperation makes my soul brave. 

237 Vago al chiarore della luna, cercando il 

conforto del silenzio. Se fossi con me 

vorrei che non arrivasse mai l’alba. 

I wander in the moonlight, seeking the 

comfort of silence. If you were with me, 

I would like that dawn would never 

arrive. 

238 La vostra, caro principe, è celeste 

saggezza! Fra tante avete saputo 

scegliere! Come invidio il bacio sulla 

fronte che le avete dato. 

Yours is a celestial wisdom, dear prince: 

among many women, you knew whom 

to choose! How I envy the kiss you gave 

her forehead. 

239 Siete insensibile come un’aspra rupe e 

la mia poesia sembra voler trattenere il 

vento con una rete o conservare i fiori 

nel ghiaccio. 

You are insensitive like a rugged cliff 

and my poetry seems to want to hold the 

wind with a net or conserve flowers in 

ice. 

240 Il piacere ha vinto la ragione ma non 

potevo contrastare l’influsso delle stelle 

e ho chiesto perdono per questo. 

Pleasure beat reason, but I could not 

oppose the influence of the stars and I 

asked forgiveness for this. 

241 Il mio cuore è già ferito mortalmente e 

come se non bastasse ora vi vedo 

soffrire: la compassione accende il mio 

desiderio. 

My heart is already mortally wounded 

and it is as if it was not enough, I now 

see you suffering: compassion ignites 

my desire. 

242 Solo ora capisco che partendo le ho 

lasciato il mio cuore. 

Only now do I understand that in 

leaving, I left her my heart. 

243 Sono come un sasso perché il mio cuore 

ti segue ovunque per ricordarti le mie 

lacrime e il mio tormento amoroso. 

I am like a rock because my heart 

follows you everywhere in order to 

remind you of my tears and of my 

amorous torment. 

244 Caro amico, il mio delirio è simile al 

tuo. Raccogliamo le forze e rivolgiamo 

l’anima al cielo perché il nostro 

cammino è lungo e impervio. 

Dear friend, my delirium is like yours. 

Let us collect our forces and direct the 

soul to the sky, for our path is long and 

inaccessible. 

245 Chi sarà quel vecchio saggio che dona 

due rose a quella coppia di giovani 

amanti e li guarda con tanta dolcezza? 

Who will be that old wise man who gifts 

two roses to that couple of young lovers 

and looks at them with such sweetness? 

246 Laura rapisce ogni anima, con la sua 

grazia sorprendente. Non posso 

rimanere nel mondo senza di lei: Dio 

fammi morire prima di perderla. 

Laura fascinates every soul with her 

surprising grace. I can not remain in the 

world without her: God let me die 

before losing her. 

247 Lingua umana non può lodare la 

divinità di Laura, ma Amore spinge i 

poeti a descrivere le cose divine per 

destino. 

Human language can not praise Laura’s 

divinity, but Love pushes poets to 

describe divine things for destiny. 

248 La morte incombe sulle creature piene Death looms over the creatures full of 



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di grazia e virtù come Laura. Deve 

affrettarsi chi vuole vederla o piangerà 

per sempre. 

grace and virtue, like Laura. He who 

wants to see her must hurry, or he will 

cry forever. 

249 L’ultimo incontro mi ha turbato. Laura 

non era serena come prima. Temo per 

lei. Dio mi assista. 

The last encounter unsettled me. Laura 

was not as serene as before. I fear for 

her. God help me. 

250 La donna dei miei sogni adesso è un 

incubo: sembra dirmi che se ne andrà 

per sempre. 

The woman of my dreams is now a 

nightmare: she seems to tell me that she 

will leave forever. 

251 Che visione! È possibile che Laura 

debba morire così presto? Se non posso 

più vedere il suo bel viso, voglio subito 

morire anch’io! 

What a vision! Is it possible that Laura 

must die so soon? If I can not see her 

beautiful face anymore, I want to die 

immediately as well! 

252 Devo piangere o cantare? Temere o 

sperare? Laura era il nostro sole. Senza 

lei sono diverso, vivo in perpetua guerra 

e vago senza meta. 

Must I cry or sing? Fear or hope? Laura 

was our sun. Without her, I am 

different; I live in perpetual war and I 

wander without purpose. 

253 Come mi manca Laura! Che inganno è 

l’amore! La Fortuna la allontana da me 

e ogni piacere è dissolto senza di lei. 

O how I miss Laura! What a trick is 

love! Fortune distances her from me and 

every pleasure is dissolved without her. 

