Bernardo Morando | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | 6 March 1656 | (aged 66)
Occupations |
|
Spouse |
Angelica Bignami
(m. 1612; died 1651) |
Children | 13 |
Writing career | |
Language | Italian language |
Period | |
Genres | |
Literary movement | |
Notable works | La Rosalinda |
Bernardo Morando (18 April 1589 — 6 March 1656) was an Italian lyric poet, novelist and playwright.
Born in Sestri Ponente into a wealthy family of merchants, he worked in commerce in Piacenza, where he had the Dukes of Parma as a patron.[1] On 9 January 1612 he married Angelica Bignami, by whom he had 13 children, 4 of whom died in infancy. After his wife's death, he took holy orders. He had a major success, with his novel La Rosalinda (1650), which tells of Rosalinda, a young Catholic girl in London after fleeing religious persecution with other Catholics including Lealdo a man she is in love with.[1] He also wrote about other Mediterranean adventures including shipwrecks, pirates and slavery.[2] The novel, considered "a masterpiece of psychological penetration",[3] was a huge success and enjoyed over twenty reprints.[2] It was translated into French by Gaspard-Moïse-Augustin de Fontanieu (Grenoble 1730; Hague [Paris] 1732).[4] An English translation of the French version was published in London in 1733.[5]
Morando was a member of the Accademia degli Addormentati of Genoa and of the Accademia degli Incogniti of Venice and corresponded with Claudio Achillini, Anton Giulio Brignole-Sale, Gabriello Chiabrera, Angelo Grillo, Giovanni Vincenzo Imperiale, Agostino Mascardi and Fulvio Testi.[4] He died in Piacenza on 6 March 1656.[4]