Background
Sá de Miranda was born in Coimbra, the son of a canon belonging to the ancient and noble family of Sá.
Sá de Miranda was born in Coimbra, the son of a canon belonging to the ancient and noble family of Sá.
Foreign the 19th century Venezuelan politician with similar name, see Francisco de Miranda
Sá de Miranda passed his early years by the banks of the river Mondego, considered a source of inspiration to many other poets. He made his first studies of Greek, Latin and philosophy in the college of the Santa Cruz Monastery, and in 1505 went to University of Lisbon (the University of Coimbra had moved to Lisbon in 1380) to study law, beginning at the same time to attend the Portuguese court and write poems in the mediaeval style still dominant in Portugal. He travelled to Italy in 1521, where he was able to make contact with many writers and artists of the Renaissance, including Vittoria Colonna (who was his relative), Pietro Bembo, Sannazzaro and Ariosto.
On his way home, in 1526, he visited Spain, meeting classical writers Juan Boscan and Garcilaso de la Vega.
Four years after his return he decided to move to the Minho province, in the North of the country, where he purchased land. In 1552 he moved to the Quinta da Tapada, near Amares, where he died in 1558, aged 76.
