In 19th-century Italy, Giacomo Leopardi channels his debilitating illness and isolation into poetry.
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The people behind it
Elio Germano
Giacomo Leopardi
Michele Riondino
Antonio Ranieri
Massimo Popolizio
Monaldo Leopardi
Anna Mouglalis
Fanny Targioni-Tozzetti
Valerio Binasco
Pietro Giordani
Paolo Graziosi
Carlo Antici
Iaia Forte
Mrs. Rosa
Sandro Lombardi
Father Vincenzo
Raffaella Giordano
Adelaide Antici Leopardi
Edoardo Natoli
Carlo Leopardi
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