Domenico Balestrieri

Domenico Balestrieri (1714–1780) was an Italian scholar, writer and poet. He gained his fame as an author of "dialectal" works in Milanese language, for which he is considered one of the classics of Milanese literature. Baestrieri's work was a major inspiration source for later Milanese writers such as Carlo Porta.

Biography Domenico Balestrieri was born in Milan on April 16, 1714. On 10 October 1747 he married Rosalia Casati. He died on June 11, 1780. Balestrieri was an important figure of Enlightenment Milan and a founding member of the Accademia dei Trasformati. He was a close friend of Carlo Imbonati and Giuseppe Parini, who commemorated his death in a sonnet entitled In morte di Domenico Balestrieri.

Balestrieri wrote poems both in Milanese dialect and Italian. His main works are the Rimm milanes de Meneghin Balestreri Accademech Trasformae (1744) and Rime toscane e milanesi (1774–9). He also translated Torquato Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered into Milanese (Milan, 1773). There were two characteristics of the translation: it was a parody of the original work, yet it also treated the poem seriously, particularly on themes of religion or pastoral love. Balestrieri's poetry collection Lagrime in morte di un gatto (1741), included contributions from Giuseppe Marc'Antonio Baretti and the brothers Carlo and Gasparo Gozzi. Works

La Gerusalemme liberata travestita in lingua milanese a sua Eccellenza Carlo conte, e signore De Firmian. In Milano: appresso Gio. Batista Bianchi regio stampatore, 1772 in folio; in 8: vol. 1, 2, 3, 4 Rime toscane, e milanesi, 6 voll. In Milano: appresso Giambattista Bianchi regio stampatore, 1774-1779 voll. 1-3; voll. 4-6