Pope Innocent XII then gave him a canonry, and appointed him to a chair of rhetoric in one of the institutions of the city of Rome In his Arte poetica in terza rima (1688), Menzini attacks the Baroque poetic in the name of an archaic style based on the cult of Dante and 14th-century Italian.

Following the models provided by the poems of Gabriello Chiabrera and Fulvio Testi, Menzini wrote his Pindaric "Canzoni eroiche e morali" (1674–80).

These observe the Greek division - strophe, antistrophe, and deal with subjects that were also engaging the attention of the contemporary poet Filicaja, e.g., the defense of Vienna and the taking of Budapest from the Ottoman Turks.

In the "Academia Tusculana" in mingled prose and verse, he introduces leading spirits of the time, who discuss subjects of many sorts.

Though he relied on classical satire for his subject matter, he also used the form to launch scathing attacks on poets, the clergy, women, philosophers, hypocrisy, vices, and even personal enemies.