254 Laura è morta o no? Il mio cuore è 

lacerato. Posso capire perché Dio la 

vuole con Sé, ma ora anche la mia vita è 

finita. 

Is Laura dead or not? My heart is 

lacerated. I can understand why God 

wants her with Him, but now my life is 

finished as well. 

255 Agli amanti piace la sera; a me piace 

l’aurora quando posso contemplare due 

soli, uno risplende in cielo e l’altro nel 

mio cuore. 

Lovers like the evening; I, however, like 

the dawn when I can contemplate the 

two suns, one shining in the sky and the 

other in my heart. 

256 Di notte sono un leone che ruggisce 

nella passione. L'anima staccata dal 

corpo raggiunge Laura: se almeno 

riuscisse per vendetta a svegliarla! 

At night, I am a lion that roars with 

passion. The soul separated from the 

body reaches Laura. If only it could, for 

revenge, wake her! 

257 Con la mia immaginazione sono in 

grado di ammirare il tuo volto anche se 

lo nascondi, tanto è forte la passione 

che anima il mio cuore. 

With my imagination, I am capable of 

admiring your face even if you hide it; 

the passion that animates my heart is 

that strong. 

258 Laura sa essere anche nobile e benevola 

con me. Finalmente la mia anima può 

riprendersi dopo tante pene. 

Laura knows to be also noble and 

benevolent with me. My soul can finally 

recover after such pains. 

259 Cerco la solitudine dei boschi, delle 

pianure e dei fiumi per fuggire la 

corrotta Avignone. Almeno oggi ho 

potuto stringere la vostra mano! 

I seek the solitude of the woods, the 

plains and the rivers in order to escape 

from corrupt Avignon. At least today I 

could shake your hand. 

260 Perché una bellezza così eccelsa e 

impareggiabile è giunta così tardi sulla 

terra e se ne va così presto? 

Why has such a lofty and unique beauty 

come on Earth so late only to leave so 

soon? 



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261 Laura è un modello di perfezione ed 

eccellenza per tutte le donne. Ma la sua 

bellezza divina è inimitabile 

Laura is a model of perfection and 

excellence for all women. Her divine 

beauty is, however, inimitable.  

262 L’essenziale per una donna è l’onestà: 

solo l’onestà è più importante della vita 

e apre le porte del cielo. I filosofi 

dovrebbero capirlo. 

Essential for a woman is honesty: only 

honesty is more important than life and 

opens Heaven’s doors. The philosophers 

should understand it. 

263 La tua onestà sarà simbolo di una 

dignità ed eccellenza diversa e migliore 

di quella che speravo dalle fronde del 

lauro. 

Your honesty will be a symbol of a 

dignity and a different, better excellence 

than that for which I hoped from the 

branches of the laurel. 

264 Penso alla morte e mi rivolgo a Dio ma 

non riesco a liberarmi dalla gloria e 

dall’amore. Vedo il meglio ma mi 

attacco al peggio. 

I think of death and I turn to God, but I 

can not free myself from glory and love. 

I see the best, but I attach myself to the 

worst. 

265 Una volontà così ferrea, un cuore così 

freddo non si sono mai visti. Ho buoni 

motivi per lamentarmi della mia sorte, 

ma continuo a sperare. 

A will so strong and a heart so cold 

have never been seen. I have good 

motives to lament about my fate, but I 

continue to hope. 

266 Caro amico, da anni ormai non c’è 

niente di peggio per me che non vedere 

né voi né Laura: siete i legami più forti 

della mia vita. 

Dear friend, for years already there is 

nothing worse for me than not seeing 

you or Laura; you both are the strongest 

ties of my life. 

267 Sono costretto ad ardere per Laura e a 

vivere di lei, anche se la morte mi ha 

privato di lei: di tutto il resto mi importa 

ben poco. 

I am forced to burn for Laura and to live 

on her, even if death has deprived me of 

her: for the rest, I care very little. 

268 Dovrei uccidermi per il dolore che 

provo per la sua morte. Ma se voglio 

rivederla in cielo, devo continuare a 

celebrarla in terra. 

I should kill myself for the pain I feel 

due to her death. If I want to see here in 

Heaven, however, I must continue to 

praise her on Earth. 

269 Ho perso Laura e l’altra colonna della 

mia vita. Devo rassegnarmi al mio 

destino. La vita appare bella ma puoi 

perdere tutto in un attimo. 

I lost Laura and the other column of my 

life. I must resign to my destiny. Life 

appears beautiful, but you can lose 

everything in a moment. 

