Manzoni
ALESSANDRO (män-zō'nē), an Italian poet and novelist; born in Milan, March 7, 1784. After 1805 he lived for some time in Paris, and in 1808 he married the daughter of a Genoese banker, under whose influence he settled down into Catholicism. His chief works are: "Sacred Hymns," a series of lyrics; "The Fifth of May," a powerful ode on the death of Napoleon; the tragedies "Carmagnola" and "Adelchi," and his greatest novel "The Betrothed." He died in Milan, May 22, 1873.