Foscolo's work was also inspired by the political events that occurred in Northern Italy during the Napoleonic period, when the Fall of the Republic of Venice and the subsequent Treaty of Campoformio forced Foscolo to go into exile from Venice to Milan.
The plot is located in the countryside near Padua and takes place between October 1797 and March 1799.
Jacopo Ortis is a patriot who must retreat in a village in Colli Euganei to escape political persecutions.
In despair, Jacopo travels through Italy (then divided into various little states) and visits many cities, among them Florence, with the historical tombs of Santa Croce, Milan, where he meets Giuseppe Parini, Genoa, Ventimiglia.
After a deep meditation about nature, history and human fate, he resolves to go back to Veneto.