270 La morte mi ha sciolto, Amore, da ogni 

tua legge; quella che fu la mia donna è 

fuggita in cielo, lasciando triste e libera 

la mia vita. 

Death has released me, Love, from 

every one of your laws; she who was 

my woman has escaped to Heaven, 

leaving my life sad and vacant. 

271 La morte ha sciolto il nodo ardente che 

stringeva il mio cuore, Amore ci sta 

riprovando, ma la Morte ha vinto 

ancora. 

Death has loosened the burning knot 

that gripped my heart. Love is trying 

again, but Death has still won. 

272 Sono stanco di navigare in questo mare 

sempre in tempesta: non c’è guida o 

porto sicuro per il mio cuore. 

I am tired of navigating this ever-

tempestuous sea: there is no safe guide 

or port for my heart. 



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273 Le sue parole gentili e gli sguardi dolci 

sono scomparsi, voglio dimenticarmi di 

loro. Qui nulla mi piace, ora voglio 

guardare il cielo. 

Her gentile words and sweet gazes have 

disappeared; I want to forget them. I do 

not like anything here, now I want to 

look at the sky. 

274 O cuore sleale, scorta dei miei nemici 

mortali, come puoi ancora ospitare i 

messaggi segreti di Amore e le sue 

illusioni? 

O disloyal heart, escort of my mortal 

enemies, how can your still host the 

secret messages of Love and his 

illusions? 

275 Piedi miei non potete più raggiungerla. 

Occhi ed orecchie, non potete più 

vederla e udirla. Quindi perché mi 

procurate tanto affanno? 

My feet, you can never reach her again. 

Eyes and ears, you can never see or hear 

her again. Why then do you provoke 

such grief? 

276 O Morte, avete tolto l’unica fonte di 

luce della mia vita, lasciandomi cieco e 

sconsolato. Con la poesia cerco di 

alleviare il dolore. 

O Death, you have taken my life’s only 

source of light, leaving me blind and 

disconsolate. With poetry, I seek to 

alleviate the pain. 

277 Naufrago in questo desolato mare, non 

vedo più la mia guida, anche se la sento 

nel cuore dove mi appare dal cielo. 

Shipwrecked in this desolate sea, I can 

not see my guide anymore, although I 

feel her in my heart where she appears 

from the sky. 

278 Come pesa la vita, un tempo vivace e 

lieta, ora fredda ed affannosa per la sua 

morte. Sarebbe stato meglio morire con 

lei tre anni fa. 

How heavy is life, once lively and 

happy, now cold and troubled due to her 

death. It would have been better to die 

with her three years ago. 

279 Solo e pensoso sulla riva, vi sento nel 

vento estivo e nel mormorio delle onde. 

I miei occhi vedranno la vostra luce di 

nuovo dopo la morte. 

Alone and pensive on the shore, I hear 

you in the summer wind and in the 

murmur of the waves. My eyes will see 

your light again after death. 

280 La natura parla di amore eterno, ma 

senza Laura sulla terra per me non è più 

possibile essere felice e lei mi chiama in 

cielo. 

Nature speaks of love eternal, but 

without Laura on earth, for me it is no 

longer possible to be happy. She calls 

me to Heaven.  

281 Ho finalmente visto Laura vicino al 

fiume: era una ninfa benevola e 

sembrava bella come una donna viva. 

I finally saw Laura near the river: she 

was a benevolent nymph and she 

seemed as beautiful as a living woman.  

282 Anima beata le tue apparizioni nei miei 

sogni rallegrano i miei giorni tristi. Ti 

riconosco, questo mi conforta. 

Blessed soul, your apparitions in my 

dreams made my sad days happy. I 

recognize you and this comforts me. 

283 Laura mi consola mentre piango. 

Quando il suo spirito torna, la mia vita 

risplende della sua bellezza, e vorrei 

esprimerla nelle mie rime. 

Laura comforts me while I cry. When 

her spirit comes back, my life shines 

from her beauty and I would like to 

express it through my rhymes. 

284 La morte mi ha preso tutto ma benedico 

l’istante in cui Amore è entrato nel mio 

cuore. L’immaginazione mi restituisce 

Laura, ma non basta. 

Death has taken everything from me. I 

bless the moment in which Love entered 

my heart. Imagination gives Laura back 

to me; it is not enough. 



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285 L'anima soffre senza di lei l’esilio 

terreno. Le sue visite brevi confortano il 

mio cuore afflitto con la pietà di una 

madre e una sposa. 

