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Francesco Petrarch

The Italian poet and humanist Petrarch is one of the great figures of Italian literature. He spent his youth in Tuscany and Avignon and at Bologna. He returned to Avignon in 1326, may have taken lesser ecclesiastic

85. Wherein He Apostrophizes the Spot Where Laura First Saluted Him

by Francesco Petrarch (1304–74)

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16

 Ah, blessedest plot of earth! In this dear space 
 Love first observed my lovely Lady bend 
 Her golden head, and pause, and condescend 
 To smile on me and fill the air with grace. 
 The rigorous image Time shall quite efface 
 From triple-tortured adamant—but rend 
 That smile from my soul's centre, God forfend! 
 That smile so cherished in its holy place! 
 As often as I visit this proud shrine 

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