The Italian playwright and poet Conte Vittorio Alfieri (1749-1803) was a fervent adversary of political tyranny. His vigorous defense of freedom, the keystone of all his works, made him the idol of Italian patriots during the Risorgimento.

Born into a noble Piedmontese family on Jan. 16, 1749, Vittorio Alfieri received his early education at the Military Academy of Turin. Later, in characterizing his squandered adolescence, he especially criticized this school, where he was "a donkey amongst asses, a fool being taught by the foolish."

Travels in Europe

Alfieri spent most of the decade following 1766 in travel throughout Europe. He frequently had the opportunity to meet European sovereigns, but he generally declined because of his deep aversion to autocratic power. He was particularly repelled by the despotic and militaristic regimes of Prussia and Russia. Only in England was Alfieri pleased with the form of government and the freedom of the citizens...