Tasso Bernardo

Tasso, BERNARDO (1493-1569), Italian poet, belonged to an ancient family settled at Bergamo. He attached himself to the Duke of Ferrara, and subsequently to the Prince of Salerno, under whose protection he settled at Sorrento. Here he composed L'Amadigi, an epic in the style of Ariosto, founded on the Spanish romance Amadis de Gaula. Having taken part in resisting the Inquisition, he was expelled from Sorrento, 1547. His last years were spent in the service of the Duke of Mantua.