author
Federico Frezzi
d. 1416
A Dominican friar, theologian, poet, and bishop, Federico Frezzi is best known for Il Quadriregio, an ambitious allegorical journey from sin toward salvation inspired by Dante.
1 Audiobook
Il Quadriregio
by Federico Frezzi
About the author
Federico Frezzi was an Italian poet and churchman from Foligno who entered the Dominican order and studied in Florence. He later taught theology at the universities of Florence, Pisa, and Bologna before becoming bishop of Foligno in 1403.
His major work, Il Quadriregio, is a long didactic poem written in terza rima between about 1394 and 1403. Clearly influenced by Dante, it presents a moral journey through four realms—Love, Satan, the Vices, and the Virtues—guiding readers from temptation and wrongdoing toward spiritual improvement.
Frezzi attended the Council of Constance, where he died in 1416. His poem remains his principal literary legacy and an important example of late medieval Italian allegorical writing.