The soul suffers terrestrial exile without 

her. Her brief visits comfort my 

afflicted heart with the mercy of a 

mother and of a bride. 

286 Nei miei sogni lei ritorna e con grande 

dolcezza e compassione mi invita a non 

abbandonare la retta via. 

In my dreams, she comes back and with 

great sweetness and compassion, she 

invites me not to abandon the right path. 

287 O Sennuccio mio! Ora sei felice nella 

sfera di Venere e ti prego di salutare la 

mia signora e i poeti d’amore che sono 

beati con te. 

O my Sennuccio! Now you are happy in 

Venus’s sphere and I beg you to greet 

my lady and the poets of love that are 

blessed with you. 

288 Ho riempito l’aria di sospiri dalla sua 

improvvisa partenza. Non c’è niente in 

questi monti che non sappia quanto è 

amara la mia pena. 

I filled the air with sighs since her 

sudden departure. There is nothing in 

these mountains that does not know the 

bitterness of my anguish. 

289 Ora capisco che lei si oppose al mio 

desiderio per la mia salvezza, e le sono 

grato. Quindi continuerò a onorarla con 

i miei versi. 

Now I understand that she opposed my 

desire for my salvation; I am grateful to 

her. I will continue, therefore, to honor 

her with my verses. 

290 Ora mi rende felice ciò che prima mi 

faceva soffrire. Il suo soave sdegno ha 

frenato il mio ardore e mi ha salvato. 

What used to make me suffer now 

makes me happy. Her pleasing scorn 

held my ardor back and saved me.  

291 Dopo la morte di Laura vorrei essere 

come Titone, che ogni notte ritrovava la 

sua Aurora! 

After Laura’s death, I wish to be like 

Tithonus, who found his Aurora again 

every night! 

292 Per lei ho dimenticato me stesso, ma ora 

non mi resta che polvere e un 

interminabile pianto. 

For her, I forgot myself, but now there 

is nothing for me, only dust and endless 

weeping. 

293 Il mio unico intento era cantare la tua 

bellezza, ma dopo tua morte che senso 

ha la poesia? 

My only intent was to sing your beauty, 

but after your death what sense does 

poetry have? 

294 Soleva essere bella e viva nel mio cuore 

e ora non c’è più. Veramente siamo 

polvere e ombre, veramente ogni 

speranza è illusione. 

She used to be beautiful and alive in my 

heart and now she is not anymore. We 

are truly dust and shadow; every hope is 

only illusion. 

295 I miei pensieri solevano parlare di te 

che meriti di essere in cielo per la tua 

Virtù, mentre io rimango in terra con la 

mia passione. 

My thoughts used to talk about you who 

deserves to be in Heaven for your 

Virtue, whereas I stay on Earth with my 

passion. 

296 Ero solito accusarmi di essere in questa 

prigione. Adesso sono fiero di quanto 

ho sofferto e canterò per sempre ciò che 

ho perduto. 

I used to accuse myself for being in this 

prison. Now I am proud of how much I 

have suffered and I will always sing that 

which I have lost. 

297 Mentre tardo a raggiungerla in cielo 

proverò a rendere immortale il suo 

nome con la mia stanca poesia. 

While I delay to reach her in Heaven, I 

will try to make her name immortal 

through my tired poetry. 



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298 Gli anni hanno distrutto tutto! Ho 

disperso i pensieri d’amore, e sono la 

più miserevole creatura della terra. 

The years have destroyed everything! I 

wasted thoughts of love and I am the 

most miserable creature on Earth. 

299 Dov’è la bellezza che mi ha condotto? 

Dov’è colei che ebbe in mano la mia 

vita? Quanto manca in questo mondo di 

lacrime! 

Where is the beauty that guided me? 

Where is the woman who had my life in 

her hands? How much she is missed in 

this world of tears! 

300 Provo invidia per la terra, il cielo, le 

anime che sono in tua dolce compagnia. 

Perché la morte ancora non mi chiama? 

I feel envy for Earth, the sky and the 

souls that are in your sweet company. 

Why does death not yet call me? 

301 Torno ai luoghi del mio amore, sono 

rimasti gli stessi ma io ora vedo solo il 

paese da cui è salita in cielo. 

I go back to the places of my love. They 

have remained the same, but all I can 

see now is the place from which she 

ascended to Heaven. 

302 Il pensiero mi ha portato da Laura tra i 

beati. L'intelletto non può capire la sua 

beatitudine ma lei mi ha detto che mi 

aspetta proprio lì. 

