Pellico, Silvio

Pellico, Silvio sēlˈvyō pĕlˈlēkō [key], 1789–1854, Italian dramatic poet. His principal work is Francesca da Rimini (1815, tr. 1856). Imprisoned for eight years by the Austrians as a Carbonarist (see Carbonari), he wrote a candid and moving account of his prison life, Le mie prigioni (1832, tr. My Prisons, 1833), which created widespread sympathy for the Risorgimento movement.

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