Dante Alighieri
1265 - 1321
HPI 92.13192 languages
Dante Alighieri is most famous for writing the Divine Comedy, a three-part epic poem that tells the story of Dante's journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven.
Trending Writers from Italy This Week
The top 10 Writers from Italy trending on Wikipedia in the past 7 days, with a quick note on what drove the spike.
- #1
Beppe Fenoglio
1922 - 1963
Trending in Italian (#17) Wikipedia (5,042 views, on Oct 4).
- #2
Vitaliano Brancati
1907 - 1954
Trending in Italian (#25) Wikipedia (2,687 views, on Oct 1).
- #3
Donato Carrisi
b. 1973
Trending in Italian (#36) Wikipedia (3,123 views, on Oct 4).
- #4
Alessandro Baricco
b. 1958
Trending in Italian (#105) Wikipedia (1,628 views, on Oct 4).
- #5
Giovannino Guareschi
1908 - 1968
Trending in Italian (#174) Wikipedia (869 views, on Oct 1).
- #6
Dante Alighieri
1265 - 1321
Trending in Italian (#226) Wikipedia (1,018 views, on Oct 4).
- #7
Sallust
86 BC - 34 BC
Trending in Italian (#280) Wikipedia (656 views, on Oct 1).
- #8
Dacia Maraini
b. 1936
Trending in Italian (#320) Wikipedia (849 views, on Oct 4).
- #9
Giacomo Leopardi
1798 - 1837
Trending in Italian (#334) Wikipedia (670 views, on Oct 5).
- #10
Michela Murgia
1972 - 2023
Trending in Italian (#367) Wikipedia (787 views, on Oct 4).
Top 10 Italian Writers
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Italian Writers of all time. This list of famous Italian Writers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Italian Writers.
#1 #2 
Virgil
70 BC - 19 BC
HPI 88.05172 languagesVirgil is most famous for his epic poem, the Aeneid, which tells the story of Aeneas, a Trojan prince who flees the burning city of Troy and travels to Italy, where he becomes the ancestor of the Romans.
#3 
Ovid
43 BC - 17
HPI 86.87134 languagesOvid is most famous for his epic poem Metamorphoses, which tells the stories of how the world and its people came to be.
#4 
Petrarch
1304 - 1374
HPI 86.60109 languagesPetrarch is most famous for his love poetry, including "Rime Sparse" and "Canzoniere." He is also famous for his work on the Italian language.
#5 
Giovanni Boccaccio
1313 - 1375
HPI 85.98110 languagesGiovanni Boccaccio is most famous for his collection of short stories, The Decameron.
#6 
Horace
65 BC - 8 BC
HPI 84.80101 languagesHorace is most famous for his work as a lyric poet.
#7 
Umberto Eco
1932 - 2016
HPI 83.13115 languagesUmberto Eco is most famous for his novel "The Name of the Rose," which was a bestseller and sold over 20 million copies.
#8 
Giacomo Casanova
1725 - 1798
HPI 83.0776 languagesCasanova is most famous for his memoirs, which are a collection of his sexual encounters with women.
#9 
Giorgio Vasari
1511 - 1574
HPI 82.0676 languagesGiorgio Vasari is most famous for being an Italian painter, architect, and writer. He is best known for his book "The Lives of the Artists" which was published in 1550.
#10 
Cato the Elder
243 BC - 149 BC
HPI 79.8268 languagesCato the Elder was a Roman statesman and historian. He is most famous for his book "De Agri Cultura," which is a treatise on farming.
People by Birth Decade
Browse notable Italians Writers grouped by birth decade. Each decade shows the top 10 by HPI; expand to see everyone.
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Overlapping Lives
Which Writers were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 25 most globally memorable Writers since 1700.
HUMANITIES
