Melchiorre Murenu


Melchiorre Murenu was a blind Sardinian poet.
Melchiorre Murenu is known as the "Homer of Sardinia" because he was blind and lived his entire life for poetry.
He was born in Macomer where he lived his entire life. At the age of three he became blind because of smallpox. Murenu's father was imprisoned when Melchiorre was ten years old, and is thought to have died during his imprisonment. This unfortunate circumstance drove Murenu's family in poverty. In these difficult circumstances Murenu could not afford to be formally educated, and he enjoyed spending time at the local church. There he acquainted himself to the biblical texts and, thanks to a prodigious memory, he could recite entire passages of the scriptures, as well as the daily sermons, entirely by heart.
Despite this background, poverty and oppression are the main subjects of Murenu's poetry. Among his most famous lyrics are Supplica a Monsignore Bua, S'istadu de Sardigna , and Tancas serradas a muru, a quartile about the appropriation of lands.
Another famous composition by Murenu sealed his fate; it is Sas isporchizias de Bosa, a fictional description of the city of Bosa. It is commonly thought that because of this poem, some of Bosa's inhabitants decided to avenge such offense by killing him. The night of 21 October 1854, three men, claiming to be there on behalf of a poet known to Murenu, lured him out of his place and pushed him over a cliff.