BENIVIENI, GIROLAMO. — Humanist and poet,
born in Florence on 6 Feb. 1453, died there in 1542. He was
on close terms with the Medici family, with Poliziano,
with Ficino and especially with Pico della Mirandola,
beside whom he rests in the church of S. Marco. He had
a wide-ranging culture and mastery of verse, so much so that he stood out among the poets of his time and was
considered by B. Varchi as the second restorer of Italian
poetry. At times, however, he seems somewhat obscure,
owing to the dense Platonic teaching that enters into his
verses. From the time he joined Savonarola, he devoted
almost all his works to religious subjects and became the
official poet of Savonarolan events.
Among his compositions we recall the allegorical poem
*Amore sull'amore umano*, the *Canzone de lo amore celeste e
divino* commented on by Pico, various lauds and moral
songs.