THE REAL SHAKESPEARE

william shakespeare and themysterious halo underlying his origins

MICHELANGELO FLORIO

It is not at all improbable that, like the "Homeric question", there is also a"Shakespearean question"...!

William Shakespeare or Michelangelo Florio?

According to a rather controversial thesis, Michelangelo Florio, a character from Messina who actually existed, born in 1564 to Giovanni Florio and Guglielma Scrollalancia, hides behind the name of William Shakespeare.

But it doesn't end there...

In "Hamlet", there are two characters, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two Danish students who in reality attended the University of Padua together with Florio. Among Shakespeare's most famous plays there are many set in Italy such as "The Merchant of Venice", "The Two Gentlemen of Verona", "Julius Caesar", "Othello", "The Taming of the Shrew", "The Tempest", " Romeo and Juliet”, and each of these with Italian characters. For example, in the work "The Merchant of Venice" the poet reveals a knowledge of Venetian jurisdiction that an Englishman of the time could hardly have known.

In "Anthony and Cleopatra" there is a scene set inside the house of Pompey the Great, located in Messina and unknown to most people, with the exception of the people of Messina.

It also seems that William Shakespeare attended a club in London, but in fact no one with that name appears in the registers, while a certain Michelangelo Florio appears.

In “Much Ado About Nothing” a character in the comedy exclaims “Mizzeca”, a Sicilian word that a 16th century Englishman would never have known

+ info

The places of William Shakespeare in Italy

messina

venezia

padova

verona

siracusa/palermo

milano

firenze

roma

shakespeare and love

Love has always been a theme of fundamental importance in the literature of all time, and its strength lies in arousing emotions and feelings. In ancient times, the philosopher Plato was among the first to address the theme of love with intellectual depth, and the famous aphorism "at the touch of love everyone becomes a poet" was born from his reflections. Even in Shakespeare, love is a recurring theme, love seen in all its facets and in a "modern" way, as the English playwright did not deal with the theme of love according to the canons of his time, but explored the strength of feeling as a non-perfect essence of human nature.

this genially was made by:

-Francesca Mancusi-Nunzia Pietrafesa -Chiara Nardiello -Gabriele Milano

Then Milan, the favorite city of a good part of the story told in "The Two Gentlemen of Verona". “The Tempest” starts from Milan and then ends up on a remote island in the Mediterranean. Despite all efforts, no one has managed to identify the precise location: it is very likely that it is an imaginary island. However, other Italian cities appear throughout the work. One of these is Naples, with all its medieval splendor.

While in “The Comedy of Errors” we find a beautiful Syracuse. Finally, “The Winter's Tale” sees Palermo as the protagonist. The Palazzo dei Normanni, one of the symbols of the Sicilian capital, is perfectly represented at the beginning of the work.

The enchanting Padua is the backdrop to the adventures of "The Taming of the Shrew", one of Shakespeare's most successful comedies.

At a very young age he composed the comedy “Tantu trafficu pi nenti” (“Much Ado About Nothing”, just like a Shakespeare play). In Treviso he met a certain Giulietta with whom he fell madly in love, but who was forced to leave due to family differences and, shortly afterwards, the girl died. Maybe this story inspired him for a tragedy? Finally, he decided to move to London where he changed his identity, taking his mother's name, Guglielma Scrollalancia, which in English can be translated as William Shakespeare.

“Much Ado About Nothing” sees the splendid city of Messina as the backdrop to its events. Messina also appears in “Antony and Cleopatra” and in particular the house of Pompey the Great

Rome certainly couldn't be missing. We find it in "Anthony and Cleopatra", in "Coriolanus" and in "Titus Andronicus", where you can feel the glorious atmosphere of the Roman Empire at its maximum strength. And, even more so, we find it in "Julius Caesar", a tragedy that recalls some of the most beautiful places of the eternal city.

It's impossible not to think of "Romeo and Juliet", the tragic love story set in medieval Verona. In fact, in one of the alleys of the historic center we can still admire the famous balcony of Juliet's house, where the two lovers exchanged love phrases.

In Florence, however, we follow the events of Elena and Bertram in the opera "All's Well That Ends Well".

Venice also appears in the famous comedy “The Merchant of Venice”. But this is not the only work that refers to it, since "Othello" is also set, in its first part, in what was at the time the Republic of Venice.

Young love

The immortal love of Romeo and Juliet

This tragedy has as its object love and the tragic nature of young love. When Romeo's gaze meets that of sweet Juliet, it's love at first sight. A deep and consuming passion, but forbidden: their families, in fact, are mortal enemies. Destiny does everything to separate them, and only the shadow of the night allows the two young lovers to meet. It is the absolute enchantment that unites them in secret on a balcony on a fragrant Veronese night. A paradise, however destined not to know the bliss of eternity.

Love and marriage

The taming of the Shrew

Love and marriage are the concerns of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. Petruchio’s wooing of Katherine, however, is free of idealism. Petruchio takes money from Bianca’s suitors to woo her, since Katherine must marry before her sister by her father’s decree; he also arranges the dowry with her father. Petruchio is then ready to marry Katherine, even against her will. Katherine, the shrew of the play’s title, certainly acts much changed. But have she and Petruchio learned to love each other? Or is the marriage based on terror and deception?

Confused and romantic love

Twelfth Night

Twelfth Night is about illusion, deception, disguises, madness, and the extraordinary things that love will cause us to do—and to see. There is a romantic love because the relationship between Olivia and Duke Orsino is amazing: the way they met and the way they understood they were in love is spectacular. In fact Viola, separated from her twin Sebastian, dresses as a boy and works for the Duke Orsino, whom she falls in love with. Orsino is in love with the Countess Olivia, and sends Viola to court her for him, but Olivia falls for Viola instead.

Jealous love

Othello

Shakespeare's classic play Othello is about a man who falsely accuses his wife of cheating on him, and believes this lie so strongly that he eventually takes her life. Some of the major themes in this play include racial prejudice, manipulation, and jealous love. In particular, this work makes us understand that jealous people cannot have their fears assuaged because jealousy is part of their nature.

Passionate love

Antony and Cleopatra

The story of Antony and Cleopatra makes us understand how much, despite belonging to two different factions, love wins over everything and everyone. Antony falls in love with Cleopatra, going against what was his world, his homeland and his wife to carry on the love he felt for. In the end, they both end up taking their own lives (it is described as a noble death because it repays part of their sins). This story shows us how much, in order to be together and not suffer, two people decide to take their own lives next to each other and how much they went against their different worlds