Reggio Emilia 1474 – Ferrara 1533. Important scholar of the Renaissance. At the age of ten he moved with his family to Ferrara where he studied law. In the early 1490’s he joined the court of Ercole I of Este where he was in charge of the political and administrative issues. There he started writing poetry in Latin. In spite of the fact that Duke Alfonso appointed him governor of Garfagnana (1522-25), Ludovico soon grew weary of the responsibility and preferred to focus all his energy on litterature.

He wrote seven “Satire”, in which he reported his life in verse. The book was dedicated to his friends and relatives and dealt, often allusively, with topical subjects. The work that made him famous however, was the epic poem “Orlando Furioso”, telling the story of Charles Magne’s paladins starting off from where Matteo Maria Boiardo’s unfinished “ Orlando Innamorato” left off. The final edition was released in 1532. Prior to this date, various comedies among which the new version of “Cassaria” were written. The last edition of the poem counts 46 chants. The revision was especially a linguistic one: Ariosto did his best to apply the advice given by Pietro Bembo. He also nurtured a tight relationship with the theatre not only as playwright (“I Suppositi 1509, “Il Negromante” 1520, “La Lena” 1528), but also as organizer, stage manager and actor – all of which befitted an educated and elegant entertainer of the refined public of the court of Este.