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An Italian dramatist; born in Novi Ligure, March 19, 1816; died at Rome, August 1882. He achieved distinction in his twentieth year with a drama, "Rosilda", written during his lawstudent days in Genoa. Forced into literary work by his family's poverty, his dramaturgic talent attained him a competence. Sickness and domestic adversity did not interfere with his prolific genius, and his plays show astonishing versatility. "Queen Elizabeth of England", "Torquato Tasso", and "Lucrezia Davidson", tragedies; "Sophocles", his masterpiece, also a tragedy; and numerous comedies, including "The Woman with a Second Husband", are among the popular examples of his work.