WRITER

Petrarch

1304 - 1374

Photo of Petrarch

Icon of person Petrarch

Francis Petrarch (; 20 July 1304 – 19 July 1374; Latin: Franciscus Petrarcha; modern Italian: Francesco Petrarca [franˈtʃesko peˈtrarka]), born Francesco di Petracco, was a scholar from Arezzo and poet of the early Italian Renaissance and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited with initiating the 14th-century Italian Renaissance and the founding of Renaissance humanism. In the 16th century, Pietro Bembo created the model for the modern Italian language based on Petrarch's works, as well as those of Giovanni Boccaccio, and, to a lesser extent, Dante Alighieri. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Petrarch has received more than 3,308,210 page views. His biography is available in 108 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 103 in 2019). Petrarch is the 21st most popular writer (up from 25th in 2019), the 23rd most popular biography from Italy (up from 27th in 2019) and the 3rd most popular Italian Writer.

Petrarch is most famous for his love poetry, including "Rime Sparse" and "Canzoniere." He is also famous for his work on the Italian language.

Memorability Metrics

  • 3.3M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 86.36

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 108

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 15.43

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.48

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Petrarch ranks 21 out of 7,302Before him are Miguel de Cervantes, Jules Verne, Virgil, Albert Camus, Molière, and Anton Chekhov. After him are Honoré de Balzac, Aesop, Jean-Paul Sartre, Ovid, Rumi, and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1304, Petrarch ranks 1After him are Ibn Battuta, Jayaatu Khan Tugh Temür, Louis I, Count of Flanders, Magnus I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Ibn al-Shatir, and Günther von Schwarzburg. Among people deceased in 1374, Petrarch ranks 1After him are Gongmin of Goryeo, Magnus IV of Sweden, Pan Geng, Ibn al-Khatib, Ni Zan, Helena of Bulgaria, Empress of Serbia, Emperor Go-Kōgon, Philip II, Prince of Taranto, Helvig of Schleswig, Bogislaw V, Duke of Pomerania, and Sancho Alfonso, 1st Count of Alburquerque.

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In Italy

Among people born in Italy, Petrarch ranks 23 out of 5,161Before him are Cicero (-106), Giordano Bruno (1548), Virgil (-70), Francis of Assisi (1182), Nero (37), and Caravaggio (1571). After him are Amerigo Vespucci (1454), Ovid (-43), Marcus Aurelius (121), Giovanni Boccaccio (1313), Sandro Botticelli (1445), and Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor (1768).

Among WRITERS In Italy

Among writers born in Italy, Petrarch ranks 3Before him are Dante Alighieri (1265), and Virgil (-70). After him are Ovid (-43), Giovanni Boccaccio (1313), Horace (-65), Giacomo Casanova (1725), Umberto Eco (1932), Giorgio Vasari (1511), Guillaume Apollinaire (1880), Plautus (-254), and Cato the Elder (-243).