My thought brought me to Laura among 

the blessed. The intellect can not 

understand her bliss, but she told me she 

waits for me there. 

303 Eccomi ancora nei luoghi di un tempo. 

La morte di Laura li ha resi cupi ed 

oscuri. Non c’è più luce nei miei giorni. 

Here I am again in the places of one 

time. Laura’s death made them gloomy 

and cloudy. There is no light in my days 

anymore. 

304 Non era colpa di Amore, allora non ero 

saggio come adesso e il mio canto era 

inadeguato; ma con Laura è morta 

anche la poesia. 

It was not Love’s fault: at those times, I 

was not as wise as now and my song 

was inadequate. With Laura, the poetry 

died too. 

305 Oh, Anima Bella che riposi in pace, 

guardami dal cielo, l’insano desiderio è 

dissolto e ora puoi ascoltare sicura i 

miei sospiri. 

Oh, Beautiful Soul that rests in peace, 

look at me from Heaven. The insane 

desire is dissolved and you can now 

listen to my sighs. 

306 Mentre cammino come un animale 

selvatico in un deserto oscuro, le tue 

orme luminose continuano ad indicarmi 

la strada verso la beatitudine. 

While I walk like a wild animal in a 

dark desert, your bright footprints 

continue to indicate the path toward 

bliss. 

307 Ho chiesto troppo alla poesia: chi 

troppo vuole nulla stringe e non si può 

riuscire in ciò che è superiore alle 

proprie forze. 

I asked too much of poetry: I am more 

fragile than I thought I was and no one 

can succeed in that which is superior in 

strength. 

308 Ha tramutato in amarezza la sua 

angelica dolcezza e il mio stile è 

inadeguato a comunicare la bellezza 

della sua anima. 

She turned her angelic sweetness into 

bitterness and my style is inadequate to 

communicate the beauty of her soul. 

309 Amore mi concede tanta bellezza. Forse 

però solo il silenzio della 

contemplazione ha il potere di coglierla. 

Love grants me so much beauty, but 

perhaps only the silence of 

contemplation has the ability to grasp it. 

310 Nemmeno Zefiro e il bel tempo Not even Zephyrus and the fair weather 



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primaverile possono farmi sentire 

felice. I campi in fiore per me sono un 

deserto aspro e selvaggio. 

of spring can make me feel happy. To 

me, the blooming fields are a harsh and 

wild desert. 

311 Non immaginavo che la morte potesse 

toccare una dea, ora capisco che niente 

è sicuro, e piango con l’usignolo. 

I did not imagine that death could touch 

a goddess, now I realize that nothing is 

certain, and I cry with the nightingale. 

312 Tutta la bellezza e i piaceri del mondo 

non potrebbero riempire il vuoto nel 

mio cuore. La vita per me è così penosa 

e senza senso. 

All the beauty and the pleasures of the 

world could not fill the emptiness in my 

heart. For me, life is so pitiful and 

senseless. 

313 La morte di Laura mi fa soffrire, lei ha 

portato con sé il mio cuore e la mia 

anima. Potessi morire e raggiungerla! 

Laura’s death makes me suffer. She 

took my heart and my soul with her. If 

only I could die and reach her! 

314 Perché non mi sono reso conto che 

quella era l’ultima volta che l’avrei 

vista? Forse la mia anima e la mia 

mente erano distratte. 

Why did I not realize that was the last 

time I would have seen her? Maybe my 

soul and my mind were distracted. 

315 Laura mi ha cambiato, ma poi la Morte 

me l’ha portata via troppo presto. Era 

certamente gelosa della mia felicità. 

Laura changed me, but then Death took 

her away from me too early. He was 

certainly jealous of my happiness. 

316 La Morte ha rovinato il mio futuro di 

pace con Laura, ma so che lei mi vede 

dal cielo e piange. 

Death ruined my peaceful future with 

Laura, but I know she sees me from 

Heaven and cries. 

317 Ero sul punto di vivere un rapporto 

sereno e maturo con lei, ma la morte 

non me ne ha concesso il tempo. 

I was about to live a serene and mature 

relationship with her, but Death did not 

give me enough time. 

318 L’alloro divelto e caduto è ormai in 

cielo, la sua immagine vive nella mia 

poesia e continuo a chiamarla pur 

rimanendo senza risposta. 

The wrecked and fallen laurel is already 

in Heaven. Her image lives in my poetry 

and I continue to call her although she 

never responds. 

319 Non riporre fiducia nelle cose del 

mondo, instabili e crudeli! Ciò che più 

conta è la beatitudine dell’anima. 

