He was born in Zakynthos, a Greek island, of a Venetian father and a Greek mother in 1778, but left his island at the age of fourteen when his family moved to Venice. Here he studied, deepening his literary knowledge, and made himself known and appreciated in the intellectual circles of the Venetian nobility, thanks to his talents and charm, already remarkable in a young man of eighteen. Very early on, he began to write and made a name for himself as a poet; one of his tragedies written at the age of nineteen was performed in the theatre in Venice; very early on, he also began his political and military activities. He was part of the army of the Republic founded by Napoleon in northern Italy and held political office in Venice. However, his participation in public life during the French conquests lasted only a few months. Following the Treaty of Campoformio in 1797 between the French and the Austrians, in which Napoleon left the city of Venus to Austria, he no longer felt like continuing to live there and could no longer appreciate Napoleon's work, which he had previously admired greatly and towards which he became increasingly critical. He then left his city, fleeing from a political situation that was too different from what he had expected. He spent periods in Milan, Bologna and Florence, always involved in civil life by writing in various newspapers, lecturing at the university, enlisting in the army and always writing and publishing his works. He had many intense love affairs, all of which ended unhappily. In 1815 he left Italy for good to live in various countries, and in his last years also found himself in serious financial difficulties, burdened by debts. He died near London in 1827.
