Francesco Petrarch
(1304–1374)

The greatest love sonnets ever written are the result of the deep love and devotion Francesco Petrarch had for a woman who historically still remains a mystery. Very little is known about Laura, who may have been Laura de Noyes, a married woman. We do know that in 1327 in Avignon, France, he first saw Laura. He loved her hopelessly, and her beauty inspired hundreds of love lyrics collected in the Canzoneire.

Petrach's great works made him an inspiration for other Renaissance writers. Petrarch established the sonnet as the dominant form of lyric poetry during the Renaissance. A Petrarchan scenario, in which the lovers' relationship is never fully realized, also became a standard for generations to come.

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