Ariosto, Ludovico

Italian poet. He wrote Latin poems and comedies on classical lines. His major work is the poem Orlando furioso (1516, published in 1532), an epic treatment of the Roland story, the perfect poetic expression of the Italian Renaissance.

Ariosto was born in Reggio, and joined the household of Cardinal Ippolito d'Este in 1503. He was frequently engaged in ambassadorial missions and diplomacy for the Duke of Ferrara, whose service he entered in 1518. He was governor of Garfagnana 1522–25, a province in the Apennines, where he was mostly occupied in suppressing bandits and enforcing order. After three years he retired to Ferrara to work on the final revision of Orlando furioso.