The Betrothed is an Italian historical novel by Alessandro Manzoni, first published in 1827, in three volumes. It has been called the most famous and widely read novel of the Italian language. Set in northern Italy in 1628, during the terrible, oppressive years under Spanish rule, it is sometimes seen as a veiled attack on Austria, which controlled the region at the time the novel was written. . It is also noted for the extraordinary description of the plague that struck Milan around 1630. The Betrothed was inspired by Walter Scott's Ivanhoe and was the first Italian historical novel. It... deals with a variety of themes, from the cowardly, hypocritical nature of a priest and the heroic sainthood of others , to the unwavering strength of love , and offers some keen insights into the meanderings of the human mind. I promessi sposi was made into an opera of the same name by Amilcare Ponchielli in 1856 and by Errico Petrella in 1869.
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