Portrait of Guarino da Verona

Guarino da Verona—also called Guarino Veronese—was an early Humanist figure in the Italian Renaissance, known best for his extensive translations and recensions of historical works. Guarino da Verona, as his name suggests, was born in the city of Verona, Italy, in 1374 A.D. It was here that he quickly became a respected figure in the intellectual community; he specifically became renowned for his accurate and well-presented translations and recensions of ancient Greek and Latin works. 

Early in life, Guarino traveled to the city of Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) to study under the tutelage of Manuel Chrysoloras, a Byzantine scholar. Chrysoloras trained him to translate ancient Greek works into Latin while accurately presenting and preserving the original message—a technical and rare skill for the time. After he completed his education, Guarino returned to Verona, bringing with him several articles of ancient Greek works, which he subsequently translated into Latin. This work enabled him to build a name for himself as one of Italy’s foremost Greek translators. Eventually, Guarino moved to the Italian city of Ferrara, where Duke Niccolò III d’Este hired him to tutor his son, Leonello (who in later years would become the Duke of Ferrara himself). This job granted Guarino better work conditions and hours, as well as better pay, which allowed him to continue pursuing his studies and translations of ancient works. Guarino’s translations of Juvenal’s Satires—a copy of which is in this exhibit—were, by and large, the most circulated translations he produced, as they were thought to be accurate and well-written translations of the original works. 

Guarino is also known as an early humanist figure in the Italian Renaissance: the notes and prefaces he made for the works he translated often contain comments with early humanist themes. Overall, Guarino made a crucial contribution to the development of humanism during the Italian Renaissance by translating ancient works from Greek into Latin, which made them more accessible to intellectual communities. Guarino’s translations of Juvenal’s Satires, alongside the prefaces he wrote for them, were widely circulated throughout universities in Europe, especially within Italy, as they proved to be valuable tools for teaching students the Latin language and humanist ideas.