Do not put your trust in the unstable and 

cruel things of the world! The bliss of 

the soul is what counts more. 

320 Cerco rifugio dove lei nacque, ma 

anche la natura sembra respingermi. La 

passione era un signore crudele e ora 

piango le sue ceneri 

I seek shelter where she was born, but 

nature also seems to ward me off. 

Passion was a cruel lord and I now cry 

for his ashes. 

321 Quanto è misero il mio stato! Potessi 

almeno trovare conforto dove la mia 

fenice volò via dal nido, tenendo sotto 

le sue ali il mio cuore 

How pitiful is my condition! I wish I 

could find comfort where my phoenix 

flew away from the nest, keeping my 

heart under her wings. 

322 Quanto mi manchi, mio nobile amico! 

Piango per i tuoi versi e perché non 

potrai leggere i miei! Quale astro ci ha 

diviso? 

How I miss you, my noble friend! I cry 

for your verses and because you will not 

be able to read mine! Which star has 

divided us? 

323 Ho visto morte e distruzione di una I saw the death and destruction of a 



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fiera, una nave, un lauro, una fonte e 

una fenice. Solo la donna morsa dal 

serpente era serena e sicura. 

beast, a ship, a laurel, a spring and a 

phoenix. Only the woman bitten by the 

snake was safe and calm. 

324 Si sarebbero realizzate le mie speranze 

se non fosse intervenuta la morte, 

sommergendomi di dolore. 

My hopes would have been realized if 

Death had not intervened, immersing 

me in pain. 

325 O Morte crudele! Non avresti potuto 

uccidere un corpo più bello! Ma la 

nobile anima era prigioniera del bel 

corpo e ora si è liberata. 

O cruel Death! You could not have 

killed a more beautiful body! The noble 

soul was, however, trapped in the body 

and has now been liberated. 

326 O Morte crudele! Hai offeso Amore 

portando Laura in cielo e lasciando 

sulla terra solo il suo ricordo. Non hai 

pietà di me! 

O cruel Death! You offended Love by 

bringing Laura to Heaven and leaving 

only her memory on Earth. You have no 

mercy for me! 

327 O Morte crudele! Hai svuotato il 

mondo; ora ti combatto con la poesia, 

lasciando le mie parole a consacrare 

Laura. 

O cruel Death! You have emptied the 

world; now I fight you with poetry, 

leaving my words to consecrate Laura. 

328 O morte crudele! Hai rubato gli ultimi 

giorni felici della mia vita, lasciandomi 

ad aspettare di raggiungere Laura in 

paradiso. 

O cruel death! You stole the last happy 

days of my life, leaving me to wait to 

reach Laura in Heaven. 

329 O giorno fatale! Le stelle hanno 

congiurato contro la mia felicità e non 

me ne sono accorto, tanto ero 

abbagliato dalla sua bellezza. 

O fatal day! The stars have conjured 

against my happiness and I did not 

realize it because I was so blinded by 

her beauty. 

330 Non ho visto in quel dolce, vago 

sguardo l’imminente termine della sua 

vita mortale. I suoi occhi mi placano: 

aspetteró il mio tempo. 

I did not see in that sweet, vague gaze 

the imminent end of her mortal life. Her 

eyes placate me. I will wait for my time. 

331 In vita di Laura era la mia luce, se 

avessi capito la sua fine imminente 

avrei potuto andarmene prima di lei per 

aspettarla io in cielo. 

In life, Laura was my light. If I had 

understood her imminent death, I would 

have been able to leave before her to 

wait for her in Heaven. 

332 La sua morte ha trasformato me e il mio 

stile: passo le mie notti nel pianto, 

pensando ai ricordi lieti e invoco la 

morte. 

Her death transformed both my style 

and myself. I spend my nights crying, 

thinking of the happy memories and I 

invoke death. 

333 Non vedo piú il tuo sembiante mortale, 

nascosto in luogo basso e oscuro. Mi 

attira la tua condizione beata: aspettami, 

non posso tardare! 

I can not see your mortal countenance, 

hidden in a low and dark place. Your 

blessed condition attracts me. Wait for 

me! I can not be late! 

334 Un tempo la mia incrollabile lealtà 

verso di voi vi spaventava. Ora però 

riconoscete l’onestà del mio desiderio. 

Accoglietemi in paradiso. 

One time, my steadfast loyalty toward 

you scared you. Now, however, you 

recognize the honesty of my desire. 

Greet me in Heaven. 



