Antonio Lo Frasso

Antonio Lo Frasso (1540, in Alghero, Sardinia – 1600, in Cagliari) was a Sardinian poet, writer and soldier.

He also reported to have been unjustly charged with murder for the love of a young lady from Alghero, for which he was locked up in jail and was later forced to leave Sardinia.

He published there his first book in 1571, with the title of Los mil y dozientos consejos y avisos discretos sobre los siete grados y estamentos de nuestra humana vida, subsequently published El verdadero discurso de la victoria, focused on his glorious vicissitudes during the Battle of Lepanto.

However, Lo Frasso owes his fame mostly to the pastoral novel in Ottava rima Los diez libros de Fortuna de Amor, supposedly inspired by the works of the Neapolitan writer Jacopo Sannazzaro.

He also wrote sonnets and octaves in Sardinian, confirming he got in touch with Gerolamo Araolla and Giovanni Francesco Fara.