Francesco Petrarca and the True Restoration of Rome Ever since the fall of the Roman Empire many people and entities have claimed to be its inheritor. From Charlemagne and the Holy Roman Empire and from the Roman Catholic Church to the lowest of Barbarian tribes whose contact with Rome was so minimal that they would even know what a Roman was, everyone claimed they were the society that most deserved the title of the successor to Roman greatness, however one humble Italian man had a different way of thinking that would not only blaze the trail of the Renaissance but also restore glory to the true Rome. Francesco Petrarca was from a Florentine family that was exiled to France for the majority of his youth. Having grown up under the unique circumstance
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Ever a humble man, “I have taken pride in others, but never myself and insignificant as I was” , Petrarca was able to study and celebrate his Italian heritage and Rome while never vainly and cheaply copying it. In this respect Petrarca was more worthy of being the successor of Roman thought despite the fact he most likely would never make such a bold claim. Another important aspect to this is that in wanting to see and know Rome as it was he was willing to see the Romans as humans rather than flawless ideals. When Petrarca went to Verona and read Cicero’s letters he found the man to be more “petty and venal” (XVI) then he anticipated based on his own morals and seeing this realized that he as a fellow human could hold dialogues with these men. From here Petrarca began a trend where he wrote letters debating the old philosophers like Cicero, but rather than just take their knowledge and claim he was now worthy of Rome he instead added is opinions to in opposition while leaving the argument open ended so that future readers could see the beliefs of a Roman citizen of antiquity as well as the beliefs of what was at the time a modern Italian man. In this way Petrarca naturally builds upon Roman ideas while establishing future ideals as a true philosopher rather than an imitation of a non-existent idea of
Ever a humble man, “I have taken pride in others, but never myself and insignificant as I was” , Petrarca was able to study and celebrate his Italian heritage and Rome while never vainly and cheaply copying it. In this respect Petrarca was more worthy of being the successor of Roman thought despite the fact he most likely would never make such a bold claim. Another important aspect to this is that in wanting to see and know Rome as it was he was willing to see the Romans as humans rather than flawless ideals. When Petrarca went to Verona and read Cicero’s letters he found the man to be more “petty and venal” (XVI) then he anticipated based on his own morals and seeing this realized that he as a fellow human could hold dialogues with these men. From here Petrarca began a trend where he wrote letters debating the old philosophers like Cicero, but rather than just take their knowledge and claim he was now worthy of Rome he instead added is opinions to in opposition while leaving the argument open ended so that future readers could see the beliefs of a Roman citizen of antiquity as well as the beliefs of what was at the time a modern Italian man. In this way Petrarca naturally builds upon Roman ideas while establishing future ideals as a true philosopher rather than an imitation of a non-existent idea of