Alessandro Francesco Tommaso Antonio Manzoni was an Italian poet and novelist. He is famous for the novel The Betrothed (1827), generally ranked among the masterpieces of world literature. The novel is also a symbol of the Italian Risorgimento, both for its patriotic message and because it was a fundamental milestone in the development of the modern, unified Italian language. Manzoni also sat the basis for the modern Italian language and helped creating linguistic unity throughout Italy. He was an influential proponent of Liberal Catholicism in Italy.
