Berni

Berni, Francesco, poet, was born about 1490 at Lamporecchio, Tuscany. After a period spent at Florence he removed to Rome, and there became celebrated for his witty effusions. In 1530, returning to Florence, he was made a canon in the cathedral there. In 1536 he died, supposed by some to have been poisoned by Duke Alessandro de Medici. He is the chief of Italian comic poets, and so pungent was his wit that comic poetry was called after him Versi Berneschi. His chief work was the remodelling of Boiardo's Orlando Innamorato.