Canti

Trapped between an admiration for the classical past and a disappointment in the impoverished present, Leopardi rejected both the easy allure of Catholic faith and the unbridled optimism proposed by science and the Enlightment. In his world view, all that we love and value is illusion, the truth existing deep in our minds and souls as poignant memories, unrequited passion and stoical acceptance of nature's bleak elementals.