Matteo Maria Boiardo

(1441-1494)

Matteo Maria Boiardo is one of the most fascinating characters of the Italian Renaissance, a poet and courtier with deep connections to the Emilia region and the House of Este.

He was born in Scandiano in 1441 into a noble family and grew up in a cultured and refined environment that fostered his humanist education.
He spent much of his life between Scandiano and the court of Ferrara, where he entered the service of the Este family, holding important political and administrative posts.

It was just in this lively and international setting that Boiardo developed his literary career, becoming famous for the chivalric poem “Orlando Innamorato”, one of the most important works of the 15th-century Italian literature.
In this chivalric poem, he blends the Carolingian cycle with the Breton cycle, introducing the revolutionary theme of love through the figure of paladin Orlando, anticipating themes and atmospheres that would later be taken up by Ludovico Ariosto.

In addition to his poetic production, Boiardo also distinguished himself as a translator and writer, contributing to the dissemination of the classics and the growth of humanist thought.
He also wrote the Amorum libri tres, a collection of vernacular poems, and Latin works such as the De laudibus Estensium.

He died in Reggio Emilia in 1494, leaving a cultural legacy that still lives in the places next to him.
In Scandiano, his hometown, you can trace the footsteps of his life and immerse yourself in the Renaissance atmosphere that gave rise to one of Italy’s great chivalric poems.