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335 Fra mille donne, eravate l’unica simile 

in vista agli spiriti celesti. Questo era 

troppo per me, per questo mi avete 

lasciato indietro. 

Among a thousand women, you were 

the only similar in sight to the celestial 

spirits. This was too much for me; for 

this, you left me behind. 

336 Ricordo il nostro primo incontro ma so 

bene che nel milletrecentoquarantotto, il 

sesto giorno di Aprile, nell’ora prima 

siete morta. 

I remember our first encounter, but I 

know well that in 1348, on the sixth day 

of April, in the first hour, you died. 

337 Dio ha voluto adornare il cielo con il 

profumo di Laura che estasiava il 

mondo. Il mio desiderio per lei mi 

faceva tremare al fuoco. 

God wanted to adorn the sky with 

Laura’s perfume that delighted the 

world. My desire for her made me 

tremble at the fire. 

338 Non la conobbe il mondo finché visse. 

Ora il cielo si gioisce della sua presenza 

e si avvantaggia del mio pianto. 

The world did not know her while she 

lived. Now, in Heaven, it rejoices in her 

presence and takes advantage of my 

torment. 

339 La mia debole vista umana non 

sopporta la visione dell’infinito che 

sento in Laura. La scrittura non è che 

una goccia nel mare senza fine. 

My weak human sight does not stand 

the infinite vision that I feel in Laura. 

Writing is only a drop in the endless 

sea. 

340 Mi mancano le dolci visioni di Laura 

nei miei sogni. Vorrei che lei lasciasse 

il cielo e venisse a confortare il mio 

tormento sulla terra. 

I miss the sweet visions of Laura in my 

dreams. I wish she would leave Heaven 

and would come to comfort my torment 

on Earth. 

341 Come un angelo pietoso porti conforto 

alla mia angoscia e mi fai rinascere. Sei 

beata perché sai rendere beati gli altri. 

Like a merciful angel, you bring 

comfort to my anguish and you revive 

me. You are blessed because you bless 

others. 

342 Con le tue parole mi porti conforto nelle 

mie notti, mi trasmetti una dolcezza che 

nessun mortale sentì mai. 

With your words, you bring me comfort 

at night and you transmit to me a 

sweetness that no mortal has ever felt. 

343 Laura mi appare in sogno verso l’alba e 

io sfogo il mio dolore; poi torna in cielo 

con gli occhi pieni di lacrime. 

Laura appears to me in my dream 

toward dawn and I vent my pain; then, 

she returns to Heaven with eyes filled 

with tears. 

344 Un tempo l'amore era dolce, ora è molto 

amaro. La tua morte mi ha privato di 

ogni bene. 

Once, love was sweet. Now, it is 

incredibly bitter. Your death has denied 

me of everything. 

345 Sono confortato di non vederti in questa 

prigione terreste: ti vedo in volo 

insieme agli angeli per raggiungere il 

tuo e mio Signore. 

I am comforted to not see you in this 

terrestrial prison. I see you flying 

together with the angels in order to 

reach our Lord. 

346 Quando lei è arrivata in cielo gli altri 

spiriti eletti si sono fatti incontro pieni 

di stupore. Ora mi sussurra di arrivare 

in fretta. 

When she arrived in Heaven, the other 

chosen spirits approached, filled with 

wonder. Now she whispers to me to 

hastily arrive. 



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347 Ora che vedi il mio amore nella mente 

di Dio, che sa ogni cosa, ti puoi fidare: 

prega che possa raggiungerti presto. 

Now that you see my love in God’s 

mind, that is omniscient, you can trust. 

Pray that I will be able to join you 

soon.  

348 Tanta perfezione non si era mai vista al 

mondo. Ora la tua bellezza diletta Dio 

ed io sono rimasto qui senza di te. Prega 

che arrivi presto. 

Such perfection had never been seen in 

the world. Now, your beauty delights 

God; I have remained here without you. 

Pray that I arrive soon. 

349 Vorrei sapere quando arriverà il giorno 

felice in cui lascerò questa prigione 

terrena e vedrò il mio Signore e la mia 

donna. 

I would like to know when the happy 

day in which I will leave this terrestrial 

prison will arrive and I will see my Lord 

and my woman. 

350 Mai c’è stata, né c’è, né ci sarà sulla 

terra una bellezza come la tua! Vorrei 

essere in cielo per continuare a 

contemplarti eternamente. 

A beauty such as yours did not, does 

not, and will not exist on Earth! I would 

like to be in Heaven in order to admire 

you for eternity. 

