ARETINO, PIETRO (1492-1556), Italian author, born April 20 149 2. Banished from Arezzo, his birthplace, for writing a satirical sonnet against indulgences, he made his way to Rome, where he found favour with Pope Leo X., until the composition, in 1523, of his obscene "Sonnetti Lussuriosi." He then left Rome, and was attached to the court of Giovanni de' Medici. At the death of Giovanni de' Medici he withdrew to Venice, where, living on the gifts of nobles and princes who feared his satire, he spent his time in writing licentious sonnets, dialogues, and comedies.
The dialogues and sonnets have been translated into French, under the title of Academie des Dames. E. Hutton has written a biography, Pietro Aretino, the Scourge of Princes, with a portrait (1922).