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Pietro Metastasio (1698–1782)
Metastasio, Pietro (mā”täs-tä’zē-ō). A celebrated Italian poet; born at Rome, Jan. 13, 1698; died at Vienna, April 12, 1782. His real name was Trapassi. He was court poet at Vienna, honored, surrounded by friends, and probably the most famous Continental poet of his time. His fame rests chiefly on his lyrical dramas ‘The Gardens of the Hesperides’ (1720); ‘Demetrius’ (1732); ‘The Clemency of Titus’ (1734); ‘Atilius Regulus’ (1740–50); and ‘Themistocles.’ He was a master of the canzonet, and wrote also sonnets, idyls, elegies, criticisms, and letters.