Giambattista Marino
Poet
Italian poet known for his lavish wordplay and for his 1623 epic poem "L'Adone." His other notable works include La Lira and Le Rime.
He was the son of a Naples lawyer; however, he defied his father's wish that he, too, pursue a legal career.
He was the object of an attempted assassination by literary rival Gaspare Murtola.
His personal life is something of a mystery. There were rumors that he was a homosexual; however, he was arrested for aiding the Naples mayor's daughter in aborting a child that may or may not have been his.
He, like Pietro Metastasio, was an Italian poet.