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Giuseppe Gioachino Belli (7 September 1791 – 21 December 1863) was an Italian poet, famous for his sonnets in Romanesco, the dialect of Rome. He produced some 2,279 sonnets that form an invaluable document of the 19th century's papal Rome and the life of its common people. Although he also wrote conventional poems in Italian, his originality lies in the sonnets, which express his revolt against literary tradition, the academic mentality, and the social injustices of the papal system. The ritualism of the church and the accepted principles of commonplace morality were also objects of his mockery. But just as when he wrote in his most erotic vein, Belli was never obscene, so he was never really impious in his apparently most profane sonnets; in them, rather, he registered a passing mood of rebellion. Giuseppe Gioachino Belli died in 1863, due to a stroke, and was buried in Rome, at the Verano cemetery. In his will he had arranged for his works to be burned, but his son did not do so, thus allowing them to be known by everyone and forever. The great-grandson and artist, Guglielmo Janni, tells his life and works in a typescript opus of 10 volumes. 
The 150th anniversary of the death of Giuseppe Gioachino Belli is commemorated by a miniature sheet with six €1,00 stamps. One of the most famous sonnets by Belli, "Er Giorno Der Giudizzio" (On Judgment Day) is featured on the miniature sheet. You can view the English translation of the sonnet in the reference below. Reference: Er Giorno Der Giudizzio (On Judgement Day) Technical Details: Scott Catalogue - 1527 - 1527M Date Issued - 02 May 2013 Face Value - €1,00 Perforations - 15 x 14 Printing Process - Offset Printer - BDT (Ireland) Max Printed - 900,000 |
| (Source - Vatican Notes: Volume: 61 Issue: 357 Page: 4-6 en.wikipedia.org, allpoetry.com) |
