I’m reposting the thread about the theory that Michelangelo Florio Crollalanza was Shakespeare as it disappeared after the recent EW server crash.
I went much deeper into this theory, collecting other details that simply add more and more coincidences that would fill the biographical gap in the life of the official Shakespeare in a credible way . After all, 95% of what we know about Shakespeare are mere conjectures, not to talk about his personality.
In this discussion, I will refer to the research made by a retired professor of Italian Literature at the University of Palermo (Sicily), Martino Iuvara, and to a documentary that was broadcast on the Italian TV some months ago titled “Shakespeare era italiano?” (Was Shakespeare Italian?).
Here are the links to a couple of articles (in Italian, I’m sorry) that comment prof. Iuvara’s book “Shakespeare era Italiano”:
http://www.granmirci.it/shakespeare.htm
http://www.editorialeagora.it/rw/allegati/1.pdf
And here are the four youtube videos of the TV program that unfortunately are not subtitled:
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkX6x5MN
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrcluoPV
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XCG_16T
There are also other links like the one published by The Times in 2000:
http://www.endex.com/gf/shkspr/shlt040800.htm
The theory that Michelangelo Florio Crollalanza was Shakespeare is being studied in English colleges, too,and is widely accepted and taught in Italian schools and universities.
Let’s examine the coincidences between the life of Michelangelo Florio Crollalanza, the work of the official Shakespeare and how surprisingly all these analogies explain the life of the Bard from a very credible and reasonable standpoint. There are at least 20 coincidences that prove that so you understand how interesting it could be. After all, the fact that the son of a glover maker who left school at a very young age ( there’s no evidence that Shakespeare attended high schools or university) to help his father in his workshop could master the classics and express an absolute learning in a highly and incomparable refined way through theatre and poetry has always puzzled historians and biographers. Besides, 15 out of 37 shakespearean plays are set in Italy, which is quite amazing if you think that the official Shakespeare never set foot abroad; he never mentions Stratford in his plays, for instance, while his knowledge of Italian toponymy, art, ways of living, legislation, history and traditions is a fact that everyone can verify by reading his plays.
Michelangelo Florio Crollalanza was born in Messina in 1564 (same year of the official Shakespeare), Sicily, son of Giovanni Florio and Guglielma Crollalanza, both followers of John Calvin. He showed a profound love for reading and attended the Franciscan monastery completing his studies at the age of 16 with very remarkable results. De facto, he was an enfant prodige. He was taught History, Latin and Greek and other subjects which already make by themselves the difference with the official Shakespeare’s poor schooling. He published his first play written in Sicilian dialect at the age of 16, “Troppu Trafficu Pì Nnenti” which translates as “Much Ado For Nothing “ in English. Incredible to say, both plays are set in Messina. What a coincidence, isn’t it?
Because of its Calvinist belief, Michelangelo’s family was persecuted by the Inquisition (Messina was under the Spanish yoke in those times) for alleged Calvinist propaganda as it seems that Giovanni Florio had published some sort of libel against Rome and the Church. Unfortunately, there aren’t many documents on the Florio-Crollalanza family because Messina, together with Reggio Calabria, was completely destroyed by the terrible earthquake that happened in 1908. For instance, the Franciscan monastery where Michelangelo Florio Crollalanza had studied doesn’t exist anymore. So I guess prof. Iuvara did a hard work to trace the family after they fled Messina because of the Inquisition.
After leaving Sicily, the family settled in northern Italy (they had relatives there and in England) , in Valtellina, in the region called Veneto. Documents state that they bought or went to live in a house called Ca’ d’Otello (Othello’s house) a house that (had) belonged to a retired Captain of The Venetian Army who was called “the Moor” for his dark complexion. Othello was rumoured to have killed his wife for misplaced jealousy. (…)
Interesting to note that, apart from first part of Othello that is set in Venice (Venice is in Veneto, the action of Othello takes place in Cyprus, instead) there are other three plays set in the region: The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Merchant of Venice (Shylock is condemned thanks to a law that didn’t exist in England so I guess it was just impossible for the official Shakespeare to know that)and Romeo and Juliet.
Michelangelo travelled a lot in Italy (Milan, Padua, Venice, Mantua, Verona) to protect himself from the Inquisition that was on his trail. De facto, as I read, they murdered his father. He also went abroad. He was a teacher in Greece, went to Austria and also to Denmark. It is possible that he learned about the Scandinavian saga of Hamlet there or from his Danish friends at the University of Padua which he attended proving to be an excellent student. Interesting to note that the registers of the University of Padua certify a “Rosencrantz Danus”, a Danish student. Rosencrantz is one of Hamlet’s friends in the homonymous play.
