His frequent relations with these men, however, have led to assumptions that Leopardi was in fact a homosexual

Leopardi often described his home as a prison, and made many attempts to escape. In 1822, Leopardi ventured to Rome with Pietro Giordani, another writer. Giordani and Leopardi, prior to their travel to Rome, had frequently corresponded with each other through letters. These letters were emotional, and Giordani quickly became a father figure to Leopardi, since Count Monaldo’s hostility and pressure to constantly improve and study greatly distanced him from Leopardi. However, due to his poor health, Leopardi could not find sustainable work (Giacomo Leopardi, 2014). Finding dissatisfaction in Rome only brought Leopardi to a more depressed state when he returned to Recanati in 1823. However, it was in 1824 that he published Canzoni, which was his first collection of his poetry (Giacomo Leopardi, 2012). This is considered to be one of his greatest works. One year later, Giacomo tried to leave Recanati again and went to Milan, where he would be an editor to Cicero. The years following this led him to Bologna, Pisa, Florence, and his home of Recanati (Giacomo Leopardi, 2012; Giacomo Leopardi, 2014). Still, Leopardi suffered from his ill health. For him, there was always an unattainable happiness reflected in his writing and his inability to find happiness even outside of Recanati.

Unsurprisingly, Leopardi was a pessimist, a skeptic his illness and family/home troubles clouded his mind and disturbed him until his death. Read more