351 Quegli sguardi crudeli che fanno 

innamorare si sono opposti alla mia 

passione, ma ora capisco che devo a 

loro la mia salvezza. 

Those cruel gazes that make me fall in 

love were opposed to my passion, but 

only now do I realize that I owe them 

my salvation. 

352 Ti ho visto camminare come un angelo 

tra l’erba e le viole, ma ora dopo il tuo 

ritorno al Creatore tutto è solo ricordo e 

oscurità. 

I saw you walk like an angel in the grass 

and violets, but now, after your return to 

the Creator, everything is only memory 

and obscurity. 

353 Vieni usignolo, c'è abbastanza spazio 

per tutti e due, condividiamo le nostre 

pene e ricordiamo assieme i nostri cari. 

Come nightingale, there is enough space 

for both to share our sufferings and 

together remember our loved ones. 

354 Amore, dammi la facoltà di celebrare la 

lode somma di Laura e le sue virtù che 

tanto piacciono al cielo. 

Love, give me the authority to praise 

Laura’s eulogy and her virtues that so 

please Heaven. 

355 Ho tenuto i mie occhi fissi su ciò che mi 

danneggia. È tempo di rivolgere i 

pensieri al cielo anche se l’anima non si 

allontana dall’amore. 

I kept my eyes fixed on what damages 

me. It is time to direct my thoughts to 

Heaven, although the soul does not 

distance itself from love. 

356 L’aura celeste soffia sul mio sonno 

inquieto. Le esprimo il mio dolore e lei 

piange e sospira e io sono vinto dal 

dolore fino al risveglio. 

The celestial breeze blows on my 

tormented sleep. I express my pain and 

she cries and sighs. The pain 

overwhelms me until my awakening.  

357 Nulla più mi trattiene in questa vita: 

seguirò la luce del cielo che si riflette 

così intensamente nel profondo del mio 

cuore. 

Nothing holds me in this life anymore. I 

will follow the light of Heaven that is so 

intensely reflected deep within my 

heart. 

358 Com’è dolce per me la Morte dalla 

morte di Laura! Cristo mi è di esempio 

e lei mi mostra la via che porta al cielo. 

How sweet Death is to me since Laura’s 

death! Christ is my example and she 

shows me the path that leads to heaven. 

359 Laura, la tua bella apparizione che Laura, your beautiful appearance that 



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viene a consolarmi di notte mi mostra la 

giusta direzione, ma mi priva totalmente 

dal riposo. 

comes to console me at night shows me 

the right direction, but it totally deprives 

me of rest. 

360 Nel processo contro Amore, io ero il 

testimone di tante sofferenze. Amore si 

è difeso e la Ragione non ha saputo 

giudicare. 

In the trial against Love, I was the 

witness of much suffering. Love 

defended himself and Reason did not 

know how to judge. 

361 Il mio specchio dice che sono vecchio, 

così vuole la Natura. Il tempo vola e il 

sogno è finito. Ma lei è ancora nel mio 

cuore. 

My mirror says that I am old, as Nature 

intended. Time flies and the dream is 

over. Yet, she is still in my heart. 

362 Con le ali del pensiero sono salito al 

cielo. Laura ama il mio cambiamento, 

mi porta a godere della vista del suo 

volto e di quello di Dio. 

On the wings of thought, I ascended to 

Heaven. Laura loves my change and she 

brings me to enjoy the sight of her face 

and God’s. 

363 Laura è polvere, il mio lauro è spento. 

Libero da Amore, stanco di vivere, 

torno al mio Signore. 

Laura is dust. My laurel is lifeless. 

Freed from Love and tired of living, I 

return to my Lord. 

364 Ho perso molti anni nella follia 

amorosa, ora chiedo a Dio di salvarmi 

perché conosco il mio errore e non lo 

giustifico. 

I lost many years in mad love. Now, I 

ask God to save me because I 

understand my error and I do not justify 

it. 

365 Potevo essere caro al cielo, ma sono 

rimasto a terra smarrito. Dio, prendimi 

con te, affinché possa morire in pace. 

I could have been beloved to Heaven, 

but I have remained misplaced on Earth. 

God, take me with you so that I may die 

in peace. 

366 Vergin bella vieni a salvarmi, fammi la 

grazia. Vergine non mi lasciar 

sull’estremo passo! Sostienimi, 

raccoglimi in pace. 

Beautiful Virgin, save me, grant me the 

grace. Virgin, do not leave me during 

this ultimate step! Support me, gather 

me to you in peace. 

 

 


