Vincenzo Auria commemorated on 401st birth anniversary

Vincenzo Auria was born on 5 August 1625 in Palermo, Sicily. He became a leading 17th‑century historian, jurist, royal archivist and poet who wrote in the Sicilian language. After studying at the Jesuit college in Palermo, he earned a law degree from the University of Catania in 1652, practiced as a lawyer, and was appointed royal archivist in 1679, after which he devoted himself to historical and literary research until his death on 6 December 1710.

Aurora was a member of several literary academies, including the Riaccesi of Palermo, the Assodati of Marsala and the Arcadia of Rome. His major works include the "Historia cronologica delli Signori Viceré del Regno di Sicilia" (1697) and "La Sicilia inventrice" (1704). His diaries remain a valuable source for the political and social life of 17th‑century Palermo. His Sicilian‑language poetry collections – "Canzoni siciliane amorose" (1647), "burlesche" (1651) and "sacre" (1653) – were published in the anthology "Le Muse Siciliane" edited by Giuseppe Galeano, demonstrating the literary richness of the Sicilian tongue.