A master of Greek and Latin (among his works are translations from Plutarch, political orations, and a life of St. Nicholas of Myra), and in close correspondence with contemporary humanists, GIUSTINIAN is nonetheless remembered in Italian literature as a poet of strambotti, contrasti, and canzonettes (see the edition of his Poesie, edited by B. Wiese, Bologna 1883). In these works, more than in his sacred lauds—which are lacking in originality—the secular popular spirit, blended with a rich linguistic mixture including dialectal elements, achieves an immediacy of finely poetic sentiment.
BIBL.: D. Fenigstain, L. G. Venezianischer Staatsmann, Humanist und Vulgardichter, Halle 1909; A. Obrodorfer, Di L. G. umanista, in Giorn. st. d. lett. ital., 56 (1910), pp. 107-20; M. Dazzi, L. G. poeta popolare d'amore, Bari 1934; G. Bullanovich, Alla scoperta di L. G., in Annali d. Scuola norm. sup. di Pisa, 2a serie, 8 (1939), pp. 99-130 and 333-57 (v. dello stesso in Giorn. st. d. lett. ital., 110 [1937], pp. 197-252); B. Croce, Poesia popolare e poesia d'arte, 2a ed., Bari 1936, pp. 211-14.