Manzoni, ALESSANDRO, a great Italian writer, was born at Milan, March 7, 1785, of noble parents, and through his mother grandson of the celebrated Marquis Beccaria. He published his first poems in 1806, married happily in 1810, and spent the next few years in the composition of the Inni Sacri, sacred lyrics, and a treatise on the religious basis of morality, by way of reparation for the unbelief of early youth. In 1819 he published his first tragedy, Il Conte di Carmagnola, a trumpet-blast of romanticism; the second, Adelchi, followed in 1822. Manzoni's first tragedy had the honour to be defended by Goethe, 'one genius having divined the other.' But the work which gave Manzoni European fame is his historical novel, I Promessi Sposi, a Milanese story of the 17th century (3 vols. Milan, 1825-6-7). The tale abounds in interesting sketches of national and local Italian customs and modes of life, portrayed with unflagging spirit and humour, while various grave historical events are narrated with force and grandeur of style, especially the episode of the plague in Milan. Manzoni's noble ode, Il Cinque Maggio, was inspired by the death of the great Napoleon. His last years were darkened by the frequent shadow of death within his household. He himself died at Milan, 23d May 1873, leaving to posterity the memory not alone of a great writer, but of a singularly noble and sincere man.
A complete edition of his works, in 5 vols., was published by Nicolò Tommaseo (Florence, 1828-29). His Letters were collected by Sforza (1875); and a posthumous work on the French and Italian revolutions of 1789 and 1859 was edited by Bonghi (Milan, 1889). Bismarck's Bibliografia Manzoniana (Turin, 1875) will be found useful. There are Lives (Italian) by Balbiani (1873), Bersezio (1873), Prina (1874), and Pagni (1876).