Tommaso Aversa

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Tommaso Aversa
Tommaso Aversa
Born	1623 Mistretta, Kingdom of Sicily
Died	3 April 1663(1663-04-03) (aged 39–40) Palermo, Kingdom of Sicily
Pen name	L’Arido L’Esaltado
Occupation	poet
Nationality	Italian
Literary movement	Baroque
Notable works	L'Eneide di Virgiliu Siciliani di D. Tomasi Aversa e Castrunovu

Tommaso Aversa (1623–1663) was an Italian Baroque poet and dramatist.

Biography[]

Tommaso Aversa was born in Mistretta, Sicily, in 1623. Early in life he moved to Palermo, where he diligently studied literature. What particular profession he was supposed to pursue in his youth is unknown. Poetry and drama, however, soon became his main interests, almost to the exclusion of any other study.

He was still very young when the publication of “Pyramus and Thisbe”, a graceful idyll in the Sicilian language, was favorably accepted by the public. The literati of Palermo readily acknowledged the young poet, for his amiable manners and his devotion to the muses. He was enrolled as a member of the “Accademia dei Riaccesi, although with the ill-sounding and inappropriate name of L’arido (the Arid). Aversa rapidly rose to prominence; both the learned and the noble valued him, and among his friends and patrons at Palermo were the Cardinal Archbishop, Giannettino Doria, Luigi Moncada, Duke of Montalto, and Diego of Aragon, Duke of Terranova. This last nobleman became so attached to his person that Aversa, at his particular request, accompanied him to Spain. From Spain, he traveled with the Duke to Vienna and Rome. Don Diego on each occasion acted as an ambassador of his Catholic Majesty; and Aversa was immediately introduced to some of the most distinguished men in Europe. At Rome, he became a member of the Academies of “Umoristi” and “Anfistili”, in the latter of which he was known by the name of L’esaltato (the Exalted).

After his wife's death, Aversa took holy orders. Immediately after his consecration he returned to Palermo and was appointed by the new Archbishop, Pietro Jerónimo Martínez y Rubio, to the chaplaincy of Santa Maria del Fornice.

From this time until the end of his life, he devoted himself with more intensity than ever to his favorite literary occupations, and, if we are to judge from the number of his works, his industriousness appears astonishing. He died of apoplexy, sincerely regretted by his numerous friends, on the 3rd of April, 1663.

Writings[]

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Of Aversa’s writings, the most notable is a translation into Sicilian rhyme of the Aeneid of Virgil: the rest are — for the most part — either tragedies or comedies.

The following is a list of his works in order of composition date:

• “Piramo e Tisbe,” an idyll in the Sicilian language, Palermo, 1617, 8vo.
• “Gli Avventurosi Intrichi, Commedia,” Palermo, 1637, 8vo.
• “La notti di Palermu” (Night in Palermo, 1638), later published in Italian as Notte, fato, e amore in la corte delle selve (1657), is considered to be the first comedy composed entirely in Sicilian dialect.^[1]
• “Il Pellegrino, overo la Sfinge debellata, tragedia sacra,” Palermo, 1641, 8vo.
• “Il Giorno di Messina, Comedia,” Messina 1644, 8vo.
• “Il Sebastiano, tragedia sacra Palermo,” 1645, 8vo.
• “Canzoni Siciliane,” inserted in vol. II part. 2 of the collection entitled “Muse Siciliane,” Palermo, 1647, 12mo, and 1662, 12mo.
• “In portento canzone panegirica all’Illustriss. et Eccel. Signore Conte Guglielmo Stavata, Consigliero di Stato, e Camariero di Sua Maestà Cesarea,” Vienna, 1647, 4to.
• “Il Bartolomeo, overo il Selim Costante, tragedia,” Messina, 1645, 8vo, and Trent, 1648, 8vo.
• “Il primo tomo dell’Eneide di Virgilio tradotta in rima Siciliana,” Palermo, 1654, 12mo. “Il secondo tomo,” Palermo, 1657, 12mo. “II terzo tomo,” Palermo 1660 12mo.
• “Il Padre Pietoso, comedia morale,” Rome, 1656, 12mo.
• “L’Alipio, overo la colomba fra le Palme, poema drammatico sopra il maraviglioso arrivo dell’osse benedette del P.F. Alipio di S. Giuseppe Agostiniano Scalzo Palermitano, alle Spiaggie di Palma in Sicilia, l’anno 1653,” Rome, 1657, 12mo.
• “La Corte nelle Selve, Trattenimenti modesti ed utili, distinti in più veglie per gli dì di Carnivale. Con gli discorsi di Tomino Amistrato (T. Aversa), ed osservationi di lui sopra la comedia titolata Notte, Fato ed Amore,” with the comedy itself at the end, Rome, 1657, 12mo.
• “Idea, overo ordine delle scene per la rappresentatione della tragedia del Sebastiano: con un discorso academico detto: Disinganno,” Rome, 1659.
• “L’Ormindo, tragicomedia reale per la felice nascita del Serenissimo Infante D. Carlo Giuseppe d’Austria, Prencipe della Spagne,” with a reprint of the “Disinganno” attached, Palermo, 1662, 12mo.

References[]

Bibliography[]

• The Biographical Dictionary of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. Vol. 4. Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans. 1844. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
• Migliori, Anna (1962). "AVERSA, Tommaso". Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, Volume 4: Arconati–Bacaredda (in Italian). Rome: Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana.
• Leo Allatius, Drammaturgia, Rome 1666, pp. 488, 627;
• Antonio Mongitore, Bibliotheca sicula, II, Panormi 1714, p. 254;
• Giuseppe Emanuele Ortolani, Biografia degli uomini illustri della Sicilia, II, Naples 1818, pp. 13–16;
• Rosalia La Porta-Parlato, Note sul teatro popolare siciliano, Palermo 1917, pp. 47–52;
• Concetta Pasculli, Il teatro in Sicilia nel Seicento, Reggio Calabria 1922, pp. 26–30, 57 s.;
• Enrico Di Marzo, La nuova scuola poetica dialettale siciliana, Palermo 1924, pp. 51 s.;
• Giuseppe Cocchiara, Tommaso Aversa e il teatro sacro in Sicilia, Palermo s. d.;
• Giuseppe Cocchiara, Le vastasate. Contributo alla storia del teatro popolare, Palermo 1926, pp. 25 s.;
• Giuseppe Sorge, I teatri di Palermo nei secoli XVI-XVII-XVIII, Palermo 1926, pp. 126 s., 137 s., 151 s., 176 s.;
• Diz. dei siciliani illustri, Palermo 1939, p. 52;
• Francesco De Felice, Storia del teatro siciliano, Catania 1956, p. 19;
• Teatro siciliano, a cura di A. Mango (con introduz. di V. Pandolfi), I, Palermo 1961, pp. XIV s., 23-61.