Aretino, Pietro (pyĕ`trō ärātē`nō), 1492–1556, Italian satirist. He led a life of adventure and wrote abusive works for hire. His derisive wit was so feared that the gifts of those who sought either to buy him or buy him off made him very wealthy. He was a friend of Titian, who painted his portrait. His comedies, such as La cortigiana and La talenta, are singular, if exaggerated, portraits of his time. His letters, in spite of their impudent coarseness, are full of verve. Ariosto called him the "scourge of princes."

Aretino, Pietro

(born April 20, 1492, Arezzo, Republic of Florence [Italy]—died Oct. 21, 1556, Venice) Italian poet, prose writer, and dramatist. He was celebrated throughout Europe in his time for his bold and insolent literary attacks on the powerful. His fiery letters and dialogues are of great biographical and topical interest. His dramas, which are relatively free of venomous assaults, include five comedies and a tragedy, Orazia (1546), perhaps the best Italian tragedy of the 16th century.