F
FAZIO DEGLI UBERTI
(c. 1301 or 1305–c. 1367)
Bonifazio, or Fazio, degli Uberti was a member of a
Ghibelline family expelled from Florence in 1267. He
was born in Pisa and never lived in Florence, the city
of his ancestors, from which he considered himself
an exile. Fazio was a court intellectual and a poet; his
most important work is an encyclopedic poem called Il
dittamondo. In 1336, he was in the service of Mastino
II della Scala of Verona; in 1346, he was at the court of
Luchino Visconti; and in 1358, he was in Bologna at the
court of Giovanni Visconti d’Oleggio. Fazio’s adopted
city was Verona, a bastion of Ghibelline and imperial
ideals, where he probably died.
Fazio’s thirty-fi ve poems include canzoni, sonnets,
and frottole dealing with love, religion, politics, and
ethics. He composed seven canzoni and one sonnet
for his mistress, Ghidola (or Ghida), the daughter of
Spinetto Malaspina, lord of Lunigiana. Among these,
three canzoni—Nel tempo che s’infi ora e cuopre d’erba,
Io guardo i crespi e i biondi capelli, and I’ guardo in
fra l’erbette per li prati—are picturesque representa-
tions of love and nature in the springtime that recall the
Provençal poets and Dante. In all his poems to Ghida,
Fazio underscores the emotional and physical effects
of love rather than its spiritual or symbolic meaning.
There is a “fresh sensuality” (Corsi 1969, 226, 238) in
his love poems that is mirrored in his joyous celebration
of the beauty and pleasures of nature. Contrary to the
observations of many critics, therefore, Fazio was not
a follower of Dante or of Petrarch.
Fazio’s poetry shows that he never wavered from
his political and cultural ideals. The political rime are
characterized by aristocratic dignity. When Fazio praises
Ludwig of Bavaria’s Italian campaign of 1327–1329 (in
Tanto son void i ciel di parte in parte), criticizes Flo-
rentine politics (in the frottola O tu che leggi), inveighs
against Emperor Charles IV of Bohemia (in Di quel
possi tu her che bevve Crasso), or laments the demise
of Florence (in O sommo bene, o glorioso Iddio), he is
an ardent supporter of the empire and of the cultural
primacy of Florence.
Fazio’s greatest achievement was Il dittamondo (Dic-
ta mundi), which recounts the poet’s fi ctional journey
around the world. This poem is divided into six books
and is written, in terza rima. In Book 1, Fazio states his
wish to acquire fame by reporting the marvels he will
see on his journey. Yet the poet-pilgrim loses his way
shortly after setting out. The fi rst night he dreams that
Dame Virtue invites him to follow the path of salvation.
He then meets the ancient astronomer Ptolemy and, later,
the third-century geographer Solinus, who becomes his
guide. Together, Fazio and Solinus visit Rome, which
appears to them as a weeping, disheveled woman. In
Books 1 and 2, Rome narrates her history, from the
time of Julius Caesar to that of Charles of Bohemia. In
Book 3, the pilgrims’ quest for knowledge takes them
to Greece, where Fazio refl ects on the Hellenistic legacy
of Italy. In Book 4, the poet and Solinus visit Asia Mi-
nor, Scandinavia, England, France, and Spain. In Book
5, they travel by ship to Africa; there they meet Pliny,
who speaks to them of astrology and the heavens. After
visiting several regions of Africa, they travel to Egypt;
from there, Fazio and Solinus go to Palestine—in Book
6—in order to see the Holy Sepulcher. There they meet
another pilgrim, who narrates important episodes from
the Bible.
Dittamondo is often compared to Dante’s Divine
Comedy, but these two works are very different from
each other. For Dante, knowledge of the real world is
an important means of spiritual salvation, whereas for
Fazio knowledge is the aim of his quest. Dittamondo
is based on contemporary chronicles and medieval
encyclopedias, including Brunetto Latini’s Tresor and