Michelangelo Florio Crollalanza became acquainted with the most important intellectuals of his time at Padua, like the philosopher Giordano Bruno and Galileo Galilei (Giordano Bruno was burned alive in Rome in Campo de’ Fiori, Field of Flowers, by the Church on February 17, 1600). Please note the difference between Michelangelo’s education and the one of the official Shakespeare: there’s no reasonable comparison.
In Milan, according to documents found by prof. Iuvara, Michelangelo falls in love with a 16-year-old countess belonging to the Milanese aristocracy, Giulietta. (…) The girl’s family is against their love so the girl is sent to Verona (…) under the protection of the city governor. When Michelangelo reaches her there, he learns that the girl has committed suicide because of the sexual harassment of the governor, a fervent anticalvinist, who accuses Michelangelo of having murdered the girl.
After Giulietta’s death, Michelangelo Florio Crollalanza decided to flee Italy also because the Inquisition had already murdered his father. I think he was just protecting himself when he decided to go to England to reach his relatives there, to seek refuge. Thanks to Giordano Bruno who wrote a letter of presentation to the Earl of Pembroke, William Herbert and to the Earl of Southampton (Giordano Bruno had travelled Europe and had been introduced to the English court), at the of 24, Michelangelo left for England under their patronage.
Both Michelangelo’s father, Giovanni, and his mother, Guglielma, had relatives in England, as I stated before. One of Michelangelo’s cousin from the father’s side was John Florio, an extremely learned humanist and linguist who published the first Italian-English dictionary and a collection of Italian proverbs )Second Fruits), some of them to be found in Hamlet, by the way. Another cousin of Michelangelo’s from his mother’s side (Crollalanza) was Edmund Shakespeare, an actor who had left Stratford to act in the theatres of London because of his perfect pronunciation, this is what was stated in the TV program I mentioned before. Interesting to note that Edmund had left his wife and his three sons in Stratford, but I guess we all have already heard of this guy. Edmund proven poor education can’t be compared in any way to Michelangelo’s, you’ll agree.
Another astounding coincidence is the surname Crollalanza. The English branch of the Crollalanzas had moved to England years before, had settled in Stratford and had also changed their surname in its English equivalent, Shakespeare. In fact, the word “crolla” means “shake” while “lanza” translates as “speare”. Some object that “crolla” actually means “collapse” so it is quite a simple misinterpretation for them but I read an intelligent post on a forum where, according to a very reputable Italian vocabulary, the verb “crollare” just meant “shake” in old Italian (old Italian is known as volgare and is the language of Florence) so Crollalanza means Shakespeare. Quite interesting.
Shakespeare spoke a refined English but had a strong foreign accent, did you know that? It is reported by his contemporaries, as I’ve been reading. Besides, he had a clear Mediterranean look. A very interesting coincidence is that Shakespeare was known to attend a exclusive club in London, but there’s no Shakespeare reported in the registers of the club (the name slips my mind) while there’s a Michelangelo Florio, for example.
According to prof. Iuvara, Michelangelo Florio Crollalanza simply acquired the name of a nephew, a William Shakespeare who had died at a the age of 8 (that was quite common in those times), to became English and to protect himself. Another theory is that he simply translated his mother’s name Guglielma in the masculine equivalent, Guglielmo, that is William in English.
In my opinion, the most dramatic aspect if the theory that Shakespeare was Italian is that it was John Florio who helped Michelangelo to translate his plays in English, a really possible fact as they were cousins. If it’s true, then, they must be considered the true reformers of the English language. In fact, beyond writing more than 1 million words, Shakespeare has used, according to reputable statistics, more than 21,000 different words. This is an extremely interesting fact if you think that the great poet John Milton only reaches 8,000 words in his work.
Prof. Martino Iuvara says that he wrote a letter to Queen Elizardbeth II asking to have access to her private library, where, according to him, there must be documents proving the theory that Shakespeare was not English, but he received no answer. He also wrote to the Prime Sinister Tony the Bliar, to no avail, but a university professor deserves attention in any case, so they could have sent him a simple note to deny access to the library.
Now, I hesitated a bit before publishing this discussion because I didn’t want to mess up EW with theories, I tried to be as concise as possible omitting other facts, but you know, to Caesar what’s Caesar’s. Also I agree with prof. Iuvara when he says that it is the substance of Shakespeare’s plays and its heritage that really counts for it belongs to humanity in the first place. After all, nationalities are social conventions.
Vittorio
