Giovanni Berchet
Illustration — Giovanni Berchet. Giovanni Berchet (dʒoˈvanni berˈʃɛ; 23 December 1783 – 23 December 1851) was an Italian poet and patriot. He wrote an influential manifesto on Italian Romanticism, Lettera semiseria di Grisostomo, which appeared in 1816, and contributed to Il Conciliatore, a reformist periodical.
Giovanni Berchet

Giovanni Berchet · Available in the BEIC digital library and uploaded in partnership with BEIC Foundation. · Public domain
- Born
- Giovanni Berchet was born on 23 December 1783. · Milan.
- Died
- Giovanni Berchet died on 23 December 1851. · Turin.
- Nationality
- Kingdom of Sardinia
- Occupation
- poet · translator · politician · writer
- Languages
- Italian · English · French
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Illustration — Giovanni Berchet. Giovanni Berchet (dʒoˈvanni berˈʃɛ; 23 December 1783 – 23 December 1851) was an Italian poet and patriot. He wrote an influential manifesto on Italian Romanticism, Lettera semiseria di Grisostomo, which appeared in 1816, and contributed to Il Conciliatore, a reformist periodical.
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gnd · 6104676-0 · wikidata · Q670694 · wikipedia · Giovanni Berchet
In this article
Biography
Biography
Berchet was born in Milan. He participated in various nationalist activities, including the revolutions that shook the Italian peninsula in 1821. Thereafter, he lived in exile, primarily in Britain, until returning to Italy to take part in the revolutions of 1848. His works include Il trovatore, Il romito del Cenisio, and, most famously, I profughi di Parga (1821). Lettera semiseria (Half-serious letter) presents the translations (written by Berchet) of two poems by Gottfried August Bürger as an example of a new kind of poetry, and expresses the author's thought about contents and language that can reach a new public: that is, no longer a public of academic readers, but the so-called "third class", i.e. the bourgeoisie, which is waiting for books that are interesting, full of real feelings, simple in language, without mythology and classic models. This text placed an important role in the debate over Romanticism that developed in Italy (specially in Milan) in the second decade of the 19th century. Giovanni was the grandfather of the historian Guglielmo Berchet.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
Explore 1783–1851
The full dated record · 7 entries
1783
Giovanni Berchet was born on 23 December 1783.
1831
Poesie di Giovanni Berchet coll'aggiunta di altre nuove romanze e delle fantasie (1831) is digitised and catalogued by Internet Archive.
1837
Vecchie romanze spagnuole, recate in italiano da Giovanni Berchet is dated 1837.
1837
Vecchie romanze spagnuole, recate in italiano da Giovanni Berchet (1837) is digitised and catalogued by Internet Archive.
1848
Raccolta delle poesie di Giovanni Berchet is dated 1848.
1848
Raccolta completa delle poesie di Giovanni Berchet scritte fino ad ora (1848) is digitised and catalogued by Internet Archive.
1851
Giovanni Berchet died on 23 December 1851.
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Giovanni Berchet was born in Milan.
Birthplace
Giovanni Berchet died in Turin.
Deathplace
Milan.
Birth place
Turin.
Death place
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reference work
- “Giovanni Berchet”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
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- Wikidata, structured authority record Q670694: Giovanni Berchet
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- 1.cita DBI .
- 2.Secondo Alfredo Galletti, Berchet avrebbe recepito indirettamente, attraverso Bürger, l'influsso di Herder (seppure costui non venga nominato nella Lettera), ed anche a seguito di letture dirette: «negli scritti dello Herder sono [...] le idee fondamentali della Lettera semiseria, che formano poi il substrato critico e filosofico di quasi tutto il romanticismo italiano (A. Galletti, introduzione a G. Berchet, Lettera semiseria di Grisostomo, pag. 52, Carabba, Lanciano, 1913, cit. in Ettore Li Gotti, G. Berchet: la letteratura e la politica del risorgimento nazionale (1738-1851), pag. 81, La nuova Italia, 1933).
- 3.Il saggio di Giovanni Berchet.
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Giovanni Berchet is recorded with the occupation translator. Recorded as poet, translator, politician and writer.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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