Belli, Giuseppe Gioacchino

Belli, Giuseppe Gioacchino jo͞ozĕpˈpā jōäk-kēˈnō bĕlˈlē [key], 1791–1863, Italian poet. Born in Rome into poverty, Belli earned his living as a government clerk. He drew from his knowledge of plebeian life in writing more than two thousand humorous and satirical sonnets. Belli described the vast panorama of Roman society in colorful dialect. His poetry is noted for its vigorous realism. Little known outside Rome, Belli's work was not published during his lifetime.

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