Niccolò Tommaseo was born in Sibenik in 1802 to a family of merchants. He completed legal studies at the University of Padua.
In florence between 1827 and 1824 he stayed in Florence where he published "The New Dictionary of Synonyms of the Italian Language."
In 1840 he settled in Venice and lived as an ascetic ;there he published the novel Faith and Beauty , Tuscan Folk Songs and Greek Illyrian Songs.
He was arrested in 1847 following some statements on freedom of the press, claiming the right to see laws enforced that did not restrict it;he was freed a year later by the people.
In 1859 he moved to Florence leading a secluded life.He refused nomination as senator. There he died in 1974.
"Often in the evening I shall walk lonely the shore that stretches out facing San Cristoforo,facing the mute last habitation of ours,and I shall see the smoke rise from the blazing furnaces,I shall see the slow clouds pile up on the sea, and the moon against it show scarcely the virgin ray , and the sparse stri scattered over the deep sky..."
(From Faith and Beauty, by Niccolò Tommaseo)
