Poliziano, also known as Angelo Ambrogini, (born July 14, 1454, Montepulciano, Tuscany [Italy]—died September 28/29, 1494, Florence), was an Italian Poet and Humanist. He was one of the best classical scholars of the Renaissance. He was also the protege of Lorenzo de’ Medici. He was fluent in Greek, Italian, and Latin. He was a master in poetry, philosophy, and philology.
Poliziano’s poetic masterpiece of this period is, however, a vernacular poem in ottava rima, Stanze cominciate per la giostra del Magnifico Giuliano de’ Medici (“Stanzas Begun for the Tournament of the Magnificent Giuliano de’ Medici”), composed between 1475 and 1478, which is one of the great works of Italian literature. In it he was able to synthesize the grandeur of classical literature with the spontaneity of Florentine vernacular poetry. The poem describes the love of “Julio” for “Simonetta” by means of a poetic transfiguration in which beauty is glorified according to humanist ideals. Stylistically, it is influenced by Latin epic and encomiastic poems and reveals the author’s taste for refined poetry. It was interrupted at Book II, stanza 46, probably because of Giuliano’s death in 1478

His most important work on classical philology is the Miscellanea (1489), two collections, each consisting of about 100 notes (centuria) on classical texts: these and other works laid the foundations for subsequent scholarly studies in classical philology

Of greater interest and importance for the history of Italian literature are Poliziano's writings in the vernacular. His Stanze per la giostra were begun in 1475 in honor of Lorenzo's brother Giuliano. Written in ottava rima, the Stanze demonstrate Poliziano's eclectic approach to poetry, combining reminiscences of classical as well as vernacular poetry with a refined sense of style. According to its author, the play was written in 2 days in June 1480 for a celebration at the Gonzaga court in Mantua.

Poliziano's poetry employed popular poetic forms as the one-stanza rispetto and the ballata and avoided the more complex features of sonnet, sestina, and canzone. The subject of his poetry was the uncomplicated love of this world, Poliziano's activities as a translator of Greek and Roman literature were remarkable.

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